Behold the Lamb of God!
Introduction: Who is Jesus – for you? That is really a couple of
questions. We need to answer it by professing what we know of, or about, Jesus.
We could use some of the titles and phrases that are associated with Him in scriptures:
Son of Man, Son of God, the Christ, Lamb of God, Lord, Immanuel/Emmanuel, the One
Who Saves, the Way, the Truth, the Life, the Light of the World, the Good Shepherd,
Prince of Peace, King of kings, etc., Yet even after we mention some of His titles
and names, the more important questions is Who is Jesus for you? That implies a
relationship that you have with Him. When you think about Jesus, and more importantly,
when you pray (relate) to Him, how do you address Him and what images of Him do
you have?
The passage from Isaiah is part of the Suffering Servant
writings of Isaiah. Isaiah says that the Chosen One will come as a servant to
manifest God’s glory. This Messianic Servant will be called from the womb to
lead people back to God. The servant will be a light to all nations. Scripture
scholars debate whether Isaiah was speaking God’s Word about one person or the
nation of Israel collectively. Christian scholars, obviously, see the passages
referring to Jesus, the true Suffering Servant of God. St. Paul begins his
letter to the Corinthians with the typical salutation. He refers to himself as
an apostle called by God. He reminds the faithful in Corinth that they too have
been called to be a holy people. Once again John the Baptist plays a part in
today’s Gospel. He points to Jesus as the Lamb of God Who takes away the sin of
the world (a phrase that is taken from John and used in the Eucharistic
liturgy). John the Baptist once again speaks of the superiority of Jesus over
himself.
First Reading: Isaiah 49:3, 5-6: ‘I will make you as a
light for the nations, that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth.’
Commentary: The
first reading from Isaiah, written in the dark days of the Babylonian Exile,
introduces a Servant of the Lord, formed in the womb to be the Lord’s Servant
and to bring light both to Israel and to the nations. Is this an individual
whose mission is to bring Israel back to the Lord, or is it the nation of
Israel, destined to bring the gentile nations to the Lord? Despite the failure
to recognise the Messiah, the faithful of Israel still bear witness ‘to the
ends of the earth’ to God’s promises. It is remarkable that already at this
stage of revelation the universalist task given by God is seen to be to bring
the whole world within the orbit of the salvation promised to Israel.
Responsorial Psalm 40:2, 4ab. 7-8a. 8b-9. 10: Behold, I
have come, Lord, to do your will.
Psalm 40 celebrates a faith that listens, trusts, and
responds to God’s saving action. The psalmist proclaims that true worship is
not mere ritual sacrifice but a willing heart that delights in doing God’s will
and proclaims His justice openly. It is a song of gratitude that moves from
personal deliverance to public witness, calling believers to live obedience as
joyful testimony.
Second Reading: 1 Corinthians 1:1-3: ‘Grace to you and
peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.’
Commentary: Paul
greets the Corinthians as the ‘holy people of God’, but – like the pilgrim
Church today – they were far from uniformly holy. But they were chosen to
be holy, so by that same divine choice given a designation to be holy. Corinth
was a turbulent city. It had been sacked by the Romans for rebellion. But it
lay on the narrow neck of land between the Aegean and Adriatic Seas, and so was
a vital resource for shipping between eastern and western Mediterranean. After
a hundred years it was rebuilt, and a hundred years after that, when Paul was
writing, it was again a boom town, with two harbours, an international games
more famous than the Olympics and a large segment of Jewish population. Paul
spent eighteen months evangelizing the city before being driven out by the
Jews. However, he kept in close contact and wrote them several letters. It was
not an easy relationship: the Corinthians were arrogant and quarrelsome. Paul
does not hesitate to correct them. He calls them babies whom he can feed only
on milk, which could have upset the city elders among them!
Gospel: John 1:29-34: ‘Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes
away the sin of the world.’
