Isaiah 49:3, 5-6; Psalm 39; I Cor 1:1-3; John 1:29-34
If you were here last week, and if, which is rather more unlikely, you were awake during the homily, you will have heard me mention the three parts of Epiphany: the first part, the showing forth of Jesus to both Jews and Gentiles in His birth and in the visit of the Wise Men; the second part, His showing forth as the Beloved Son of the Father at His Baptism; the third, the showing forth of His glory at the marriage feast at Cana.
Holy Mother Church has restored the second part by giving us the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord, which we kept last Sunday; and one year in every three she gives us the third part, albeit in a rather understated manner, when the marriage feast forms the Gospel of the Second Sunday in Ordinary Time. This is not one of those years.
And yet, there is an element of Epiphany about it as Jesus is shown forth by John the Baptist as the Lamb of God. The Lamb of God: that is a phrase which we take for granted. We use it at every Mass. You, the congregation, address Jesus three times as “Lamb of God”, after which the priest, holding up the Body and Blood of Christ, proclaims “Behold the Lamb of God. Behold Him who takes away the sins of the world. Blessed are those who are called to the supper of the Lamb.”
Like most people, I suspect, I am not a great enthusiast for the “new” translation which was given to us (I am tempted to say “imposed upon us”) a decade or so ago. However, this is one instance in which it is an improvement on what we had before. The priest used to say, simply, “This is the Lamb of God”. John the Baptist says ide-- “See”, or “Look” as the Lectionary translates it; “Behold”, as the priest now says at Mass. That is an improvement because it draws attention to Jesus as John the Baptist did, helps us to focus on His sacramental presence.
But what about the phrase itself? John the Baptist is, apparently, the first person to speak of Jesus as the Lamb of God. What does he mean by it? It strikes me that there are two aspects to it. Firstly, there is the Paschal Lamb, the lamb slain at Passover, whose blood saved the Israelites from the destroying angel. Jesus was to be the true Paschal Lamb, whose blood was to save the human race from everlasting death.
Secondly, there is the Suffering Servant of the Lord, as described by the prophet Deutero-Isaiah, who was “like a lamb that is led to the slaughter”, as we read on Good Friday. The Songs of the Suffering Servant fit the events of Jesus’ life and death, whilst “the supper of the Lamb” is described in the Apocalypse: the marriage feast which celebrates the heavenly union of Christ with His bride, the Church.
Today, we have heard another of the Servant Songs, in which the Servant is described as “the light of the nations”. We are familiar with the image of Jesus as the light of the world, but we shouldn’t forget that He Himself referred to the disciples, who include us, as “the light of the world”. If, like Jesus, we are to be the light of the world, then, like Him, we must be the Servants of the Lord.
This theme is taken up in the psalm. The whole of this psalm applies to Jesus, but equally it applies to each one of us. Every one of us”. should be able to say “I waited for the Lord, and He stooped down to me”. Each of us should pray “You do not ask for sacrifice and offering but an open ear: you do not ask for holocaust and victim; instead, here am I.” Each of us can repeat “In the scroll of the Book it stands written that I should do your will: my God, I delight in your law in the depth of my heart”.
If we seek in all things to do God’s will, to identify ourselves with Jesus the Suffering Servant, then we shall be able to proclaim His justice. Then we will recognise Him shown forth to us as the Lamb of God, present in the Body and the Blood.
