First Reading: Isaiah 49: 3, 5 – 6
Second Reading: 1 Corinthians 1: 1 – 3
Gospel: John 1: 29 – 34.
“THE LAMB OF GOD”
The central theme of today’s readings is a challenge to live like the Lamb of God and to die like the Lamb of God.
In both the first and second readings God calls individuals to His service.
The Gospel passage presents three themes, namely, John the Baptist’s witness to Jesus, Jesus’ revelation (epiphany) and identification as the “Lamb of God,” and the call to discipleship. Those who are called gradually accept the identity of the One who calls them. Like John the Evangelist, we may choose to accept today’s Gospel as a personal and corporate call to become witnesses to the Lamb of God.
The Lamb of God: John the Baptist introduced Jesus to the Jews as the “Lamb of God” on the second day (Jn 1:29). He repeats it on the third day. “Lamb of God” is the most meaningful title given to Jesus in the Bible. It is used 29 times in the book of Revelation. It sums up the love, the sacrifice, and the triumph of Christ. John’s introduction probably brought five pictures of the “lamb” to the minds of his Jewish listeners.
The Lamb of Atonement (Lv 16:20-22). A lamb was brought to the Temple on the Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur). Placing his hands over its head, the high priest transferred all the sins of his people onto the animal. It was then sent into the forest to be killed by some wild animal.
The Lamb of Daily Atonement One lamb was sacrificed on the “Black Altar” of the Temple every morning and another was sacrificed every evening to make a continuous sacrifice in order to atone for the sins of the Jews.
The Paschal Lamb (Ex. 12:11ss), the blood of which saved the first born of the Jewish families in Egypt from the Angel of destruction. This lamb reminded them also of the Paschal Lamb which they killed every year on the Passover Feast.
The Lamb of the Prophets which portrayed One who, by His sacrifice, would redeem His people: “The gentle lamb led to the slaughterhouse” (Jer 11:19), “like a lamb to the slaughter” (Is 53:7). Both refer to the sufferings and sacrifice of Christ.
The Lamb of the Conquerors. This was the picture of a horned lamb on the Jewish flag at the time of Maccabaean liberation war, used as a sign of conquering majesty and power. The great Jewish conquerors like Samuel, David, and Solomon were described by the ancient Jewish historians as “horned lambs.” Christ as Lamb of God is a title familiar to us. In the Eucharist, at “the breaking of the bread” we proclaim in word or song what the Baptist said. Our traditional fraction anthem is the Agnus Dei – “Lamb of God, who take away the sins of the world, have mercy on us/ grant us peace.” In this prayer we give expression to our deepest understanding of the identity and purpose of Jesus Christ as our Lamb and Lord. By His life of love and sacrifice, we believe and affirm that He is the One Who was to come, came, and continues to come, into a broken world to take our sins upon Himself.
1) We need to live and die like the Lamb of God. Live like a lamb i) leading pure, innocent, humble, selfless lives obeying the Christ’s commandment of love; ii) appreciating the loving providence and protecting care of the Good Shepherd in His Church; iii) eating the Body and drinking the Blood of the Good Shepherd; and iv) deriving spiritual strength from his Holy Spirit through the Sacraments and prayers. (B) Die like a sacrificial lamb by: i) sharing our blessings of health, wealth, time, and talents with others in the family, parish, and community; ii) bearing witness to Christ in our illness, pain and suffering; iii) offering our suffering for the salvation of souls and as reparation for our sins and those of others.
2) We need to rebuild broken lives. Like the missionary call of the servant in Isaiah (Is 49:1-3) and “those called to be saints” in St. Paul’s First Letter to the Church in Corinth (1Cor 1:2ff), we are informed that God’s call is trustworthy and true. Therefore, we can believe from the depth of our hearts that our God is faithful. Our faithful response to God is to rebuild broken lives, our own and others’, reconciling them with God’s love and justice through Christ Jesus our Lamb and Lord. Through Baptism into the Body of Christ, we are empowered and enabled by the Holy Spirit to help free and build up the oppressed. Through the love of the Lamb of God, we are called to better the lot and improve the broken spirit, of all who have been exiled from the possibility of hope and from God’s righteousness or who are burdened by the yoke of spiritual, social, economic, and political dislocation. In other words, through the life, death, and Resurrection of Jesus Christ, the glorified Lamb, we are called to empower the human spirit with a sense of identity and purpose.
3) We need to be witnesses to the Lamb of God. Today’s Gospel reminds us that being a disciple of Jesus means that we grow by Faith to become witnesses for Him. And bearing witness to Christ is an active, not passive, lifetime enterprise. One cannot be a disciple of Jesus at a distance any more than one can be a distant lover. To love Christ is to be drawn close to Him, to know Christ personally, to experience Him through the Bible, prayer, and the Sacraments, and to inspire others to want to know Jesus. To help Christ is to share the Good News about Him with others. Blessed are we when we bring to others the gifts of love, peace, justice, patience, and mercy, thus becoming witnesses for the Lamb of God, Jesus Christ our Lord.
4) We need to “Come and see”. The essence of our witness-bearing is, first, to state what we have seen and believed and then, to invite others to “come and see.” For Andrew and John, Faith begins by responding to Jesus’ invitation, “Come and see.” Three times Andrew brings someone to Jesus! First, he brings his brother, Simon (1:40), then, a boy with five barley loaves and two fish (6:8); and finally, “some Greeks” (12:20-22), who want to see Jesus, which signals the hour for the Son of Man to be glorified. We tell others about good restaurants, barbers, optometrists, etc. Why isn’t there the same fervour over inviting and encouraging people to come and participate in our Church activities? Often, we hesitate to do so because of the false notion that talking about religion is taboo in our culture, or that religion is a private matter and shouldn’t be shared with others, or that we don’t have much of a personal Faith to share, or that our worship services would not be appealing to others. One of the differences that Faith should make in our lives is the desire that others — especially those without a religious Faith — might also share in and benefit from the relationship God offers through Christ. If we are not willing to invite others into this experience, what does that say about our experiences with Christ and with our Church?