SOCL, Easter2C

Sunday April 27, 2025

See

We hide our scars beneath layers of curated perfection, terrified that vulnerability might expose our deepest wounds. Yet our obsession with flawlessness denies the very evidence of our journey—the marks that testify to survival rather than failure. In our sanitized digital existence, we've forgotten that imperfection isn't weakness but authentication.

What if our wounds are not deficiencies to be concealed but portals through which genuine connection flows? The most profound relationships form not when we display our trophies but when we reveal our battle injuries. Our scars—physical, emotional, relational—become bridges rather than barriers, offering others permission to acknowledge their own damaged places.

Society celebrates unblemished surfaces while hungering for authentic substance. The paradox remains: we seek genuine connection while hiding the very marks that would make it possible. Our wounds, transformed from sources of shame into testimonies of endurance, reveal a counterintuitive truth: what we survive shapes us more powerfully than what we achieve. The victory isn't in escaping unscathed but in bearing witness to what couldn't destroy us.

Listen

Acts 5:12-16; Psalm 118 [117]; Apocalypse 1:9-13,17-19; John 20:19-31

Reflect

(John 20:19-31)

Consider the wounds you carry—those experiences that have marked you deeply. How have you tried to hide or heal these scars? What stories do they tell about your journey that pristine success narratives never could?

Jesus displayed his wounds rather than erasing them, transforming symbols of defeat into evidence of love's persistence. How might reframing your own scars—not as failures but as testimonies—change how you view your life story?

What would change if you stopped hiding your imperfections and instead allowed them to connect you with others? How might embracing your wounds as sacred bridges rather than shameful burdens transform your relationships today?

Pray

Lord, whose power is perfected in weakness, transform our wounded places into wellsprings of connection. Help us find courage to stop hiding our scars and start sharing our authentic stories. Grant us vision to see beyond surface perfection to the beauty of resilience in ourselves and others. Lead us from isolation into community where vulnerability becomes strength and our collective brokenness creates space for your redemptive presence.