Wounded Wounder or Wounded Healer: When Life Tumbles In, What Then?

By Dr. Eugene C Rollins

All people are wounded in some way and in some form to some degree. The book seeks to answer the question why some people heal and become healers and assets to the community while other people do not heal becoming wounders of other people and liabilities to the community.

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse
• Release date: Sep 11, 2020
• ISBN: 9781728370156

Dr. Eugene C Rollins

For 54 Years the author has worked in the fields of theology and psychology. He has been a professional Chaplain in the institutions of state mental health, the general hospital and corrections. He founded Midlands Area Pastoral Counseling Services, Inc. in 1984 and was a church pastor for 43 years. He holds 3 South Carolina state certifications and 9 national certifications.

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© 2020 Dr. Eugene C. Rollins. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or

transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

Published by AuthorHouse  09/11/2020

ISBN: 978-1-7283-6907-5 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-7283-7015-6 (e)

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are models,

and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in

this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views

expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the

views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Scripture quotations marked NIV are taken from the Holy Bible, New

International Version®. NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International

Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved. [Biblica]

DEDICATION

I dedicate this book to the hundreds of wounded people I have worked with over the last fifty-three years. Some were healed and some were not. Some became healers and some remained wounders. But all of them have contributed to my continued healing. I thank the Great Healer for their tracks left upon my life and ministry.

Gene Rollins

CONTENTS

Origin of the Book

My Theology of Life

Chapter 1     A Brief History of Woundedness

Chapter 2     A Prophecy of the Wounded

Chapter 3     All of Us Are Wounded

Chapter 4     JACOB: Wounded by God

Chapter 5     JOB: Wounded by Evil

Chapter 6     CAIN: Wounded by Rejection

Chapter 7     SAUL: Wounded by Jealousy

Chapter 8     SAMSON: Wounded by Love

Chapter 9     DAVID: Wounded by Infidelity

Chapter 10   TAMAR: Wounded by Sexual Abuse

Chapter 11   A WOMAN: Wounded by Sickness

Chapter 12   JUDAS: Wounded by Disappointment

Chapter 13   ZACCHAEUS: Wounded by Greed & Healed

Chapter 14   DIVES: Wounded by Greed and Not Healed

Chapter 15   LAZARUS: Wounded by Poverty

Chapter 16   PAUL: A Wounded Healer

Chapter 17   JESUS: Our Wounded Healer

Chapter 18   CONCLUSION: When Life Tumbles In, What Then?

Appendix

Selected Bibliography for Future Reading

ORIGIN OF THE BOOK

This book was first prepared as sermons and was delivered at lakeside worship on Wateree Lake in Kershaw County, South Carolina. Liberty Hill Presbyterian Church (PCUSA) began this outreach in July of 1977. I was pastor of the church from May 1984 until January 1, 2012.

Preaching is a verbal art not a written art. In the history of preaching, sermons were prepared orally to be delivered orally. The most frequent criticism I hear about preachers is that he reads his sermons. These sermons were delivered orally, taped and then transcribed into written form. The sermon outline is the only written thing I carry to the pulpit other than my Bible. Transcribing the oral word into the written word is difficult. Many thanks to Mrs. Sylvia Hudson who did the transcribing. It is fully to her credit that these spoken sermons now appear in print.

The outline, or what I call the Sermon Syllabus, is fully explained in my book, Grace Is Not a Blue-Eyed Blond, chapter 2, pages 3-8. I put a copy of the Sermon Syllabus in the church bulletin each worship so the people can track where I am going and also help them remember the message. I include it in the printed sermons with the same hope that it will help you in following my thoughts.

All major religions have a path from woundedness to healing. My path is the Jesus path. Jesus said to Peter: Peter, you must be ground like wheat, and once you have recovered, then you can turn and help the brothers. (Luke 22:31-32)

Gene Rollins

MY THEOLOGY OF LIFE

There are three types of people in the world; sheep, wolves and shepherds. We are all born sheep. As sheep we are all wounded in some form and to some degree. If our wounds are left unattended we become victims of life. If our wounds are agitated and left unhealed and unredeemed we become wolves. If our wounds are acknowledged, healed and redeemed we become shepherds.

Wounded Healers or Wounded Wounders? It is our choice!

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WHAT HAPPENS TO US IS NOT THAT IMPORTANT.

