THE LAMB OF GOD, WHO TAKES AWAY THE SINS OF THE WORLD

THE LAMB OF GOD, WHO TAKES AWAY THE SINS OF THE WORLD

(A biblical refection on THE 2^nd ORDINARY SUNDAY (YEAR A) – 15 January 2017)

 

Gospel Reading: John 1:29-34 

First Reading: Isaiah 49:3,5-6; Psalms: Psalm 40:2,4,7-10; Second Reading: 1 Corinthians 1:1-3 

The Scripture Text

The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! This is He of whom I said, ‘After me comes a man who ranks before me, for He was before me.’ I myself did not know Him; but for this I came baptizing with water, that He might be revealed to Israel.” And  John bore witness, “I saw the Spirit descend as a dove from heaven, and it  remained on Him. I myself did not  know Him; but He who sent me to baptize with water said to me, ‘He on whom you see the Spirit descend and remain, this is He who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.’ And I have seen and have borne witness that this is the Son of God.”  (John 1:29-34 RSV) 

Today’s readings give us some biblical nicknames for Jesus.

In the first reading, Isaiah calls Him God’s Servant, and then proceeds to identify His mission. Through His Servant the Lord will show His glory, gather Israel back to Himself, and reveal His light to all the nations.

In the Gospel, John the Baptist dubs Jesus as the Lamb of God, and then he, too, goes on to describe the Savior’s mission. As the Lamb of God, Jesus will take away the sin of the world, baptize with the Holy Spirit and demonstrate that He is in fact God’s Chosen One.

In his Pelican commentary on this Gospel, John Marsh concludes that in this one word lamb, the evangelist had drawn together overtones of meaning from Old Testament prophecy, current Passover practices and the apocalyptic hopes of the times.

First, Old Testament prophecy. In Isaiah 53 the Servant is crushed for our sins and is led like a lamb to the slaughter. Nevertheless, because of his suffering he will take away the sins of many and win pardon for their offenses.

Second, current Passover practices. Every year the Jews re-enacted the Paschal story of Exodus 12. They slaughtered a year-old male lamb without blemish and sprinkled its blood on their doorposts. They then prayed that the Lord would pass over their homes as He destroyed their oppressors.

Third, the lamb in apocalyptic literature. In the book of Revelation the lamb is first slain as a victim for our redemption but then becomes a victorious conqueror who takes His seat upon God’s throne.

Now that we know where John the Baptist got his nickname for Jesus, so what? Let’s face it – the Lamb of God is not exactly a popular title suggesting strength, such as Richard the Lionhearted. But if we look more closely, we will see that the title Lamb of God does, in fact, stand for courage.

Although the Suffering Servant in Isaiah 53 went in silence to his sacrifice, he also went in strength and by his own choice. As followers of Jesus, can we take up our cross freely, with dignity, and in strength?

The paschal lamb was a means of liberation for God’s Chosen People from the oppression of Egypt. To be a disciple of the Lamb implies that we accept the challenges of liberation – whether from economic injustice or racial bigotry.

The Lamb of the Book of Revelation is a conquering Lamb – a Lamb who makes war on poverty and hunger, and who battles against immorality and corruption. We witness to the Lamb every time we fight for human rights, stand up for decency and protest incompetence in government.

The Lamb of God is more that a nickname. It is a challenge for us to keep on taking away the sins of the world so that it can truly be baptized with the Holy Spirit. 

Source: Fr. Albert Cylwicki CSB, HIS WORD RESOUNDS, Makati, Philippines: St. Paul Publications, 1991, pages 45-47.

Prayer: Lamb of God, You take away the sins of the world: have mercy on us. Lamb of God, You take away the sins of the world; have mercy on us. Lamb of God, You take away the sins of the world: grant us peace. Amen.

Jakarta, 15 January 2017 

A Christian Pilgrim 

 

1 SAMUEL 2:2

Jakarta,15 January 2017

A Christian Pilgrim 

 

PSALM 19:8-10 (PSALM OF TODAY’S MASS – PSALM 19:8-10.15)

Jakarta, 14 January 2017

A Christian Pilgrim 

 

ISAIAH 41:13

Jakarta, 13 January 2017

A Christian Pilgrim

 

TITUS 3:5

Jakarta, 12 January 2017

A Christian Pilgrim

 

2 SAMUEL 7:22

Jakarta, 11 January 2017

A Christian Pilgrim

 

1 Peter 1:3

akarta, 10 January 2017

A Christian Pilgrim

 

THE BAPTISM OF THE LORD – FEAST

Prayer: Almighty, ever-living God, when Christ was baptized in the river Jordan the Holy Spirit came upon Him and Your voice proclaimed from heaven: “This is My beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased”. Grant that we, who by water and the Holy Spirit are Your adopted children, may continue steadfast in Your love. We make our prayer in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Jakarta, 9 January 2017

A Christian Pilgrim 

 

“WE HAVE COME TO DO HIM HOMAGE”: THE EPIPHANY OF THE LORD – MATTHEW 2:1-12

Jakarta, 8 January 2017

A Christian Pilgrim

 

THE REVELATION OF GOD’S ONLY-BEGOTTEN SON

THE REVELATION OF GOD’S ONLY-BEGOTTEN SON

(A biblical reflection on THE SOLEMNITY OF THE EPIPHANY OF THE LORD, Sunday, 8 January 2017)

Gospel Reading: Matthew 2:1-12 

First Reading: Isaiah 60:1-6; Psalms: Psalm 72:1-2,7-8,10-13; Second Reading: Ephesians 3:2-3,5-6 

The Scripture Text

Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, saying, “Where is He who has been born king of the Jews? For we have seen His star in the east, and have come to worship Him.” When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him; and assembling all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born. They told him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for so it is written by the prophet: ‘And you, O Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for from you shall come a ruler who will govern My people Israel.’”

