Homily for 2nd Sunday of Ordinary Time Year A 2017
Isaiah 49:3,5-6; 1 Corinthians 1:1-3; John 1:29-34
Introduction
“Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away
the sins of the world." What comes into your mind when you hear the word
"Lamb"? Perhaps you think of
the lamb shank that you had the last time you went out to your favourite
restaurant. Why is John the Baptist
introducing Jesus by calling him a lamb?
Scripture and Theology
John uses those words deliberately, because
he knows that his Jewish listeners would understand him perfectly. When they hear him call Jesus the Lamb of
God, they would be reminded of two other lambs from their religious history.
The first one was the Passover Lamb, killed
on the last night in Egypt. If you
recall from the book of Exodus, Pharaoh had refused to heed the request of
Moses, to "let my people go."
And so God struck him with several plagues: blood, frogs and lice;
flies, dead livestock and boils; hail, locusts and darkness; but Pharaoh still refused. God had one final trick up his sleeve; the
final plague was the death of the first born child and animal in Egypt.
But how would the angel of death tell the
Jewish homes from the Egyptian? God had
the people of Israel smear their doorposts with the blood of a lamb; when he
saw that blood, the angel of death would pass over their houses and spare their
children and animals. The lamb from which this blood came was the one that the
Israelites had eaten at their Last Supper on the night before they left Egypt. That is why our of the lamb shank is perhaps
not totally out of place. The
difference, however, is while we eat our lamb in joy and celebration, the
Israelites ate it in haste and fear. And
so for them, the Lamb became sign of their liberation from slavery and
oppression. That’s why John says of
Jesus: “Behold the Lamb of God, who takes
away the sins of the world."
The second lamb that John’s listeners would
think about on hearing these words, was the lamb offered for sacrifice in the
temple every day. The people of Israel
worshipped God primarily by offering animal sacrifices, much like we worship
God primarily by celebrating the Eucharist.
You might recall that the book of Exodus commands that two one-year
lambs were to be sacrificed on the Temple altar daily, as atonement for sin,
one in the morning and another in the evening.
Now we modern people might think of this
practice as cruel and senseless, that is of course if ignore our own consumption
of steak, veal and the lamb shank. For a
people who lived from hand to mouth as the Jewish people did, every lamb
sacrificed was one less sheep to provide food, wool, milk and skins. The sacrifice of a lamb, was their way of
giving God their most treasured possession and doing this every day. This lamb was the symbol of their love for
God. In the same Jesus the Lamb would,
on the cross, offer his love for the Father and for his brothers and sisters,
in atonement for sin.
And so, whether John’s reference to Jesus
as the Lamb of God evoked the image of the Passover lamb or the image of the
daily sacrificial lamb, the people got the message. John was telling them that this man Jesus whom
they saw, had come to do once for all, what our sacrificial lambs have tried to
do over and over again without much success.
Christian Life
Now although we know Jesus by many
different titles, such as Messiah, Teacher, King, knowing him by the title of "Lamb
of God" brings something special to the table, something without which his
identity would not be complete.
Jesus is the Lamb of God, who offered
himself completely for our sake. He is a
much superior sacrifice than the sacrifice of lambs offered by the people. They had failed to satisfy God, because the
spirit in which they were offered lack complete love. That is why God cried out, "I desire
mercy, not sacrifice." But now
Jesus Christ in his sacrifice on the cross offers him both: mercy and
sacrifice, love and sacrifice. That is
why Jesus the Lamb says that there is no greater love, than to lay down one’s
life for one’s friends. And that is
exactly what he does, because he is the Lamb of God.
We could even say that all the other titles
of Jesus draw their meaning from the fact that Jesus is the Lamb of God.
·
The sweet and gentle baby Jesus
we celebrated at Christmas will lay down his life for his friends.
·
Jesus the Prophet and Teacher
is one who gives up his life for his disciples, his students, his followers.
·
Jesus the Prince of Peace and
King of the World draws his power from laying down his life for his people.
In fact at Mass, just before communion,
three times we sing: “Lamb of God who
takes away the sins of the World.”
And then the priest holds up the Host and says: “Behold the Lamb of God, Behold him who takes away the sins of the
world, Blessed are those called to the Supper of the Lamb.” The reason we say these words is so that, even
when we are having the banquet of the Lord, a sign of joy and communion, we
have to be reminded, that this all came about, because of the blood of the
Lamb.
Being Christian is certainly a cause of
joy. It is the joy of knowing God and
knowing his love for us. Being a
Christian should lead us to shout out in praise of God's goodness and love for
us. Being a Christian should lead us to
share the Good News of our salvation with others. But this is a joy that has come about because
of the sacrifice of the Lamb. It is like
the joy of a football player, who is successful only because he invests time
and effort in a healthy diet and training.
Similarly our Christian joy has come about because of sweat and blood, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of
the world."
Knowing its painful source will perhaps help
us to appreciate our Christian joy even more.
Knowing that our Christian joy comes from the Blood of the Lamb will
make our Christian lives more than a feel-good experience. Knowing that our Christian faith was earned
on the Cross, will help us live our own lives with the same spirit of
sacrifice.
·
We see this sacrifice in the
secular world, when young men and women in uniform give their lives in war for
our nation, when police officers give their lives as they protect our
communities.
·
We see this sacrifice in
families, with fathers and mothers giving their lives for their children, with
adult children returning the favour by caring for their elderly parents, and
with husbands and wives giving themselves to each other in sickness and health,.
·
We see this sacrifice in the
generosity of many Christians, who give money, food, material goods, time for
others, especially the needy, all in imitation of the Lamb, who gave himself so
that others would have life.
Surely if the Lord Jesus is the Lamb of
God, so must we be. If his whole life
was sacrificial, so must ours be.
Conclusion
There is a Catholic devotion of offering up
our minor daily hardships and sacrifices to the Lord, adding them to the great
sacrifice of the Lamb, for our benefit, but also for the benefit of others.
The Lord Jesus, the Lamb of God has offered
up everything for us. What can we offer
in return?
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