IT IS WHAT HAPPENS TO WHAT HAPPENS

TO US THAT IS IMPORTANT.

Carl Jung’s archetype of the wounded healer originated with the Greek myth of Chiron who was physically wounded, and by way of overcoming the pain of his own wounds Chiron became the compassionate teacher of healing. But the greatest wounded healer the world has ever known is Jesus the Christ who heals humanity’s wounds of sin through his death on the cross. He was wounded for our transgressions….and with his stripes we are healed. (Isaiah 53:5)

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CHAPTER 1

A BRIEF HISTORY OF WOUNDEDNESS

"We need not be overcome

by our wounds.

We need not perpetuate our own

wounds onto others through brutality -

verbal abuse or physical abuse.

There is healing."

The Word of the Lord

1 Peter 4:12-19

12 Dear friends, do not be surprised at the painful trial you’re suffering as though something strange were happening to you. 13 But rejoice that you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed. 14 If you are insulted because of the name of Christ, you are blessed, for the spirit of glory and of God rests on you. 15 If you suffer, it should not be as a murderer or a thief or any other kind of criminal, or even as a meddler. 16 However, if you suffer as a Christian, do not be ashamed, but praise God that you bear that name. 17 For it is time for judgment to begin with the family of God; and if it begins with us, what will the outcome be for those who do not obey the gospel of God? 18 And, if it is hard for the righteous to be saved, what will become of the ungodly and the sinner?

19 So then, those who suffer according to God’s will should commit themselves to their faithful Creator and continue to do good.

I Peter 5:6-11

6 Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s Mighty hand, that he might lift you up in due time. 7 Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you. 8 Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. 9 Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings. 10 And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast. 11 To him be the power forever and ever. Amen.

Introduction

Almost all of my adult life I have worked with the wounded: 49 years in the ministry through the church, 12 years with the South Carolina Department of Mental Health, 9 years with a general hospital, 15 years with the South Carolina Department of Corrections, and 35 years in a private psychotherapy practice. And the question that is constantly with me and has been with me over these many years is, How and why do some who are wounded find healing in their wounds and become healers out of their wounds to other persons? And then, Why and how is it that others in and out of their wounds do not experience healing and they go on to become wounderers of other people out of their own wounds? These are constant questions.

The research shows that those who abused children, higher than 79% were abused as children.¹ The research shows that the priests who sexually abused their altar boys were sexually abused as altar boys themselves. So, how is it that we come to embrace our wounds in such a way that we find enough healing that we use our wounded experiences to become Healers to other people and not perpetuate our wounds on to other people?

The concept of woundedness and healing has a long history. It was the psychiatrist Carl Jung who took the Greek myth of Chiron and made it popular. In that mythological story, Kronos, who was a god becomes a horse and rapes this mortal woman who bears a son, Chiron, who is half horse and half human - a Centaur. He is immediately abandoned by his mother at birth and lives a life of woundedness and at one point is shot in the knee by a poison arrow dipped in Hydro’s blood. And out of those immense pains and sufferings, Chiron becomes a healer himself and a teacher of healers. He is filled with compassion and out of that compassion has the ability to reach out to others.²

The Shaman predates the physicians, the priests, and the medicine man. The Shaman embraces all three. The Shaman was the original spiritual guide, leader and the original medicine man, doctor, in the culture. The thread that goes all the way through Shamanism crosses cultures throughout the planet in time and space. The shaman is always deeply, deeply wounded - even to death and resurrection in some societies. And it is knowing the hurt, the pain, the suffering, knowing those wounds and owning those wounds and recognizing healing comes in the context of those wounds, therefore the Shaman becomes a healer. In many cultures I have read the common title for the Shaman was Healer Madman, often considered to be crazy. ³

I. The Buddhist Tradition

The history of woundedness is almost as old as our society, the gathering of humankind itself. So, therefore, it is not surprising to me that the five major religions have within them characteristically that sense of woundedness and the sense of the potential of being healed. Take for example the Buddhist position. The original Buddha, Siddhartha, was a prince and had lived all of his life inside a palace and inside the walls. He lived all of his life in the context of luxury and all kinds of excesses. As a young man, Siddhartha left the confines of the palace to seek what was outside there in the world. Immediately he was exposed to suffering as he left the tranquility and serenity of the palace. He was thrown headlong into sickness. He was thrown headlong into the awareness of death and aging. And the first premise of Buddhist theology and understanding is, suffering exists. So it became Siddhartha’s lifelong mission to come to understand suffering and not be consumed by suffering but allow that suffering to enlighten.⁴

II. The Jewish Tradition

The Jewish culture - our Christian Foundation - is literally filled with story after story of Israel and individuals within it. Israel undergoes immense suffering only to discover, out of suffering and enlightenment was healing. I could give you all kinds of examples and will give you quite a few this summer.

