(…Most Holy Name of Jesus)
Behold The Lamb Of God
Introduction
The message of today speaks in two different senses of being God’s sons and daughters. There is first Christ, the Son of God in a deeper way than one said to be beloved by God. John recognizes him as God’s own Son, with a human and divine personality. He is sent among people by the Father as the One who will save us by his sufferings, as the Lamb, as the suffering servant.
On account of him, we are born of God, we are God’s sons and daughters, as John will say in his letter. However banal our existence may look, there is this astonishing truth: we are God’s children. This is not merely a beautiful word; it’s a deep reality. This dignity gives us the responsibility to grow, to give up sin, to mature to the full personhood of Christ, for that is what children are supposed to do.
1 Reading 1 John 2:29–3:6
If you consider that God is righteous,
you also know that everyone who acts in righteousness
is begotten by him.
See what love the Father has bestowed on us
that we may be called the children of God.
Yet so we are.
The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him.
Beloved, we are God’s children now;
what we shall be has not yet been revealed.
We do know that when it is revealed we shall be like him,
for we shall see him as he is.
Everyone who has this hope based on him makes himself pure,
as he is pure.
Everyone who commits sin commits lawlessness,
for sin is lawlessness.
You know that he was revealed to take away sins,
and in him there is no sin.
No one who remains in him sins;
no one who sins has seen him or known him.
Responsorial Psalm, PS 98:1, 3cd-4, 5-6
R. (3cd) All the ends of the earth have seen the saving power of God.
Sing to the LORD a new song,
for he has done wondrous deeds;
His right hand has won victory for him,
his holy arm.
R. All the ends of the earth have seen the saving power of God.
All the ends of the earth have seen
the salvation by our God.
Sing joyfully to the LORD, all you lands;
break into song; sing praise.
R. All the ends of the earth have seen the saving power of God.
Sing praise to the LORD with the harp,
with the harp and melodious song.
With trumpets and the sound of the horn
sing joyfully before the King, the LORD.
R. All the ends of the earth have seen the saving power of God.
Alleluia John 1:14a, 12a
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
The Word of God became flesh and dwelt among us.
To those who accepted him
he gave power to become the children of God.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel: John 1:29-34
John the Baptist saw Jesus coming toward him and said,
“Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world.
He is the one of whom I said,
‘A man is coming after me who ranks ahead of me
because he existed before me.’
I did not know him,
but the reason why I came baptizing with water
was that he might be made known to Israel.”
John testified further, saying,
“I saw the Spirit come down like a dove from the sky
and remain upon him.
I did not know him,
but the one who sent me to baptize with water told me,
‘On whomever you see the Spirit come down and remain,
he is the one who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.’
Now I have seen and testified that he is the Son of God.”
Commentary
Two words of great significance appear in today’s scriptures: lamb and children. John the Baptist recognizes Jesus as the Lamb of God. At every Eucharist before the communion, the celebrant raises the host and says, “Behold the Lamb of God.” The background to the image is found in two evident sources in the Old Testament. The first comes from the Passover ritual celebrating the liberation of the Hebrews from Egyptian bondage (Exodus 11-12). In order that the Hebrew children not be slain by the avenging angel, the Hebrews were to sprinkle the blood of a newly slaughtered lamb on their doorposts. The lamb then became a symbol of deliverance in the Passover ritual.
The lamb appears again in the last song of the servant in the Book of Isaiah. The mysterious servant is about to undergo death in expiation for the sins of his people (Isa 53). He goes to his death humbly and submissively, like a lamb led to the slaughter. These instances serve as background to our understanding of Jesus as the Lamb of God. Like the Hebrews in Egyptian bondage, we have been liberated from the slavery of sin through the blood of a lamb—Christ. And like Isaiah’s humble servant, Christ with perfect submission hands himself over for our salvation.
In the Johannine writings, the author shows a marked preference for the term children in addressing his audience. It is used as a term of endearment for his own community members. Through Christian baptism we become part of the family of God. Father and Son are united by the Spirit of love, and that same Spirit is infused in us. This distinguished the baptism of Jesus from that of John. We are no longer outsiders, hired hands, or domestics. We now come in by the front door, are seated at the master’s table, and are part of the family inheritance. This is reality, not wishful thinking. We are truly privileged to be children of God.
The lamb and the child are joined. If Christ had not become the Lamb, we would not be family members. Gratitude is the only motive for goodness. We are saved by God and then made his children. No Christmas present can match that.
Blessing
Children of God, that is indeed what we are. May the thought of this reality fill us with a sense of admiration, gratitude and security. May Almighty God bless you all, the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen!