“Behold, the Lamb of God. Behold Him who takes away the sins of the world.”
Have you ever wondered where the words used during the Consecration in Holy Mass come from?
I mean, think of the words that the priest uses when He holds the Body of Christ up during Mass… “Behold, the Lamb of God. Behold Him who takes away the sins of the world.”
The words themselves make sense to me. After all, Christ is the Pascal Sacrifice and the Lamb of God. In Jewish Tradition a lamb was sacrificed every year during the Passover to commemorate the liberation of the Israelites from their bondage in Egypt. In other words, that animal lamb of the Passover, is sacrificed to commemorate physical freedom from slavery. And Christ – the NEW Lamb of God – freed us from the Spiritual bondage of Sin…
During the Passover, the blood of the sacrificed lamb was painted on the lintel of the homes. So too is Christ’s blood poured out for us poor sinners. And during the Passover, the lamb must be consumed – eaten. And so too must Christ be consumed – eaten – during Holy Communion…
And where do these words come from… “Behold, the Lamb of God. Behold Him who takes away the sins of the world.”
Well, I found them the other day… “The next day he (John the Baptist) saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, ‘Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! This is He of whom I said, ‘After me comes a Man who ranks before me, for He was before me.’ I myself did not know Him; but for this I came baptising with water, that He might be revealed to Israel.’” (John 1:29-34).
Saint John the Baptist – who recognised Christ as an UNBORN baby – is the person that the priest quotes during Holy Mass. It is his words that we use to recognise the Son of Man, the Word Made Flesh, and the Salvation of the World.
And I have been reflecting on that reality today as I have been going about my day.
For a man who died when he was still quite young. A man who was executed as a criminal. An uneducated man who spent his life in the wilderness without comfort or excess. A man who was politically incorrect – who criticised kings and their wives and mistresses, who wore animal skin and ate honey and locusts, that is the man whose words the priest quotes during the most solemn part of the Holy Mass.
And that tells me something about all the things that I am valuing in this world. For the things that I consider important, are simply not. And the things that I am afraid to speak, are very often the only things that matter.
And when I think about that today, I hang my head in shame, for it occurs to me that I have much work still to do, if I wish to be pleasing to my Blessed Lord…
For with prayer, I stand on Holy Ground where everything is clear. Here. At the Foot of the Cross.