“But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.” (Isaiah 53:5). Chastise, Chasten, and Castigate all come from the same Latin word castigare. The etymology of this word is a little muddled, but one possible explanation is that castigare is composed of the roots castus - which means “pure” or “free from” and descends into our Modern English in the word Chaste - and agere - which means to drive or act upon or impel forward and forms the basis for our English words agent and act. Put in simpler terms, chastisement could be described as a drive toward purity or freedom. It is in the pursuit of this purity and freedom from anything that weakens, corrupts or darkens us that brings us the peace that we all seek. This drive to freedom is only possible because of our Savior Jesus Christ. The chastisement of our peace is upon Him. He is the foundation for our ability and our desire to free ourselves from everything that holds us back and holds us down and keeps us from experiencing Peace in this life. No matter how tightly around ourselves we have coiled the cords of iniquity, no matter how hardened our hearts have grown because of the foolish choices we’ve made and the senseless tragedies that have been heaped upon us, no matter how lost or rebellious or unrepentant we have allowed ourselves to become, even in the deepest pit on the blackest night, the light of Christ will spark within us. It will stir us to a remembrance of the peace that our Savior purchased for us with His own wounds, bruises, and precious blood. It will drive us to purity and freedom. I know that opening ourselves up to that chastisement can be scary and uncomfortable. The light of Christ does not bring pain into our lives, it merely reveals the pain that we are already experiencing and that we have become desensitized to or otherwise try to ignore. We have convinced ourselves that we would be unable to bear the full weight of our pain if we shined the full, uncompromising truth upon our situation and saw things as they really are. But Christ can show us that it is possible to bear the full weight of our pain and to press forward anyway. After all, He Himself has borne our transgressions. He will show us the way to forsake our sins, lay down our grievances, cast off the chains that bind us, shake off the dust and leave all of it behind and walk in the light of Peace and be healed.