Commentary: In
contrast to the other gospels, where the reader observes the disciples
discovering gradually who Jesus is, John gives us a week between the baptism
and the marriage-feast of Cana, during which Jesus is given increasingly
significant titles by those who meet him: Rabbi, the Messiah, Son of God, King
of Israel. Perhaps the most significant of all are those given by the Baptist
himself, Lamb of God and Chosen One of God. Lamb of God overarches the gospel,
for it comes again at the Crucifixion. According to John Jesus dies at the
moment the paschal lambs were being slaughtered in the Temple, and John alone
refers to Jesus the scriptural saying ‘Not one bone of his will be broken’
(John 19.36), originally part of the instructions for the sacrificing of the lamb
at the Festival of Passover (Exodus 12.46). In the Book of Revelation Jesus is
represented standing ‘as a Lamb that seemed to have been sacrificed’. It is
therefore an image both of his suffering and of his triumph. It links up with
the picture of Jesus as the Suffering Servant of the Lord who moves through
suffering and humiliation to vindication and to the triumph of God.
Reflection: John
calls Jesus the Lamb of God and thus signifies Jesus' mission as the One who
redeems us from our sins. The blood of the Passover Lamb (Exodus 12) delivered
the Israelites in Egypt from slavery and death. The Lord Jesus freely offered
up his life for us on the cross as the atoning sacrifice for our sins (1
Corinthians 5:7). The blood which he poured out for us on the cross cleanses,
heals, and frees us from our slavery to sin, and from the "wages of sin
which is death" (Romans 6:23) and the "destruction of both body and
soul in hell" (Matthew 10:28).
John points to Jesus' saving
mission - to offer up his life as the atoning sacrifice for our sins: It
is significant that John was the son of Zachariah, a priest of Israel who
participated in the daily sacrifice of a lamb in the temple for the sins of the
people (Exodus 29). John recognized that Jesus was the perfect unblemished lamb
offered by the Father in heaven as the one and only sacrifice that could cancel
the debt of sin, and free us from death and the destruction of body and soul in
hell.
The Holy Spirit reveals who
Jesus truly is - the Son of God and Savior of the world: When John
says he did not know Jesus (John 1:31,33) he was referring to the hidden
reality of Jesus' divinity. But the Holy Spirit in that hour revealed to John
Jesus' true nature, such that John bore witness that this is the Son of God.
How can we be certain that Jesus is truly the Christ, the Son of the living
God? The Holy Spirit makes the Lord Jesus Christ known to us through the gift
of faith. God gives us his Spirit as our helper and guide who opens our hearts
and minds to receive and comprehend the great mystery and plan of God - to
unite all things in his Son, our Lord Jesus Christ (Ephesians 1:10).
Do you want to grow in the knowledge and love of Jesus
Christ? Ask the Lord to pour his Holy Spirit upon you to deepen your faith,
hope, and love for God and for the plan he has for your life.
Lord Jesus Christ, fill me with the power of your Holy
Spirit and let me grow in the knowledge of your great love and truth. Let your
Spirit be aflame in my heart that I may know and love you more fervently and
strive to do your will in all things.
Daily Quote from the Early
Church Fathers: John points to
Jesus' saving mission, by Cyril of Alexandria (376-444 AD)
"No longer does John need to 'prepare the way,' since
the one for whom the preparation was being made is right there before his
eyes... But now he who of old was dimly pictured, the very Lamb, the spotless
Sacrifice, is led to the slaughter for all, that he might drive away the sin of
the world, that he might overturn the destroyer of the earth, that dying for
all he might annihilate death, that he might undo the curse that is upon us...
For one Lamb died for all (2 Corinthians 5:14), saving the whole flock on earth
to God the Father, one for all, that he might subject all to God."