Then Herod summoned the wise men secretly and ascertained from them what time the star appeared, and he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, “Go and search diligently for the child, and when you have found Him bring me word, that I too may come and worship Him.” When they had heard the king they went their way; and lo, the star which they had seen in the East went before them, till it came to rest over the place where the child was. When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy; and going into the house they saw the child with Mary His mother, and they fell down and worshiped Him. Then, opening their treasures, they offered Him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh. (Matthew 2:1-12 RSV)  

“… and going into the house they saw the child with Mary His mother, and they fell down and worshiped Him” (Matthew 2:11). 

Why the omission of Joseph? He is surely not dead, for he will re-appear in the next scene. No doubt Matthew here wishes to focus on the kingship of Jesus. In the Davidic messianic tradition the Queen Mother was intimately associated with the king. The “queen” in Judah was never the king’s bride but his mother. Matthew himself had evoked this role for Mary in the Isaian prophecy in Matthew 1:23. In the Roman catacombs of Priscilla, the earliest painting of Mary (second century) is of this scene.

Gold, frankincense and myrrh were common stock of magicians, but Jewish tradition also saw them as gifts suitable for a king (Psalms 45:8; 72:10, 11, 15; Isaiah 60:6) and that is probably Matthew’s understanding of them here. Because of this, later Christians, helped by reflection of Psalm 72:10, assumed the astrologers themselves were kings. The Church Fathers saw the gold as symbol of royalty, the incense that of divinity, and the myrrh that of the coming passion of Jesus.

What does this story say to the Church today, for whom the Jewish-Gentile tension is only of archival interest? Fr. George Montague SM (Companion God) sees the following applications:

1. For Matthew there was on the one hand the “established group” who were challenged out of their comfort by the new, foreign element. Today there are baptized Christians who form a church of sorts but one that has little interest in sharing the faith beyond its own comfortable confines. A church or a community that is not interested in evangelization is, in Matthew’s view, no longer the church of Jesus Christ, as we shall see most dramatically in Matthew chapter 28.
2. In the interface with persons of other religions, we must respect the ways that they seek God, aware that the intensity of their longing for God may well shame our pusillanimity and smug self-contentedness. On the other hand, to assume the attitude that “everyone will be saved anyhow”, that Christianity has no unique message, that there is no value in the disturbance (mutual disturbance!) which the interaction of religious faiths causes – is to reject the very essence of Gospel – which means Good News to be shared.
3. Many Christians in the developed world or in Christian countries will have little opportunity to interact with those of non-Christian origin. But a “gentile” can also be, in our daily experience, any person or group we have consciously or unconsciously written off. Luke’s first adorers of the infant Savior are not astrologers from afar but poor, outcast shepherds from nearby. To be a Christian is to be called to make community with those who are not automatically attractive. It is a call to put love where there is none and in doing so to find it.
4. Though the story is often used in support of mission to foreign countries, the scene here is not the sending scene of Matthew, chapter 28. Rather it is the coming of the gentiles on their own – or at least not by human intermediaries – to Christ. The application should rather, therefore, be to the interface of the Christian community with those who knock on its doors. How much warmth of welcome do we give those seeking the Lord in our midst? Or, how well do we welcome newcomers to our Church – or the lapsed who choose one day to “try it again”? The ministry of welcome and support to the catechumen and the seeker is a missionary ministry indeed.
5. Finally, the seeking attitude of these foreigners, who have so little external help to guide them and yet respond with wholehearted devotion and undertake a long, persevering journey to find the Lord King, challenges all who are comfortably ensconced at some point of their own spiritual journey and have not moved for years, whether they be in or outside the Christian fold. Walter Buhlmann in The Coming of the Third Church relates how he was non-plussed when a Hindu lady in an Indian train leaned forward and asked him, “Can you tell me how to find God?” Finding God, even for Christians, is not a once-for-all event. It is a daily journey, where there are few resting places and no permanent dwellings.

Prayer: Heavenly Father, on this day, by a guiding star You revealed Your Only-begotten Son to all the peoples of the world. Lead us from the faith by which we know You now to the vision of Your glory, face to face. We make our prayer through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Note: Text adapted from Fr. George T. Montague SM, “Companion God – A Cross-Cultural Commentary on the Gospel of Matthew” (New York: Paulist Press, 1989, pages: 23-28. 

Jakarta, 7 January 2017 

A Christian Pilgrim