There is a story told of a German artist who, centuries ago, was working on the roof of a monastery chapel in Werden, Germany, which is in the Western part of the nation. While he was working, his safety belt snapped and he began to fall towards his sure and certain death. Due to Murphy’s Law, the area where he was falling was not only far below, but also filled with large, jagged rocks. But this man must have been saying his prayers each night and putting something in the collection every week. As Providence would have it, there was also a lamb, who made the fateful decision to graze on the grass which grew between the rocks. How it happened, nobody knows, but the artist miraculously fell on the lamb, which died instantly, but the artist survived. When he recovered from his shock and bruises, he sculptured a lamb and placed it on the church roof in gratitude. That lamb still stands there to this day.
This story might help us to understand today’s Gospel reading that speaks about another Lamb. John the Baptist's favorite title for Jesus is "the Lamb of God." It became one of John the Evangelist's favorite titles as well. He uses it in his Gospel and the Book of Revelation some thirty times. It brings together three images that would have been familiar to the Jewish people. By calling Christ the "Lamb of God," St John is telling us that those ancient images are fulfilled in Jesus.
But what are those three images? The first image takes us back to the Old Covenant and the Book of Exodus where God required the Jews to sacrifice a lamb twice a day to pardon the sins of the people. In this first image, the lamb symbolized the price that had to be paid for sin. It showed the people how awful and deadly sin truly was. It was not something harmless or minor. The second image was found in the holy day of Passover. In the Passover ceremony, each family sacrificed and ate a lamb to recall their liberation from slavery in the days of Moses. On that night, God allowed the death of all the firstborn children and animals of the Egyptians, but spared those of the Hebrews. In order to indicate which households the angel of death was to skip over, God commanded the Hebrews to sacrifice a lamb and mark their doorposts with its blood. Because of this saving act, the Passover lamb signified God's merciful and saving love. The third and final image is found throughout the prophecies and promises of the Messiah. Again and again, the Savior is described as a lamb going silently and obediently to be slaughtered. This Messiah, the Lamb of God, was going to take Israel's sins upon himself and wipe them away through his suffering obedience. His Blood would be the protection from God’s punishment of sin and all who were washed in it would be pleasing to the Lord.
By calling Jesus the "Lamb of God," John reminds us that these Old Testament images had been pointing towards Christ, the world’s one and only Savior. Jesus’ self-sacrificial, self-giving love is so central to our faith that the Church reminds us every time Mass is celebrated by praying: "Lamb of God, you take away the sins of the world, have mercy on us." In just a few minutes, when we receive Holy Communion, we will be receiving the Lamb of God, just as the Jews of the Old Testament shared in the Passover Lamb. And when we receive the Lamb of God with a lively faith, he strengthens us to follow his example: obediently loving God above things and fearlessly giving our lives in service to others.
So, practically speaking, what can each of us take away from this reminder of the importance of the Lamb of God? First of all, it shows us that absolutely nothing we do can ever extinguish God’s love for us. The Lamb of God loves us even in our sinfulness, no matter how serious or awful, and promises that love for all time. We must never doubt this Divine Love. In those times in our lives when we find ourselves doubting God’s love or goodness, we can be sure that this thought is a temptation from the devil. Even though we might not feel his love or sense His Presence, we can be assured He is there loving and protecting us every moment of every day.
Second, by giving himself up for our salvation, Jesus showed us the path to happiness. We will only be happy by imitating the Lamb of God in our own lives. We were not created to indulge ourselves, but to give ourselves in love to God and neighbor. This is how Christ conquered sin and evil; by loving and giving himself to others. You and I will conquer sin and evil in the same way - by loving, by giving without counting the cost, by forgiving without limits.
At this Eucharist, we are reminded that each and every one of us is like that falling German artist. Each of us has sins and weaknesses that threaten to plunge us towards a spiritual death. How blessed we are, that the Lamb of God has decided to sacrifice himself for our sins! How incredible that God would send his Beloved Son to break our fall and shed his Blood on the Cross so that we might be saved and restored to full spiritual health. All that he asks, is that we receive his love and mercy. And then, having received that amazing love, he asks us to share it with world and become, with his help, lambs of God to the world around us. Let us give thanks for the Lamb of God who takes away our sins and guides us towards everlasting life. Let us make use of the sacraments he gives to the Church to bring us grace and strength. Finally, may we offer ourselves back to God so he might use us to save those who are falling towards the jagged rocks of despair and sin.
