Lamb of God
Fr.Gus Carter
1 /16 /05

When people inquired of Jesus, "Who is John the Baptist?" he replied that he was more than a prophet. Prophets of the Old Testament represented God's presence among the Israelites. They also instructed the people about what the Lord wanted of them. John the Baptist's calling from God asked him to point out the ultimate presence of God among the Hebrews, the ultimate challenge of how to live before the Lord. John proclaimed to the whole Jewish nation that Jesus is the long awaited Messiah. All the hopes of the world would be satisfied by the coming of God's anointed among them. We read in today's Gospel that John the Baptist gave witness proclaiming the he had been sent to announce the arrival of the long-awaited Messiah.

The Baptist gave witness to who Jesus is when he said, "Behold, the Lamb of God." "Behold" usually in our Sacred Scriptures precedes some important message from Almighty God about the destiny of his people.

John the Baptist declares that Jesus is the "Lamb of God." We realize that we use "Lamb of God" to express our faith in Jesus before we receive Holy Communion. In the history of the Hebrews the Paschal Lamb enabled them to escape the slavery of Egypt. Lamb's blood smeared on the door posts of Hebrew homes saved them from the avenging angel. That angel was enacting the last plague against the stubborn Pharaoh. This Pharaoh had refused to accept God's command to free the Hebrews from slave labor.

Eating the Paschal lamb at every Passover celebration recalls God love for the people and God's will to save them from slavery of sin. Jesus' death on the cross happened at the time the Passover lambs were being slain in the temple precincts. Thus the Gospel emphasizes that Jesus is the ultimate expression of God's love for all and the Lord's desire to free all from the slavery of sin.

John's Gospel places Jesus' discourse on the Eucharist in a setting of Passover time. Here Jesus proclaimed, "I will give my flesh for the life of the world." The Passover foreshadowed Jesus death on the Cross by which all humans are saved. When we call Jesus the "Lamb of God" and receive Holy Communion, we are heeding Jesus words, "Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life ... the one who feeds on me will have life because of me."

John the Baptist was born before Jesus, yet he said Jesus existed before him. This reinforces John the Evangelist's statement at the beginning of his Gospel, "In the beginning was the Word." Jesus is God Incarnate. John further testified, "I saw the Spirit come down like a dove and remain upon him... he is the one who will baptize with the Holy Spirit." The Gospel of John later testifies that upon Jesus death and resurrection, God sent the Holy Spirit upon the Church and upon those who desired to follow' him. One theologian wrote, "The gift of the Holy Spirit is god's greatest gift of salvation through the risen Christ."

The night before Jesus died he promised that he would "not leave us orphans." He would send his Spirit, his love, to be with us. Then Jesus said, "The Spirit will remind you of all I taught you." We believe that when we prayerfully read or reflect on the four Gospels, the Spirit helps us to relate personally to Jesus. Through the power of the Holy Spirit, when we prayerfully reflect on the Gospel, we are as present to Jesus as were the people who were physically present to him during his life time. The Spirit enables us to hear clearly and to understand what Jesus is saying and doing. Through the power of grace we become willing to act on Jesus words. Thus our actions, done in the power of the Holy Spirit, become Jesus' actions. We, the Body of Christ, continue the life and actions of Jesus in the world. "I will be with you until the end of the ages," Jesus said. We are called to continue Jesus saving actions in the world until the end of time. Almighty God relies on us to sustain Jesus' presence among nations. We are not only saved by Jesus, we are given the privilege of joining in his work of redemption.

The fruits of acting as Jesus acted, the fruits of the Spirit are: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. One of the prime characteristics of those living in the Spirit is joy. We know in faith that our lives have meaning. Only in heaven will we be able to be fully aware of the good we have done during our lifetime. The best definition of virtue I know is "enjoying doing the right thing."

People who live truthfully have a sense of stability and trust in life's processes. Debilitating tensions disappear from their lives. We have received a fabulous invitation from Jesus to live full and useful lives.