In the aftermath of a worldwide pandemic, and with images of war flashing across television screens, the world has plenty of despair to go around and not a lot of hope to spare. Life is pretty tough for many people, much of the time – and then eventually all humans die.

The heartfelt cry, “It’s finished!” could be taken in two different ways. It could be taken as a cry of defeat. It could reflect a life tragically cut short, and the admission that goals will never be reached.

One of the curious features of art – fine art – is the variety of responses it evokes in people. It is unquestionably the case that if all of us listening to this message went to the national gallery in Ottawa and stood before the same painting – we would have the full spectrum of responses to it – from awed admiration to barely-veiled disdain or even disgust.

When income tax was first introduced here in Canada in 1917, the new Income Tax Act ran just shy of 4000 words. It was a simple document outlining a simple law. Since then, the rules and regulations have ballooned to just over 1 million words.

How significant is the message of Jesus Christ? How far-reaching is the impact of his work? How wide and how deep is his salvation? Our answer to those questions will have a profound effect for each one of us on how we respond to Jesus – on what we make of him.