One of the things my wife enjoys is gathering photos and creating photo books using programs like Snapfish, Momento and Blurb. She has a real eye for layouts that capture moments and special events.
One of her projects involved making photo books for each of our three kids. She scanned hundreds of photos, sorted them into files, and began creating a book for each child. A key part of this process for her was regularly updating me by showing me what she had assembled. This gave us an opportunity to pore over the photos and reminisce about special moments like family holidays, birthdays and Christmas. These pictorial chronicles help us appreciate the significant moments we have shared as a family and ensure these memories are not lost over time.
Recently, I came across a passage from Isaiah in the Old Testament. As I read it, even though it was closer to Christmas than Easter, it reminded me of the privilege of being a follower of Jesus and a forgiven child of God:
"Who has believed our message and to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed? He grew up before him like a tender shoot, and like a root out of dry ground. He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him. He was despised and rejected by mankind, a man of suffering, and familiar with pain. Like one from whom people hide their faces he was despised, and we held him in low esteem. Surely he took up our pain and bore our suffering, yet we considered him punished by God, stricken by him, and afflicted.
But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed. We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; he was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before its shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth.
By oppression and judgment he was taken away. Yet who of his generation protested? For he was cut off from the land of the living; for the transgression of my people he was punished. He was assigned a grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death, though he had done no violence, nor was any deceit in his mouth. Yet it was the LORD’s will to crush him and cause him to suffer, and though the LORD makes his life an offering for sin, he will see his offspring and prolong his days, and the will of the LORD will prosper in his hand. After he has suffered, he will see the light of life and be satisfied; by his knowledge my righteous servant will justify many, and he will bear their iniquities.”
Isaiah 53:1-11 (NIV)
Around the world, churches of all denominations read these prophetic verses from Isaiah in the lead-up to Easter. In the Hebrew text, emphasis is placed equally on the pronouns he/his and our. This clearly highlights the idea of substitution: He for us, His for ours, the one for the many. Terms like took up and carried in verse four derive from Israel's sacrificial system. In Leviticus 16, for example, the scapegoat carried the sins of the people to the wilderness to die.
Today, many find such sacrificial language distasteful or unnecessary, which reveals how superficially we understand sin. For those of us who follow Jesus, the cost of atoning for sin reminds us of the dire consequences of rebellion and disobedience. Our sins – our iniquities – are borne by God’s Servant, the Messiah. Jesus took our place, bearing the punishment that brings us peace.
As Christmas decorations begin to appear, remembering the birth of Jesus, let us also reflect on the cross. Let us stand in awe of two wonders: the wonder of our sinfulness and the wonder of His forgiveness. As we celebrate the birth of our Saviour, may we hold in our hearts gratitude for Jesus’ sacrifice every day.
In our daily prayers, let us ask our Heavenly Father to keep the truth of the cross close to us – not just at Christmas and Easter but always. In doing so, we echo the apostle Paul’s sentiment: that we desire to know nothing except Jesus and Him crucified.
May this truth shape us as individuals and as a community. We are a blessed people, forgiven through Jesus, and this is why Christmas is such a special time.