First reading: Is. 49: 3, 5-6
“You are my servant, he said to me, Israel, through whom I
show my glory. For now the Lord has
spoken who formed me as his servant from the womb, that Jacob may be brought
back to him and Israel gathered to him; and I am made glorious in the sight of
the Lord, and my God is now my strength!
It is too little, he says, for you to be my servant, to raise up the
tribes of Jacob, and restore the survivors of Israel; I will make you a light
to the nations, that my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth.”
Second reading: 1 Cor. 1: 1-3
“Paul, called to be an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will
of God, and Sosthenes our brother, to the church of God that is in Corinth, to
you who have been sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be holy, with all those
everywhere who call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, their Lord and
ours. Grace to you and peace from God
our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.”
Gospel reading: Jn. 1: 29-34
“The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him and said,
‘Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world. He is the one of whom I said, a man is coming
after me who ranks ahead of me because he existed before me. I did not know him, but the reason why I came
baptizing with water was that he might be made known to Israel.’ John testified further, saying, ‘I saw the
Spirit come down like a dove from the sky and remain upon him. I did not know him, but the one who sent me
to baptize with water told me, on whomever you see the Spirit come down and
remain, he is the one who will baptize with the holy Spirit.’ Now I have seen and testified that he is the
Son of God.”
Introductory theme summary:
In both the first and second readings we have clear evidence
of the universal significance of the messiah, which was to go beyond the
reaches of Judaism to include all the people of the earth. In the gospel, however, we have the
proclamation of Jesus being ‘the Lamb of God,’ which holds tremendous
significance to understanding what it means to be a member of the Body of Christ.
Amidst the present day discussions of all Christian believers
being members of the Body of Christ, the question begs to be asked: How,
specifically, is the Body of Christ to be understood as a metaphor?
To begin, the metaphor of “The Lamb of God” draws our
attention to the crucifixion itself when Christ offered himself as a
sacrificial “lamb.” Christ’s body hung
on the cross as the sacrificial offering of his life for the salvation of the
world through the forgiveness of sins, which Christ alone won by his perfect
sacrifice. From this there are many
things for us to see, but only three will be addressed in particular. The first is the dimension of him being a
victim. The second is what makes his
sacrifice perfect. The third is whether
or not we are willing to participate in his sacrifice.
These days it would seem people either exaggerate their
sufferings to ‘play the victim’ or they ‘refuse to be a victim.’ Concerning our membership in the Body of
Christ we must be willing to accept the role of victim when we are put in that
position, but no one can falsify actually being a victim. To do so attempts to deceive God and his
people. Christ is perfect, so there is
no place for impenitent fraud. Getting
back to accepting the role of victim, in most cases it is either pride or fear
that causes a person to deny the role of being a victim when one has become so. Though it might seem that fear is acceptable,
it isn’t. There will be no place for the
fearful in the kingdom.[1] As for pride, our Lord is more than humble,
he is humble of heart, so there is no place in the Body of Christ for a pride
so impenitent that it isn’t willing to accept the role of victim Christ’s sake.
One could assert that what made Christ’s sacrifice perfect
was him being free from all sin, but that is what makes him a perfect victim
and not what perfects his sacrifice. What
perfects his sacrifice of laying down his life is his perfect love for God and
man. His being free from all sin is
certainly part of the equation, which is why we who would participate in the
membership of his Body must purify ourselves from our sins, but more important
than this purification is becoming so for the love of God and man.[2] If we do not have charity we are nothing,[3]
and if we fail in charity how could we be a member of the Body of Christ?
Finally, participating in Christ’s sacrifice is a simple as
putting these two elements together for the purpose of contributing to the salvation
of the world. Whenever we are caused to
suffer sin or injustice we are to accept the role of victim, praying for the
salvation of those who harm us, believing that by join our sufferings with
Christ perfect sacrifice it will contribute to his purpose of saving the world. Are you willing to do these things to be a member
of the Body of Christ?
Come, let us show ourselves as true members of the Body of
Christ by forbearing the injuries of sin and injustice and join our sufferings
with Christ to further the salvation of the world.
[1] Rev.
21: 8 “But as for cowards, the unfaithful,
the depraved, murderers, the unchaste, sorcerers, idol-worshippers, and
deceivers of every sort, their lot is in the burning pool of fire and sulfur,
which is the second death.”
[2] Catechism
of the Catholic Church, #1822: “Charity is the theological virtue by which we
love God above all things for his own sake, and our neighbor as ourselves for
the love of God.”
[3] 1
Cor. 13: 2 “If I have the gift of
prophecy and comprehend all mysteries and all knowledge; if I have all faith so
as to move mountains, but do not have love (charity), I am nothing.”
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