Wounds of Love

It happened in the sixteenth century. Oliver Cromwell was reigning in England. A young soldier was condemned for the capital punishment for some serious crime. Thus was the verdict: “Kill him when the evening bell tolls.”

The news reached the household of the young man in a faraway village. Hearing the news, the girl, the would-be of the young man, ran out of the house. Her intention was to meet Cromwell and plead him to withdraw the sentence. But, it was dark when she reached the town, running and sweating.

She doubted if she could present the matter to Cromwell. So she ran towards the church, and climbed on the bell-tower on which was hung the bell. Then the sacristan came there to ring the bell. He pulled the rope of the bell. But, no sound was heard because the girl had clasped the tongue of the bell. Each time the sacristan pulled the rope; her hands dashed against the walls of the bell and got bruised. Without realizing this, the deaf sacristan finished his job and went away.

At the scaffold, the condemned young man was waiting to hear the evening bell. But, no bell was heard even after the sunset. Since the order remained that the execution must be done at the time of evening bell, the execution was kept in abeyance. While Cromwell was enquiring the reason for the delay, a girl with blood-stained hands came in and narrated the happenings: “I climbed up the bell tower due to the fear of the bell being rung before I could meet you. Thus, my clothes were torn; my hands were bruised in my effort to hold the tongue of the bell. I plead you to forgive and bless this man to whom I am betrothed.”

Oliver Cromwell looked at the blood-stained hands of the girl and said; “Your blood-stained body proclaims your living love. In honour of that love I withdraw the condemnation of this young man. Both of you can go now in peace.”

If our love is alive, there will be scars on us. Those scars will give salvation to the life of our beloved. Jesus was wounded because of his love for mankind. That is why Isaiah wrote: “because of our sins he was wounded, beaten because of the evil we did. We are healed by the punishment he suffered, made whole by the blows he received.” (Isaiah 53:5)

We too are victims of several wounds. But, have our wounds turned salvific to others? Or, are we wounding others by our woundedness? If our sorrows and sufferings do not bring salvation to our families, to the church and to the world, it just means that living love is not present in us.

A nature that complains unceasingly and exaggerates one’s sufferings is the symptom of those who have not yet attained living love. They will remain ever in the Holy week of trials; they would never reach Easter. A resurrection occurs only when our hearts are filled with love. Because, only love has the power to break open the chambers of grave.