“Behold, The Lamb
of God, Who Takes Away The Sin of The World”
(Jn 1:29)
Dear
Sisters and Brothers in Christ,
In
this Sunday’s Gospel reading, we hear Saint John the Baptist introduce Our Lord
Jesus Christ to the crowd as “the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the
world.”
Why
is Christ called “lamb”?
A
lamb, that mild and useful animal both in picture and in reality, remains a
traditional and integral part of the Jewish religious life first, and then that
of Christian faith.
Sacrifices
offered to the Lord God in the Holy Temple of Jerusalem for blessing and
forgiveness of sins are never lawfully made without lambs being slaughtered and
burned. The solemn celebration of the
Passover reminds the eating of the lamb of which the blood marked the Jews who
were spared in the night of terror in Egypt.
The Jews practice the ritual sending into the wilderness of the
“scapegoat” on which the community throws all the wrongdoings which they have
committed.
Our
Lord Jesus Christ was sent as both the Lamb of sacrifice and the scapegoat by
God the Father to save us sinners. Being
the lamb of sacrifice Our Lord Jesus shed His Blood on the altar of the cross
to wash the human race from sin. In the
role of the scapegoat Christ, innocent though, took all the evil consequences
of sin on His shoulders.
Our
Lord Jesus Christ accomplished His mission of saving humanity from sin and
death because He is true God Who has the authority of forgiving sin, and
because He is also true man Who can take all responsibility for our sins in our
behalf.
Today
Christ continues His sacrifice in the Holy Mass to obtain for us the divine
mercy and forgiveness of our sins, and, at the same time, to grant us new life
in the Holy Communion with His Body and Blood.
We
are happy and grateful to take part in this celebration of the Supper of the
Lord, being sure that we are children of the Heavenly Father Who so loved us
that He gave us His Only Beloved Son to be the Lamb of sacrifice Who takes away
all our sins and Who gives us the grace of life eternal.
Fr. Francis Nguyen,
O.P.
