The Wounded Healer

By J M Nouwen
Doubleday Image Book Pub.1990
An appraisal by Dr. Prudent Injeeli
*With my own views and response to the work
Introduction:
The Wounded Healer by J M Nouwen in a way is a manual of self-discovery for the
ministers and clergy who struggle to cope up with the challenges of modern social milieu which
has shattered the traditional modes, attitudes and philosophies of ministry in a world that is
constantly undergoing exceptional makeover of the social, cultural and political norms of the
society at large. The impact of all these modern conflicting worldviews in an age of the so called
free world and free thinking is so strong that even a most devout and principled individual at times
is likely to feel that all he has been so far believing and cherishing is nothing but vanity and in this
realization may lose the direction of his life along with all that he had been holding fast so dearly.
The writer very emphatically asserts that the minister in the present age of moral commotion and
confusion needs to first recognize the sufferings of his time in his own heart and then make that
recognition the starting point of his service. The author goes on to say that, the minister can make
his own wounds available as a source of healing. This leads one to understand the value and worth
of the consciousness of ones own scars that can become a source of comfort and soothing to an
anguished soul.

I. Ministry in a Dislocated World

The writer decries the state of the modern youth who is all too disillusioned about everything
around him as he has lost the spiritual and moral compass of a noble life. He illustrates this through
the example of Peter, an individual who from being a devout seminarian suddenly takes a U turn
and shifts his life to a secular version of life. The writer calls Peter a Nuclear Man and describes
this so called Nuclear Man as a thoroughly disillusioned man with regard to his present and
future. As a matter of fact, Nouwen says that this nuclear mans problem is not what the future
holds but that he does not believe in any future at all. The writer further elaborates the point by
saying that since this nuclear man sees himself as a passive victim of the modern technological
age, he falters at every step, making life a long row of randomly chained incidents and accidents.
Referring to Robert Jay Lifton the writer describes the so called nuclear man by stating four
main characteristics or factors of his distraught nature.
1) Historical dislocation: The writer says that in this age of advanced and supers sophisticated
technology, the nuclear man sees no sense and motivation in continuing to live in his progenies
and consequently sees no wisdom in building a reasonable career.
2) Fragmented Ideology: Peter, our nuclear man lives in an age of fast changing value system
where he questions the importance of just living with one perspective and believing in a truth that
should be accepted as universal and all-inclusive. He does not regard the opposing views as a threat
but is tolerant to every new and contradictory concept.
3) A Search for New Immortality: To the writer, Peter symbolizes a generation that has lost its
direction or a definitive course in life and is suffering from an apathy that the writer very aptly
describes as his spiritual and psychological paralysis. In this state of muddled views Peter, our
epitome of the nuclear man is seen as searching new ways of immortality.
II. Nuclear Mans Way to Liberation
Nouwen says that the two ways in which the nuclear man tries to seek his liberation are: (1) the
mystical way and (2) the revolutionary way.
1) The Mystical Way: The writer says that the modern man, that is, our nuclear man explores
various ways and means to find a way to reach a moment, a point or a center in which the
distinction between life and death can be transcended. However, according to the author, the
ultimate reality that the nuclear man finally has to realize the value of a personal devotion that will
help him out of the complex and artificial mazes of the so called mysticism and that he must seek
insight through prayer not as show of pious decoration but as the very breadth of human
existence.
2) The Revolutionary Way: The nuclear man, says the writer is striving not to be a better man
but a new man, and in this quest he seeks for a new world and not for a better world.
3) The Christian Way: Nouwen says that in Jesus we see the revolutionary and the mystic who
represents the source from where we as human beings can derive our inspiration to first become a
better human being and then seek to make the world a better place.

