Jesus took the blame for all of us

I grew up in a very strict household and as the oldest of six children I sometimes thought I received more than my share of the punishment. I doubt my brothers and sisters would agree. My mother was the primary disciplinarian and she punished infractions immediately. She never threatened, "Just wait until your father gets home!" My mother had both high and low expectations of us. She expected us to behave but was not surprised when we didn't. She would not ask us who was responsible for some misdeed; she just expected we would all lie to her.

When I was eight my father quit the job he had held since discharge from the army, following World War II. He moved several states away to set up a business. Consequently, my mother tried to serve as mother and father, chief cook and bottle washer, home mechanic and financier.

One evening my mother discovered that one of the children had broken the bathroom sink by pulling out the lever-operated sink stopper. It was lying in the sink. Mom gathered the older children and demanded to know who was responsible. None of us confessed because we knew it would lead to a spanking. So, my mother lined us all up and promised we would all receive a spanking, whereupon my younger sister stepped forward and confessed the deed. She took the spanking for all of us. I knew it hurt. Later my brother confessed to me that he had been the culprit.

Rev. Rory M. Hermann Good Shepherd Lutheran Church

Jesus stepped forth and took the punishment for our sins upon himself. The innocent became guilty so that we would be pronounced innocent. Only Jesus suffered much worse than a spanking. He took our rejection, pain, humiliation and death so that we would not have to suffer them.