The theme for our most recent district teachers’ conference, held in August, was how to deal with trauma in the classroom. This could be a very broad topic, but I think we all know what trauma is like. Trauma is any painful emotional experience, or shock, often producing a lasting effect. This is true whether the trauma is self-inflicted or a byproduct of someone else’s actions.
I looked up the word trauma to see if it is used anywhere in the Bible. I was not surprised to discover Scan here to visit our website! that it is not used in any passage of Holy Writ. That does not mean there is no trauma in the Scriptures. When Jerusalem was ransacked and destroyed by the Babylonians, that was trauma for the nation of Judah. It had lasting effect with the fact the survivors were carried off into exile lasting over 400 years.
Mary and Martha suffered trauma when the only brother, the income provider, died and was laid to rest in a grave. Deep trauma struck Mary and the disciples when Jesus was arrested, held on trial, convicted and sentenced to death on the cross. They had so thought He to be the one who would deliver them from Roman rule and oppression.
How did they deal with that trauma? How did Jesus deal with the trauma foisted upon Him? We shall only find the answer to those questions by looking where St. Paul points us. He points us to the cross of Jesus Christ. All trauma is answered on the hill called Golgotha. “How?” might you ask. Trauma is survivable because of the trauma Jesus suffered. During His endurance of horrible injustice, Jesus called out, “Father, forgive them for they know not what they do.” “Forgive them” is directed at all who suffer the effects of trauma, whether self-inflicted or foisted upon by others.
The cross doesn’t take away the emotional pain immediately. It doesn’t relieve the consequences of whatever caused the trauma. The cross delivers us from the consequences of trauma such that the wages of sin (cause of trauma) have been gathered into the arms of Jesus and driven into the pits of hell. While the sins of mankind have been chained to perdition, the members of the Christian Church have not. By grace and grace alone, Jesus has paid the price for all that causes trauma. Its effects cannot hold on to us. Trauma does not determine who we are nor what we are. The blood of Christ splashed upon us in holy baptism has made us children of God and members of His Holy Kingdom.
The promise of Christ never to leave us nor abandon us is the lasting effect. That will not be taken away, nor can anyone snatch you out of the Father’s hands. Forgiveness is the red letter of the Day when it comes to trauma, forgiveness from God the Father through Jesus Christ God’s Son, forgiveness from us to one another is the healing balm of all relationships. Forgiveness may not repair broken situations to what they once were, but it does seal our relationship with Christ Jesus now and for eternity. Trauma comes and goes, the love of God in Christ Jesus always remains. – Pastor Saunders