2nd Sunday of the year– January 15, 2017

Is 49. 3: 5-6; I Cor 1: 1-3; Jn 1: 29-34

In a cathedral in Copenhagen, Denmark there is a magnificent statue of Jesus by the noted sculptor Bertel Thorvaldsen. When Thorvaldsen first completed the sculpture he gazed upon the finished product with great satisfaction. It was a sculpture of Christ with His face looking upward and arms extended upward. It was a statue of a majestic, conquering Christ. Later that night, however, after the sculptor had left his fine new work in clay to dry and harden, something unexpected occurred. Sea mist seeped into the studio in the night. The clay did not harden as quickly as anticipated. The upraised arms and head of the sculpture began to drop. The majestic Christ with arms lifted up and head thrown back was transformed into a Christ with head bent forward and arms stretched downward as if in a pose of gentle invitation. At first Thorvaldsen was bitterly disappointed. As he studied the transformed sculpture, however, he came to see a dimension of Christ that had not been real to him before. It was the Christ who is a gentle, merciful Savior. Thorvaldsen inscribed on the base of the completed statue, "Come Unto Me," and that picture of the Lamb of God in His mercy has inspired millions.

Introduction: The central theme of today’s readings is a challenge to live like the Lamb of God and to die like the Lamb of God.  In both the first and second readings God calls individuals to His service. The Gospel passage presents three themes, namely, John’s witness to Jesus, Jesus’ epiphany and identification as the “Lamb of God,” and the call to discipleship.  Those who are called gradually accept the identity of the One who calls them.  Like John the Baptist, we may choose to accept today's Gospel as a personal and corporate call to become a witness to the Lamb of God. 

The first reading: Bible Scholars have called this and three similar passages from this section of Isaiah (chapters 40-55), the “Songs of the Suffering Servant.”  Today's selection is from the second Servant Song.  In the original author's mind, the servant was probably a figure for the people of Israel, or for a faithful remnant within the people.  The Gospels clearly show that the "suffering servant" is Jesus. The early Church, saw aspects of Jesus' own life and mission foreshadowed in the Servant Songs, and the Church today refers to all of them throughout the liturgical year. 

The second reading is the beginning of Saint Paul's First Letter to the Corinthians, with ‘heading’, ‘inside address’, and ‘salutation’, all in sentence form.  The letter is for all members of the Church at Corinth.  Corinth was a bawdy seaport in cosmopolitan Greece.  The vices of every seaport, plus the philosophical ferment of ancient Greece, were part of these peoples' lives and gave rise, in part, to the need for this letter.  Paul reminds the Corinthians that they are "sanctified and called to be holy," like all who call on the name of Jesus in faith.

A testimony can be a statement of a truth about something or someone, or a public expression of a religious experience.  John the Baptist gives testimony to Jesus by pointing out that he is the Lamb of God (vv 29, 36); a man who was before me (v 30); the one on whom the Holy Spirit remained (v 33); and the Son of God (v 34).  John's disciples call Jesus, "Rabbi" (vs. 38).  Andrew calls him the Messiah (v 41), and Nathaniel calls Jesus Rabbi, Son of God, and King of Israel (vs. 49).  Jesus completes the Christology with his own declaration that he is the Son of Man (vs. 51).

John the Baptist introduced Jesus to the Jews as the “Lamb of God” on the second day (Jn 1:29).  He repeats it on the third day. "Lamb of God" is the most meaningful title given to Jesus in the Bible.  It is used 29 times in the book of Revelation.  It sums up the love, the sacrifice and the triumph of Christ.  John’s introduction probably brought five pictures of the “lamb” in the mind of his Jewish listeners.

The Lamb of Atonement (Lev. 16: 20-22).  A lamb was brought to the Temple on the Day of Atonement.  Placing his hands over its head, the high priest transferred all the sins of his people on it.  It was then sent into the forest to be killed by some wild animal.  2) The Lamb of Daily Atonement (Ex. 29: 38-42; Numbers 28: 1-8). This was the lamb sacrificed on the “Black Altar” of the Temple every morning and evening to atone for the sins of the Jews.  3) The Paschal Lamb (Ex. 12: 11ss), whose blood saved the first born of the Jewish families in Egypt from the Angel of destruction."  This lamb reminded them also of the Paschal Lamb which they killed every year on the Passover Feast.  4) The Lamb of the Prophets which portrayed One who, by His sacrifice, will redeem his people: “The gentle lamb led to the slaughter house” (Jer. 11: 19), “like a lamb to the slaughter” (Is 53:7).  Both refer to the sufferings and sacrifice of Christ.  5) The Lamb of the Conquerors. This was the picture of a horned lamb on the Jewish flag at the time of Maccabaean liberation war, used as a sign of conquering majesty and power.  The great Jewish conquerors like Samuel, David and Solomon were described by the ancient Jewish historians as “horned lambs.”  

