Behold the Lamb of God

"Behold the Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world!" This the phrase that greets us today in the Gospel proclaimed from John. It is an announcement as well as an identification. It is proclaimed by a man who is not your usual suspect. It is John the Baptist. He is that preacher of the wilderness. John is dressed in a garment made of camel's hair and girded with a leather belt. He lives and survives in the desert, a desolate place, on a diet of locusts and wild honey. He devotes himself to warning his people and generation of the wrath that is yet to come. And then, one day, he sees Jesus coming toward him to be baptized and declares the proclamation that we continue to use in our liturgy, “Behold the Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world.” This proclamation by John the Baptist – even before Jesus begins His ministry – is unique to the Gospel of John. At this time of the gospel writing, has performed no miracles, called no disciples, raised on one from the dead. He is still fresh from the carpenter shop. He has made no enemies, issued no controversial teachings nor ruffled any royal feathers. Any comparison to the Paschal Lamb sacrificed for the sins of the people is certainly premature. He is still at most a man who comes from the backwater town of Nazareth. He might be bucking to be an itinerant preacher but that is yet to be proven. Despite this lack of notoriety, John still sees something in Jesus that no one else does. Jesus has yet to take the main stage for His ministry. His warnings that He must suffer and die are yet to be spoken and heard. Unlike the Synoptic Gospels who accent an historical perspective in their writings, John’s Gospel is more theologically accented. He wanted us to recall that Jesus – the Son of God – existed at the creation of the world. He is one in equal stature with the Father and the Spirit. He is the Word made flesh. Recall Peter’s boast as we prepared to follow Jesus, walking on the water. Peter suddenly became aware of his fears and apprehensions. He could not do it and began to sink. Taking his eyes from Jesus and onto his fears created the loss of trust and strength. We have a similar time in our lives as well. That can happen to us. If we keep our gaze fixed upon our problems, our frustrations, our limitations, our poverty of either money or other resources, we will never make any headway in coping with life. You and I have within ourselves the resources for achieving amazing things if we do not allow our problems to overwhelm us. With Jesus as the center of our life, we can do all things. Listen to a story from the 1952 Olympics. You may know the story of a young Hungarian athlete in the 1952 Olympics who won a gold medal with his ability to shoot a pistol. His right hand and eye coordination were so perfect that he simply could not miss the bull's eye. Six months later that young man lost his right arm. Such a tragedy would have overwhelmed many of us. It did not overwhelm this young man. Four years later at the Melbourne Olympics he was back and he did it again. He gained another gold medal. This time he shot with his left hand…Keep your eyes fixed on Jesus.

Msgr. Mike