by Victoria Heinecke

Jesus’ death and resurrection have healed us.

You can listen to today’s devotion by clicking on this SoundCloud link.

“Surely he has borne our griefs
    and carried our sorrows;”
Isaiah 53:4a English Standard Version

Hawai’i is famous for its enormous waves and pipeline formations in the winter, but the summer waves are also strong and turbulent. Each wave churns up a mix of rocks, sticks and broken shells and tosses them up on the beach. A person walking barefoot along the shoreline knows not to walk on the detritus because it could cut the skin, and the pain would be exacerbated by the sand and salt.

As I walked on the sand and watched the waves wash my feet, I felt the swirling shards along my skin. They stung and sometimes they’d hurt. Then the wave would roll back to the ocean, taking all of nature’s shrapnel with it. The beach was momentarily pristine, covered with a smooth surface of finely textured sand.

This cycle repeats continuously, day and night, around the clock.

Last Friday, we remembered the suffering and death of Jesus. We remembered the blows, the whips, the crown of thorns that pierced his head. Each of those cuts and punches seemed as numerous as the broken shells on the Hawaiian sand. He was mocked, insulted, spit upon, and humiliated. What an incredible amount of pain for one man to bear!

When he was finished, he laid his head. He paid for our sins so we wouldn’t have to.

“But he was pierced for our transgressions;
    he was crushed for our iniquities;
upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace,”
Isaiah 53:5 English Standard Version

In three days, he rose, victorious over death! He’s alive!

By his death and resurrection, Jesus offers forgiveness and a new life to us. No matter how many reasons we give him not to love us…our sins are forgiven when we repent, and for a moment we can see ourselves as pristine as the freshly washed sand on the beach.

The waves never stop.

God never stops loving us, either.

Copyright Holy Cross Lutheran Church, Colorado Springs, Colorado