Christ as Lamb of God is a title familiar to us.  In the Eucharist, at "the    breaking of the bread" we proclaim in word or song what the Baptist said.  Our traditional fraction anthem is the Agnus Dei – “Lamb of God, who take away the sins of the world, have mercy on us/grant us peace.”  In this prayer we give expression to our deepest understanding of the identity and purpose of Jesus Christ as our Lamb and Lord.  By His life of love and sacrifice, we believe and affirm that He is the One Who came and continues to come into a broken world to take our sins upon Himself. 

Life messages: 1) We need to live and die like the Lamb of God.  (A) Live like a lamb by: a) leading pure, innocent, humble, selfless lives obeying the Christ’s commandment of love; b) appreciating the loving providence and protecting care of the Good Shepherd in His Church; c) eating the Body and drinking the Blood of the Good Shepherd and deriving spiritual strength from his Holy Spirit through the Sacraments and prayers. (B) Die like a sacrificial lamb by: a) sharing our blessings of health, wealth and talents with others in the family, parish and community; b) bearing witness to Christ in our illness, pain and suffering; c) offering our suffering for the salvation of souls and as reparation for our sins and those of others. 

2) We need to rebuild broken lives. Like the missionary call of the servant in Isaiah (Is 49:1-3) and "those called to be saints" in St. Paul's First Letter to the Church in Corinth (1Cor 1:2ff), we are informed that God's call is trustworthy and true.  Therefore, we can believe from the depth of our hearts that our God is faithful.  And our faithful response to God is to rebuild broken lives, reconciling them with God's love and justice through Christ Jesus our Lamb and Lord.  Through Baptism into the Body of Christ, we are empowered and enabled by the Holy Spirit to build up the oppressed.  Through the love of the Lamb of God, we are called to better the lot, improving the broken spirit, of all who have been exiled from the possibility of hope, exiled from God's righteousness or burdened by the yoke of spiritual, social, economic, and political dislocation. In other words, through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, the glorified Lamb, we are called to empower the human spirit with a sense of identity and purpose. 

3) We need to be witnesses to the Lamb of God.  Today's Gospel reminds us that being a disciple of Jesus means that we grow by faith to become witnesses for Him.  And bearing witness to Christ is an active, not passive, lifetime enterprise. One cannot be a disciple of Jesus at a distance any more than one can be a distant lover.  To love Christ is to be drawn close to Him, to know Christ personally and experience Him through the Bible, through prayers and sacraments, and to inspire others to want to know him.  To help Christ is to share the Good News about Him with others.  Blessed are we when we bring to others the gifts of love, peace, justice, tolerance, and mercy, thus becoming witnesses for the Lamb of God, Jesus Christ our Lord.

4) "Come and see".  The essence of our witness-bearing is to state what we have seen and believed and then to invite others to "come and see." For John, faith begins by responding to the invitation to "come and see."  Three times Andrew brings someone to Jesus!  First, he brings his brother, Simon (1:40), then, a boy with five barley loaves and two fish (6:8); and finally, "some Greeks" (12:20-22), who want to see Jesus, which signals the hour for the Son of Man to be glorified.  We tell others about good restaurants, barbers, optometrists, etc.  Why isn't there the same fervor over inviting and encouraging people to come and participate in our Church activities?  Often we hesitate to do so because of the false notion that talking about religion is taboo in our culture, or that religion is a private matter and shouldn't be shared with others, or that we don’t have much of a personal faith to share, or that our worship services would not be appealing to others.  One of the differences that faith should make in our lives is the desire that others -- especially those without a religious faith -- might also share in and benefit from the relationship God offers through Christ.  If we are not willing to invite others into this experience, what does that say about our experiences with Christ and with our Church?

Sarojini, a nurse at Beach Hospital in Bombay was taking her morning shower when she heard screams coming from the street. Quickly changing, she saw to her horror a little girl being dragged across the street by two stray dogs. The child was covered with blood. Sarojini rushed out and managed to snatch the girl from the dogs. But the dogs would not give up. Suddenly jumping up they managed to get a good hold of the girl and jerked her from Sarojini’s hands. As soon as she fell to the ground, the dogs began to bite the child on the head, hands, and stomach. Sarojini jumped on top of the girl and lay flat on her, protecting the girl from the dogs, using her body as a shield. Now the dogs began attacking Sarojini. She was in agony as they dug their teeth into her hip and thighs. But Sarojini did not move, all the while attempting valiantly to kick the dogs with both her legs. Meanwhile two people came running from nearby houses with heavy sticks in their hands and managed to beat the dogs and chase them away. A passing van was stopped and picking Sarojini and the little girl, sped away to Beach Hospital where the girl underwent six hours of surgery and Sarojini four. It took six months for their wounds to heal. “I never regretted what I did,” said Sarojini. “I’ll do it again if needed!”

(Source: Homilies of Fr. Anthony Kadavil)