The Joseph story - rejected by his siblings, sold into slavery, placed into jail – he had nothing of his own. He was unjustly treated - wounded, but then out of his wounds became the Pharaoh’s favorite son and becomes a healer to his own people.

Jeremiah, that major prophet who was called the weeping prophet, who preached so compassionately, says these words in the 10th chapter of Jeremiah. They are so profound: Woe to me because of my injury. My wound is incurable. Yet, I said to myself this is my sickness and I must endure it. (Jeremiah 10:19) ⁵

III. The Hindu Tradition

Over and over through the Jewish literature we see suffering and then healing, although not with all of them. We’ll look at some of those cases later - Buddhists background, Jewish background. We often don’t think about the Hindu tradition. But as Judaism gave rise to Christianity, Hinduism gave rise to Buddhism. Here is a classic statement in Hindu theology: "Your glory lies where you cease to exist. Your glory is found in the context of you (and they’re talking about big ego) ceasing to exist." A powerful, powerful statement. It is woven all through the Hindu understanding of faith, God, and humankind.⁶

IV. The Muslim Tradition

When we think of the Muslim tradition we are so caught up in one word, and that is Jihad. We so misuse that word. Some of their fundamentalists misuse it and so have we. In the original word Jihad it means to struggle within oneself with that call to be submitted to the will of God and to our own ego, the self-centered I within all of us. The original meaning of the word Jihad was that struggle which takes place inside. It’s become so common now that in their tradition they have two words. Jahar, the greater Jihad, which is that struggle within us and the Lesser Jihad which is that struggle with culture. I will give you a quote from their context out of the Quran. A powerful statement. Die before death and resurrect now. Think of that. Die now to that big selfish ego within you. Die now in the context of your bloodiness and woundedness and resurrect into something new, changed and different.⁷

V. The Christian Tradition

All of the religious traditions have within them this concept of being wounded and the potential out of that woundedness to find healing and then to go on to be a healer to others. But there’s no more beautiful example, tragic though it is, than in our own story. Jesus, the God-man. God loving us so much that God became one of us, in the Christ and lived among us as a sinless teacher of morals, ethics, and psychology for living. And in the context of that kind of life, was mortally wounded on Calvary’s tree. And the prophecy was fulfilled that our transgressions were placed upon him. Him who heals our sin. Him who heals our bruises. No greater model than Jesus the Christ, the wounded healer, who heals us in grace that we might embrace our healing, embrace our wounds and go on to be healers ourselves.

That question, Why do some become healers and why do some become wounded wounders? We will address that question throughout the book.

*  *  *

Today, I’m not preaching the 11 o’clock worship because as soon as I leave here, I’m heading to Edgefield, South Carolina, two and a half hours away. This is part of that story. A Black man 18 years of age picks up a pistol with two cousins and robs a store. Eddie Woods is given 7 years for armed robbery. Seven years in the South Carolina State Penitentiary. At the end of those seven years he finds the healer of his wounds, Jesus the Christ. He comes out only to find unemployment, rejection, alienation, almost to the point of picking up another gun several times. But then he begins to deal with a call to preach. He struggles for many years then comes to me in the Clinical Pastoral Education program at Kershaw prison. Three years he was with me and in those three years dramatic healing took place. He wrote a little book, Turning Points. Many of you have met him as he gave his testimony here. Today at 2 o’clock in Edgefield at Trinity Community Church, a dead AME congregation that Eddie has brought back to life as a community church, I’ll be preaching his installation service. And probably while you are enjoying your dinner I’ll still be enjoying their worship service. Eddie is part of and is an extension of you, who financially contributed to his life of healing as he is a healer to many others.

Because of my credentials, I have to have 40 hours a year of continuing education. About 3 years ago I selected a class in Charleston on woundedness. I’d never heard of Douglas C. Smith who was the workshop leader but I liked the title, so