Isaiah 53:4-5
Surely he has borne our infirmities
and carried our diseases;
yet we accounted him stricken,
struck down by God, and afflicted.
5 But he was wounded for our transgressions,
crushed for our iniquities;
upon him was the punishment that made us whole,
and by his bruises we are healed.
This passage of scripture is a portion of what is often called the "Suffering servant" reading. We often hear it during Lent and Holy Week. It has been used to describe Jesus and the sacrifice that he made for us on the cross.
Today, we most often view sacrifice as something that we give up for the sake of a person or a purpose.
The Latin origins of the word "sacrifice" means to make sacred and holy. Frederick Buechner writes "to sacrifice something is to make it holy by giving it away for love" (Beyond Words, pg. 352)
I haven't often thought of sacrifice as holy.
Think about how that understanding enriches the sacrifice of Jesus - it is more than his dying for our sakes. It is about the divine love that shines forth even in the midst of death and violence. Even as the sky darkened, earthquakes shattered the earth and the temple curtain was torn - the light of Christ's sacrifice overcame all that violence with the sacred-ness of his relationship with all his beloved people.
When we hear the word "sacrifice" may we always pair it with sacred, holy and love!
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