John 1:29-34
Dear Friends, This year we will walk with the Jesus of St. Mathew in our Sunday Gospel selections. I always look forward to a new journey that is the same but always deeper, always more inviting as we grow more in our personal maturity and in faith.
Today, however, we start out with a passage from the Gospel of John. It invites us to encounter Jesus as the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. This is one of many titles John gives to Jesus such as the Light of the World, the Living Water, the Bread of Life, the Life and the Resurrection and the Life, of course, the Way, the Life and The Truth.
In John’s Gospel these “I am” statements signify God speaking to us through Jesus. Jesus is the full revelation of God. To hear Jesus speak, is to hear God
The message of today’s Gospel is clear and to the point. Jesus is the fullness of God’s revelation. He will lead us on the journey to salvation. We need to be faithful to his call because He has the answer to the deepest yearnings of the human heart.
John the Baptist had stirred Messianic hopes among the people. In naming Jesus “the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world” John was doing two things. First, he was directing the Messianic hopes toward Jesus. Secondly, he was challenging the traditional view of the anticipated Messiah. Jesus directed his mission to restoring humanity’s broken relationship with God. He was not primarily a political broker attempting to restore the power, prestige and prosperity of Israel. The role of Jesus as the Lamb of God was focused on the much deeper issue of the destructive power of sin that encompassed all alienation from God. Jesus ultimately offered true freedom, peace and justice in the midst of a very broken world.
Jesus, the Lamb of God, was the perfect servant of God who gave the gift of his life: “Here I am Lord, I come to do your will.” (Responsorial Psalm)
We are yearning for the answer to the hungers in our heart. It is an openness to God’s call in the person of His Son. Jesus, as the Lamb of God, will lead us to the freedom of the Gospel message of Good News. This is why the Church begins our new journey of Ordinary Time with John whose picture of Christ is strong and forceful right from the start. With this introduction to Jesus, we join Matthew next week as our guide on the dusty roads of Galilee to encounter the Son of God who calls us out of sin to freedom, peace and justice, and love. He is the Lamb that will deliver us from our sin and the sin of the world.
Just as the disciples moved through the byways and highways of Galilee, we, too, have the opportunity to walk once again with the Son of God made flesh. He is the one who calls us out of darkness into the light.
Today, however, we start out with a passage from the Gospel of John. It invites us to encounter Jesus as the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. This is one of many titles John gives to Jesus such as the Light of the World, the Living Water, the Bread of Life, the Life and the Resurrection and the Life, of course, the Way, the Life and The Truth.
In John’s Gospel these “I am” statements signify God speaking to us through Jesus. Jesus is the full revelation of God. To hear Jesus speak, is to hear God
The message of today’s Gospel is clear and to the point. Jesus is the fullness of God’s revelation. He will lead us on the journey to salvation. We need to be faithful to his call because He has the answer to the deepest yearnings of the human heart.
John the Baptist had stirred Messianic hopes among the people. In naming Jesus “the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world” John was doing two things. First, he was directing the Messianic hopes toward Jesus. Secondly, he was challenging the traditional view of the anticipated Messiah. Jesus directed his mission to restoring humanity’s broken relationship with God. He was not primarily a political broker attempting to restore the power, prestige and prosperity of Israel. The role of Jesus as the Lamb of God was focused on the much deeper issue of the destructive power of sin that encompassed all alienation from God. Jesus ultimately offered true freedom, peace and justice in the midst of a very broken world.
Jesus, the Lamb of God, was the perfect servant of God who gave the gift of his life: “Here I am Lord, I come to do your will.” (Responsorial Psalm)
We are yearning for the answer to the hungers in our heart. It is an openness to God’s call in the person of His Son. Jesus, as the Lamb of God, will lead us to the freedom of the Gospel message of Good News. This is why the Church begins our new journey of Ordinary Time with John whose picture of Christ is strong and forceful right from the start. With this introduction to Jesus, we join Matthew next week as our guide on the dusty roads of Galilee to encounter the Son of God who calls us out of sin to freedom, peace and justice, and love. He is the Lamb that will deliver us from our sin and the sin of the world.
Just as the disciples moved through the byways and highways of Galilee, we, too, have the opportunity to walk once again with the Son of God made flesh. He is the one who calls us out of darkness into the light.
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