January 19, 2020

2^nd Sunday in Ordinary Time (A)

Humble before a Lamb

Msgr. Thomas Gervasio

Today we hear the words of St. John the Baptist that made their way into every Mass: “Behold the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world.” Notice that St. John did not point out Jesus as the great Teacher, the worker of miracles or even as the model of holiness and yet Jesus is all of these. He calls Jesus is the Lamb of God. We might assume that he is pointing out that Jesus is gentle, humble, kind, meek and mild. Jesus is surely these, but they would not be the first ideas that would come to the mind of his audience. They would associate a lamb with sacrifice. They would recall the lambs that were slaughtered and offered to God in the Temple. Throughout the Scriptures, sacrifice was the preeminent way to relate to God. Animals were sacrificed daily in the Temple, even in times of famine.
 
The intent of the sacrifice was that some part of God’s good creation would be returned to God as a sign of one’s desire for union with God. It was an attempt to offer God a sign of one’s love, obedience and desire for pardon. It was a way of saying to God, “Lord, as the life of this animal is given away, so may my life be given in service to you; what happens to this lamb ought to in justice, happen to me.” And yet however fervent, these sacrifices were always imperfect. How could a mere mortal be perfectly reconciled with God offer something worthy of God’s majesty? But there was a way.
 
The Almighty would provide the Lamb, the perfect sacrifice in his Beloved Son. Jesus would be the ultimate sacrifice that would reconcile divinity and humanity, heaven and earth!
 
St. Mark tells us that “People of the whole Judean countryside and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem” were going out to John the Baptist. (Mk 1:5) The Baptist was the parting voice of the Old Testament and he was luring people out of Jerusalem. The temple is no longer the place of sacrifice. He directed them to Christ who is Himself the Temple and the Lamb of Sacrifice.
 
While a church tower was being built in the German countryside, a workman fell from a high scaffold. His co-workers hurried down, expecting to find him dead. But to their joy, he was only slightly injured. He was saved because a flock of sheep was passing beneath the tower at the time, and he landed on top of a lamb that broke his fall. The lamb was crushed to death but the man was saved. To memorialize the event, a lamb was carved on the tower at the exact height from which the workman fell. This is analogous to what Jesus accomplished by his death on the cross. To use the words of Isaiah: “But he was pierced for our offenses, crushed for our sins, upon him was the chastisement that makes us whole...” (Is. 53:5)
 
Before the greatness of Christ, St. John became conscious of his own littleness, his unworthiness. He would say, “He must increase, I must decrease.”(Jn 3:30) We find in John the attitude that must be ours –humility. Putting ourselves first, having an inflated sense of self, is a wall that impedes God’s entrance into our lives and our entrance into the lives of others.
 
Let’s make our own this prayer of an Abbess who sought humility:
 

Dear Lord, You know that I am growing older. Keep me from becoming too talkative, especially from the unfortunate habit of thinking that I must say something on every subject and at every opportunity. Release me from the idea that I must straighten out other peoples’ affairs. With my immense treasure of experience and wisdom, it’s seems a pity not to let everybody partake of it, but you know, Lord, that in the end I will need a few friends. Give me patience to listen to the complaints of others and help to endure them with charity. I do not ask you for improved memory, only for a little more humility and less self-assurance when my memory doesn’t agree with that of others. Teach me the glorious lesson that occasionally I may be wrong. Keep me reasonable gentle. Make me helpful but not bossy. Let me discover merits where I had not expected them and talents in others whom I had not thought to possess any. And, Lord give me the grace to tell them so. Lord, only when I decrease and you increase, will I become what you want me to be...a worthy dwelling place in which for you to dwell. Amen.