II. Ministry For A Rootless Generation

Looking into the Fugitives Eye:
The Men and Women of Tomorrow:
Nouwen points out that the Christian leadership of tomorrow will be of three characteristics, viz.
(1) the inward generation (2) the fatherless generation and the (3) convulsive generation.
First, the Inward Generation seeks answers to all questions and problems by constant reflection
and penetrating deeper and deeper into the core of ones own individuality.
Second, the Fatherless Generation seeks guidance from peers and other references and sources
than their fathers. Thus, friends, peers and society in general become the standard and point of
reference for them and fathers, therefore are no more the authority
Third, the Convulsive Generation that is not sure what really ails them and is trapped in the net of
ambivalence and erratic behavior and moods. They are unhappy with the world but at the same
time are not convinced how to fix it.

II. Tomorrows Leaders

Nouwen gives three possible projections of the character of the Christian minister of the future.

1) The minister as the articulator of the inner events

First, the writer points out that men and women entering the ministry are mostly unprepared. They
fail at articulating their own inner experience to others as a source of clarification.
Moreover they need to help others recognize the work of God in themselves
The minister must be able to bring out what others had thus far feared to express or speak out. He
must help them give voice to their fears, apprehensions, doubts the vague and suppressed
feelings. They must be able to say, Yes , yes you say who we are, you recognize our condition
pg.39
In other words, they should be able to identify themselves in the person of the minister and vis-a-
vis. This sounds like Aristotles view of the Tragic Hero in who every spectator or the reader
sees himself and is able to relate his own misery. Thus, this very fact gives the reader a deep sense
of peace and comfort as he feels he is not a lone sufferer.
Moreover, the Christian leader must help them discover themselves and bring them to the land of
hope from the land of fears and confusion. He must lead them to seek a niche of comfort in the
Word of God. But before he can accomplish this he must be brave and bold enough to be able to
explore the new territory in himself and to articulate his discoveries to the Inward Generation.
Pg. 40

2) Compassion:
Elaborating the concept of compassion the writer further says that a Christion leader must be
able to recognize the evil and the good in himself before he sees it in others. That is, he must be
able identify the vices in himself first before he discovers in others. Likewise, he must
acknowledge that the capacity to do good he possesses is also found in the others. MOREOVER,
THE CHRISTIAN MINISTER MUST UNDERSTAND THAT ONE CAN ONLY FORGIVE
OTHERS WHEN ONE RECOGNIZES THE SAME WEAKNESS IN ONES OWN SELF. Most
importantly, to be able to treat every human being as his neighbor should be the cherished goal
for every Christian minister. The task of the Christian leader should be to bring out the best in a
man and to lead him forward to a more humane community.

3) The Minister as a Contemplative Man

The minister as a contemplative man is someone who has first discovered in himself the voice of
the Spirit and now is in the position where he can guide the erratic and misguided energies of an
impulsive and directionless youth into creative channels.
The minister of tomorrow is someone who by his prayerful life and devotion can convert and
transform the passive, convulsive, confused, directionless and disillusioned generation to a new
realization of their faculties and potentials that have been left dormant and decaying, into vigorous
and dynamic virtues.
Nouwen sums up this section by saying that a Christian minister must be a man of prayer who
through his prayer and contemplation can convert the convulsiveness and negative tendencies of
an agitated and disturbed generation into a fine creative work for the new world to come.

