2ND SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME (YEAR A)
Is 49:3.5-6; Ps 39
1Cor. 1:1-3; Jn 1:29-34
JESUS THE LAMB OF GOD, OUR COMPANION IN A SEASON OF GROWTH
“There is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world”. (John 1:29).
These are very profound words coming from the lips of John the Baptist about Jesus Christ.
This testimony of John is a powerful and upsetting one. Note that he pointed Jesus out in the crowd. And I believe for a moment there would have been an awkward stare and silence as he continued.
For us today, it may not be a big deal, but for the Jew, to mention ‘lamb’ would catch his or her attention. Lamb was for Jewish religious sacrifices for sin. To point Jesus out as the Lamb of God, was to identify him as the one who has come to replace the sacrifices of the Old Testament. Jesus is the sacrificial Lamb that everyone needs to atone for sins.
The writer of the gospel according to John often refers to and explains Jesus’ life’s purpose in the light of the Old Testament. Throughout the gospel he refers often to Jesus as a lamb. Now when he calls Jesus as “the Lamb of God”, which lamb is he referring to?
Is this expression in reference to Jesus as the Passover Lamb which spared the Israelites from the loss of their first-born sons ? (Ex 12:1-4; Jn 19:36)
Is He the Lamb offered daily as a morning and evening offering in the Temple? (Ex. 29:36-).
Or He is the Lamb in Isaiah who died to save the sins of many.? (Is. 53:3-14)
The expression John uses cannot be confined to one understanding of the role of the Lamb in the Old Testament. What John is doing is to tell us that Jesus, as the Lamb of God, is none but all of the references to the lamb. He is the Lamb of God who replaces all these functions and sacrifices of the lambs in the Temple.
Jesus is the Passover Lamb whose death spares us from death. He is the one who dies so that we can have life and have it in abundance (Jn 10:10). He is the Lamb whose blood saves us from the angel of death and shields us from the attack of the enemy.
Jesus, the Lamb of God is the one who is offered daily (day and night) in the Temple. He is the one we should focus our whole life on. We must live every moment of our lives in him, with him, for him. We must become his ambassadors in the world. He should be our motivation daily. If we allow him daily in our lives, we know that we are safe in God’s hands.
Jesus is the Lamb who died to bear the sins of many. Jesus is the one who has died for the sins of many. He desires to give you a new life and a new start. He is inviting you to allow him to save you from your sins. This Lamb of God forgives and sets us free.
He is also the lamb provided as a substitute so that Abraham did not have to sacrifice his only son Isaac. (Gen. 22:7-13).
When Abraham went to Moria upon the Lord’s instruction to sacrifice Isaac, there was a Lamb that was caught up in the bush which replaced the sacrifice of Isaac. Jesus takes upon himself the punishment that we deserve. He takes the place of our faults.
Our Lord fulfils all these meanings of the Lamb of God. He is God’s gift to us to free us from sin and strengthen us. He takes away every sin. He restores every hope. He redeems and sets free.
John calls us to behold. To see, to look up to the Lord as we begin the ordinary season; a season of growth. When we come to him, he does not only take away our sins but he empowers us with the Holy Spirit.
By Fr. Delight Arnold Carbonu
