2nd Sunday of Ordinary Time
Fr. Chinnappan Pelavendran
I want to tell you about a tourist, who was visiting Germany. Passing a church, he was surprised to see a figure of a lamb carved on the bell tower of the church. He asked why it was there and was told that when the bell tower was being built, a workman fell from a high scaffold. His co-workers expected to find him dead. But to their surprise and joy, he was alive and only slightly injured. How did he survive? A flock of sheep was passing beneath the tower at the time, and he landed on top of a lamb. The lamb broke his fall, but the man was saved. To commemorate that miraculous escape, a fellow stone artist carved a lamb, on the tower at the exact height, from which the workman had fallen.
This statue of the lamb expresses a bit of what John the Baptist means when he introduces Jesus to his disciples saying, “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.” Jesus the Lamb of God came to save us, from falling into hell.
In the Old Testament, lambs were sacrificed as an offering to God. The offering was to atone for the sins of the people. The first time in the Old Testament where they talked about lambs, was when Abraham was asked by God to sacrifice his son, Isaac. The boy asked where the sacrificial lamb was, and Abraham told him that God would provide. Abraham had faith in God and knew that everything would be okay.
On the day of Atonement, a lamb was brought to the temple. The high priest held his hands over its head, transferring all the sins of his people to the animal. The lamb was then released in the desert. There was also a daily atonement. Every morning and evening lambs were sacrificed to atone for the sins of the Jews.
Jesus is also referred to, as the Passover lamb. The first Passover occurred during God’s deliverance of the Israelites from Egypt. The angel of death passed over Egypt and killed the firstborn sons. The Israelites had been instructed to kill a lamb without blemish, and wipe the lamb’s blood over the doorpost. When the Angel of death saw the blood on their doors, he passed over. The Israelites were saved by the Lamb of God.
Jesus’ public life begins with his Baptism by John in the Jordan. Jesus fulfilled the Old Testament sacrificial system. He became the once-for-all offering for our sins. Jesus being the Lamb of God also refers to other prophecies regarding the Messiah. The book of Isaiah tells us that He was oppressed and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth, like a lamb that is led to the slaughter. Like a sheep that is silent before its shearers is silent, so he opened not his mouth.
During Mass, we pray, “Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world, have mercy on us” and “grant us peace.” In this prayer, we show our understanding of the identity and purpose of Jesus Christ as our lamb and Lord. By His life of Love and sacrifice, he is the one who came and continues to come into our broken world to take our sins upon Himself.
We need to live like the Lamb of God. We need to lead our lives pure, innocent, and humble, obeying Christ’s commandment of love. If we truly appreciate the love and protecting care of the Good Shepherd, we will be able to share, that love and care with those around us.
We receive spiritual strength from his Holy Spirit through the sacraments and prayers. The more we are able to share our talents, time, wealth, and love with others; we enable ourselves to be better members of the church. We can also offer our suffering, illness, and pain for the salvation of souls and as reparation for our sins and those of others. We are called to be saints.
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