Chapter III Ministry to a Hopeless Man

In chapter III of the book, the author paints a very touching and moving episode in the form of a
dialogue that takes place between a relatively young minister named John and a patient in the
hospital whose leg is soon to be operated for a malfunction of arteries that are hindering the proper
flow of blood in his leg. On the surface the condition of the patient, Mr. Harrison, does not seem
to be life threatening but because of some related medical complications, the doctors delay the
operation on his leg. The patient who is 48 years old seems to be a very lonely man who has lost
meaning of life and is neither motivated to live on nor feels he is ready to die. Mr. Harrison works
at a tobacco farm where life is nothing more than a dull and dragging drudgery. Moreover, there
is really no one waiting for his recovery and return. He is aware of the fact that on becoming well
he will go back to his usual routine and continue to be a nobody. Mr. Harrisons plight reminds
us of Charles Dickenss novel, A Tale of Two Cities in which he describes a character by the
name Sydney Carton who has a similar pattern of life though he is an established lawyer and a
man of good standing in the society. Carton says of himself, I love nobody and nobody loves
me. So is the case with Mr. Harrison.
The young and relatively novice chaplain speaks to Mr. Harrison in the way he has been trained
to do in his chaplaincy and theology training. Following the strict non-directive approach of
counseling and sticking to the rulebook he holds a brief dialogue with the patient in which he
exchanges the formal phrases of comfort that do not make any specific inroads into the hollow
and lonely soul of the patient. John leaves the patient, saying, Well, Mr. Harrison, I hope things
go well for you tomorrow. The patient thanks the young chaplain and the latter departs after
making the customary remarks, Ill be seeing you, Good-by.
Apparently there seems to be nothing wrong with the conversation between the patient and the
young chaplain. However, when we take a closer look at the wording of the conversation we notice
one word missing in the last sentence spoken by the Chaplin, though we do not blame him for
missing out the vital word. The word that I feel was left out was tomorrow. Where John, the
young chaplain leaves the patient after wishing him well and saying, Ill be seeing you I
strongly feel that the word tomorrow should have been added at the end of the sentence. (though
I would not hold John guilty of this) The reason for this, I feel is that for Mr. Harrison there was
really no tomorrow, as there was no one waiting for him out there to welcome him back and to
celebrate his recovery and moreover, there was nothing exciting in his life or in his tomorrow. He
needed someone to reassure him, that there is someone out there who will be his tomorrow. He
was in a desperate need of belongingness and being needed The writer makes a very keen but
stunning observation about the patient when he says, Mr. Harrison feared death in the most
existential way. But did he desire to live? Unfortunately, this is the lot of so many in the present
age and this is where the minister has to step in to clear the cobwebs of hopelessness and
disillusionment that many are entangled in. Thus, the calling of a chaplain is a high and noble
calling for he/she indeed has a prodigious and noble task to handle.

Analysis of the Conversation:

The author points out the plight of the modern man is that he is too afraid to die and so much less
motivated to live on. Both phenomena are loaded with fear for him. What Mr. Harrison needed
was a desperate (though muted) cry for a human response from a brother than a chaplain Just
doing his duty.
So many times we come across people like Harrison who are in a similar desperate situation, not
necessarily in a medical condition but psychologically or spiritually or even financially who are in
a dire need and all they hear from their so called comforters (as Jobs friends) is that we will pray
for you whereas, the person in the desperate situation needs is something more than that, which
is the answer to the prayer. So, instead of giving the cold comfort of, we will pray for you how
important it is to be the answer to his prayer. What I feel after reading the conversation between
John, the young Chaplain and Harrison, the patient is that what Harrison needed is someone to be
his tomorrow. Someone he was sure would be waiting out there for him.
The writer makes the same point by saying that no one can offer the real comfort to a distressed
soul without making his presence known and felt for him. The author quite rightfully states that
thousands of people commit suicide because there is no one left waiting for them, they are
convinced that they are no more needed by anyone.
What was missing in Johns words was a warmth of a personal concern. Something that makes
a person cry with those who cry and laugh with those who laugh. Only this attitude of a personal
concern can turn into a hope for an ailing soul. Thus a Christian leader or minister must be a
man of hope. John, our model chaplain failed to be that man of hope who was much needed
by our model patient, Mr. Harrison. Our ultimate model of hope and faith, LORD JESUS
VENTURED INTO DEATH WITH FAITH AND HOPE AND HE PERSEVERED AND
CONQUERED THE MOST FORMIDABLE ENEMY DEATH.
William Carey (17 August 1761 9 June 1834) a British Christian missionary, who struggled 25
years in India to win his first convert for Jesus, knew the difficulties and challenges he was about
to encounter in his monumental and dangerous task, but he said, I will venture low and indeed
he ventured low into the slums of the poorest of the poor for 41 long years. Mother Teresa of
Calcutta (India) is another brilliant example the ideal Christian service which requires a Christian
minister to TAKE THE WAY IN ORDER TO MAKE THE WAY OUT