(excerpt from the COMMENTARY ON THE GOSPEL OF JOHN 2.1)
title insurance: “Look! There is the Lamb of God Who takes away the sin of the world.” —John 1:29
The Holy Spirit inspired St. John to pack his Gospel with
titles of Jesus. Praying and praising Jesus by speaking His titles and
meditating upon them is insurance against taking Jesus for granted. It’s a
great way to deepen our relationship with Him.
Among other titles, John
refers to Jesus as:
the Word of God (Jn 1:1) and Word-Made-Man (Jn 1:14),
“Lamb of God” (Jn 1:29),
God’s “Chosen One” (Jn 1:34),
Rabbi, (and also Teacher) (Jn 1:38),
“the Messiah” (Jn 1:41),
Son of God and King of Israel (Jn 1:18, 49),
“the Son of Man” (Jn 1:51),
“the Bread of Life” (Jn 6:35, 48),
“Light of the World” (Jn 8:12),
“I AM” (Jn 8:28; see also Ex 3:14),
“Lord” (Jn 9:38),
“Good Shepherd” (Jn 10:11, 14),
“the Resurrection and the Life” (Jn 11:25),
“the Way, and the Truth, and the Life” (Jn 14:6),
“the Vine” (Jn 15:5),
“the King of the Jews” (Jn 19:19), and
“my Lord and my God!” (Jn 20:28)
There are many other Scriptural titles of Jesus. These
titles combat deception and encourage truth. Praise Jesus by His titles.
Prayer: Jesus, Lamb of God, I worship You with my whole
heart. “I will make you a light to the nations, that My salvation may reach to
the ends of the earth.” —Is 49:6 Praise Jesus, “the First and the Last and the
One Who lives” (Rv 1:17-18).
The personal action for today:
How do I relate to Jesus the most – Son of God, Savior, The Christ, Lord, Lamb
of God? Which of the titles of Jesus speaks most clearly of my relationship
with Him right now? What does my prayer life say about my belief in Jesus, His
Abba, and the Holy Spirit? How can I profess my faith in Jesus more
pro-actively as I relate to other people on a daily basis?
* Saint Charles of Sezze: He thought that God was calling him to be a
missionary in India, but he never got there. God had something better for this
17th-century successor to Brother Juniper.
Born in Sezze, southeast of Rome, Charles was inspired by
the lives of Salvator Horta and Paschal Baylon to become a Franciscan; he did
that in 1635. Charles tells us in his autobiography, “Our Lord put in my heart
a determination to become a lay brother with a great desire to be poor and to
beg alms for his love.”
Saint Charles of Sezze served as cook, porter, sacristan,
gardener and beggar at various friaries in Italy. In some ways, he was “an
accident waiting to happen.” He once started a huge fire in the kitchen when
the oil in which he was frying onions burst into flames.
One story shows how thoroughly Saint Charles of Sezze
adopted the spirit of Saint Francis. The superior ordered Charles—then
porter—to give food only to traveling friars who came to the door. Charles
obeyed this direction; simultaneously the alms to the friars decreased. Charles
convinced the superior the two facts were related. When the friars resumed
giving goods to all who asked at the door, alms to the friars increased also.
At the direction of his confessor, Charles wrote his
autobiography, The Grandeurs of the Mercies of God. He also wrote several other
spiritual books. He made good use of his various spiritual directors throughout
the years; they helped him discern which of Charles’ ideas or ambitions were
from God. Charles himself was sought out for spiritual advice. The dying Pope
Clement IX called Charles to his bedside for a blessing.
Saint Charles of Sezze had a firm sense of God’s providence.
Father Severino Gori has said, “By word and example he recalled in all the need
of pursuing only that which is eternal” (Leonard Perotti, St. Charles of Sezze:
An Autobiography, page 215). He died at San Francesco a Ripa in Rome and was
buried there. Pope John XXIII canonized him in 1959.
The drama in the lives of the saints is mostly interior.
Charles’ life was spectacular only in his cooperation with God’s grace. He was
captivated by God’s majesty and great mercy to all of us.