My Sisters and Brothers:
Today, and before receiving the Eucharist, we will pray together: “Lamb of God, you take away the sins of the world, have mercy on us!” Then, shortly after we pray these words, and as the priest presents the Body and Blood of Christ for all to see, he will echo the words of John the Baptist, and will proclaim: “Behold the Lamb of God, behold him who takes away the sins of the world!” These words are spoken and prayed because we believe Jesus is our “sacrificial lamb.” We believe this Eucharist is the visible, eternally enduring sacrifice offered for our salvation by Jesus upon the Cross “once-and-for-all.” And so we believe through it we are forever saved from sin and death!
It’s a good idea to keep the Eucharist in mind as we contemplate today’s Gospel. In it John the Baptist calls Jesus “the Lamb of God” (see John 1:29). He did so to clearly connect the reality of who Jesus was with the ancient understanding of the sacrificial use of lambs as “sin offerings” and “burnt offerings.” As “sin offerings,” such lambs were effective as substitutes for God’s people, saving them from danger, punishment, and damnation. As “burnt offerings,” they were given to God within ritual acts of thanksgiving, and served to demonstrate the gratitude of the faith community. Those ritual lambs, and John the Baptist’s reference to “the Lamb of God,” foreshadowed the sacrifice of Jesus upon the Cross, and the significance of the Eucharist we now share.
Perhaps the most prominent and ancient example of the sacrificial lamb was the “Passover Lamb” referenced in the Book of Exodus (see Ex 12:1-30). Because it saved the Israelites from death wrought by the “tenth plague,” they were able to flee from their Egyptian captors, and to begin their long journey to the “Promised Land.” To this day, Jewish people eat the “Passover Lamb” in commemoration of that most memorable and lifesaving event.
In olden times in the Temple in Jerusalem, “Sacrificial Lambs” were offered daily by its priests; these lambs were used as atoning “sin offerings.” The thanksgiving “burnt offerings” of lambs were also made there for various purification, ritual and religious acts, as well as to commemorate important feast days (numerous examples of these can be found in Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and in other books of the Old Testament).
Those who lived at the time of John the Baptist would have grasped very well the religious significance of lambs, and how important they were as conduits of God’s grace. And so when he saw Jesus and proclaimed: “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world,” he actually made a very definitive statement about whom and what Jesus was, and is, for all of humanity.
At that moment, John the Baptist identified Jesus with the “Passover Lamb,” and so his words said a great deal about Jesus’ similar transformative role in salvation history. His words also identified Jesus with the “Sacrificial Lamb” and therefore foretold the saving power of Jesus’ death upon the Cross; Jesus himself would become the ultimate “Sacrificial Lamb,” the perfect conduit of God’s grace, and therefore he would win salvation for all people of all time. Because Jesus would “take away the sins of the world,” it would no longer be necessary for God’s people to offer lambs as sacrificial “sin offerings” or “burnt offerings.” Jesus was and is “the Lamb of God” definitively, and for all eternity!
My friends, as we receive the Eucharist today, let’s not forget that Jesus, the one proclaimed by John the Baptist to be “the Lamb of God,” has taken away the sins of the world, and he has indeed been very merciful to us! As we share this sacred meal, let’s always be grateful to Jesus, our “sacrificial lamb.” And let’s remember he is “the Lamb of God” who died “once-and-for-all” upon the Cross, and through him we now have the promise of eternal salvation!
Praise God! Friar Timothy
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