Volume 2 ● Issue 10 ● February 2012 Arequipa is a gorgeous city surrounded by three volcanoes (Chachani, Pichu Pichu and Misti) in the southern part of the Peruvian Andes. Also known as La Ciudad Blanca (“The White City”) because of the white volcanic stone used for the majority of the city’s arquitecture, Arequipa has recently become a must-see tourist destination. A couple of weeks ago I was able to enjoy this breathtaking city (literally…at 2,328 meters above sea level, we were sucking air!), while working on the short evangelistic film, Chitachay. On one unusually clear afternoon, the production team and I were able to hit the city’s cobble-stoned streets, which like the arquitecture of the buildings that surround them on either side, date back to Peru’s colonial period. We eventually stumbled upon the Museo Santuarios Andinos, which we soon realized wasn’t just any old museum. No, in fact, this museum was home to the famous Ice Princess, Juanita. Juanita is an ice mummy that was found on September 8, 1995 by arqueologist Sir Johan Reinhard. The remains of this 13 year-old girl indicate that she had been chosen as a sacrifice by the local Incan rulers in order to stop one of the surrounding volcanoes from erupting. The Incan Empire isn’t the only civilization that has practiced human sacrifice in an attempt to satisfy the wrath of their gods. Throughout the history of the world multiple cultures have attributed natural phenomena (landslides, tornadoes, earthquakes and droughts) to the discontent of gods, ancestors or forces of the spiritual realm. Learning of ancient civilizations that found it necessary to sacrifice their very own sons and daughters might evoke in us a sense of remorse. It hurts to imagine entire groups of people that could never be certain that their god was satisfied with their offering. The voluntary suffering and death of Jesus of Nazareth on the cross was far superior to the human sacrifices practiced by the Incan Empire in terms of both efficacy and scope. The human sacrifice that is central to our Christian faith was not carried out in order to put an end to an earthquake or to calm a storm. The sacrifice offered by Jesus (the Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world – John 1:29) was a one-time deal. God the Father raised Jesus (the sacrifice He Himself had provided) from the dead, showing that his sacrifice was good enough. Unlike that of the Ice Princess, the sacrifice of Jesus worked. As we read in Hebrews 10:10, And by that will, we have been made holy, through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ, once and for all. Not only did the blood shed by Jesus on the cross cover the sins of a single, remote people group in the Near East, it The Punishment that Brought us Peace Anthony DiLiberto El Cuy Times Mercy Outreach Specialist, Perú 1 800 433 3954 www.lcmsworldmission.org [email protected] The Misti volcano has erupted five times over the past century. Ariquipa’s Plaza de Armas (townsquare). But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crucified for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed. Isaiah 53:5