Chapter IV: Ministry By A Lonely Minister

Next in chapter IV the author describes the role of the wounded minister as the wounded healer
or the healing minister In this context, one cannot fail to quote the scripture verse By his wounds
we are healed Isaiah 53: 5
The writer points out the core reason for the loneliness and frustration of the modern man,
particularly of the so called western developed world. Nouwen says that it is the growing relentless
wave of competition and rivalry which has shattered the peace and tranquility both of the
individual and the society as a whole. As a result a profound gloom of loneliness and isolation has
pervaded the very psychology of man. To escape this phenomena the modern man seeks a way out
seeking assistance from the psychotherapies, yoga meditations and even the professional huggers
and so on.
To a Christian however, this loneliness must be termed as an emptiness and where there is an
emptiness, something must be filled. A non-Christian fills it with all sorts of worldly
commodities entertainment and the so called therapies and the huggers; the Christian fills the
void with hope and faith, not only for ones own self but for others who suffer from the same
emptiness. Many couples go into marriage with the hidden hope of filling in the emptiness with
the other partner but the bond shatters into pieces when that hope is not materialized into a reality
and the great expectations are not met rather they fizzle out and fly out of the window as soon
as the reality check knocks at the door.
The writer further describes the modern minister as a lonely man who is only sought for when
there is an extreme catastrophic situation. Otherwise, he is seen as someone obstructing the
operation or standing in the way. In other words, he is someone not needed when the weather
is fine.
How Can My Wounds Heal Others?
This question indeed is the crux of the whole discourse. The writer very exquisitely and
elaborately answers the question by saying:
Making ones own wounds a source of healing does not call or sharing of superficial personal
pains but from a constant willingness to see ones own pain and suffering as rising from the depth
of the human condition which all men share.
Nouwen tries to seek the answer to the apparent paradox by opting to go for developing a strong
passion for hospitality not necessarily in the traditional sense or the meaning of the word but being
open to receive our disgruntled -with life- visitors with openness of the heart and willingness
of the spirit.
This concept of hospitality is further delineated by the author as community, a Christian
community that arises from mutual confessions and sharing weaknesses becomes a reminder to
one and all of the needed strength for the challenges of life. Nouwen puts is very beautifully by
saying, Community arises where the sharing of pain takes place, not as a stifling form of self-
complaint, but as a recognition of Gods saving promises Furthermore, Ministry, the writer says,
is a sign of hope. Above all, by sharing our suffering we can move forward with the conviction
that the full liberation is yet to come.
In one sentence the gist of the whole book may be summed up as, I can understand your condition
because I have gone through the same painful experience myself In word it may be termed as
EMPATHY
My Final Comments:
This has been one of the best books that I have read. The theme itself is of such a striking nature
that it captivates every eye that is in the field of ministry, a field that in the present times is nothing
as it once was. Whereas, the challenges of ministry in the days of yore were more of logistic nature
those of today are more of institutional red-tapism, socio-political and cultural nature. Thus, the
work of a chaplain or a minister has become more complex and tough. The minister now has to
walk a thin rope maneuvering his balance in a culture of multi-faith plurality and a host of
contradictory world views. With all the advanced and high-tech progress, man has plummeted very
low as far as his own spiritual and psychological strengths are concerned. A big city indeed has
become a big solitude. And the so called concept of global village has indeed fallen flat on its face
as there are more distances now between people than ever before. We send emails and SMSs to
the person sitting in the next cubicle instead of talking to him/her. Technology has brought the
person sitting thousands of mile away close to us and yet has alienated and isolated the one sitting
next to us.
The author takes up a very unique and distinctive approach to handle this uphill task. He makes a
strong point suggesting that the only way to reach the distressed souls around us is to share with
them our own wounds to build the bridge of compassion and empathy. Our common wounds can
help us understand each other better and this must be the very stating point of our ministry.