2nd SUNDAY, YEAR A

Jn 1: 29-34

“Here is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” (Jn 1:29)

How to deal with evil and suffering we encounter in our lives? How to deal with sins that we struggle with again and again? Is there anything God can do with evil and suffering that people experience in their lives? Today’s Liturgy of the Word, the readings we just read, help us in searching for the answer.

The first reading from Isaiah (Is 49:3, 5-6) speaks about a mysterious Servant of the Lord. As we heard, he was called by God even before he was born to be “a light to the nations,” that is, to bring justice and healing to the whole world. This mysterious servant, who is unnamed, is going to be anointed by God and sent for a mission, to defeat all evil in the world.^[1] The way he is going to accomplish his task is out of the ordinary. As Isaiah tells us, this servant will not use an extraordinary power. He will be rather meek and gentle; ‘He will not … lift up his voice — a bruised reed he will not break, and a dimly burning wick he will not quench’ (Is 42:2-3). He will defeat evil by means of his self-sacrifice (Is 53:7). Even though he is going to die, he will be victorious in his mission (Is 42:4). The reason that he will be able to accomplish his great task is that the spirit of God will be within him and because God delights in him (Is 42:1).^[2] Who is that mysterious, seemingly weak, yet the most powerful Servant of the Lord?

The authors of the New Testament saw in this servant a perfect image of Christ. At His Baptism, as we heard last Sunday, Jesus was anointed by the spirit of God and proclaimed to be the one in whom God delights and whom God sends (Mt 3:17). And His mission as we know was characterized by an unexpected gentle dealing with people, particularly with sinners.^[3] This is why, as we have in today’s Gospel, seeing Jesus, John the Baptist points at Him saying, “Here is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world” (Jn 1:29). It is striking that John does not call Jesus, ‘Saviour’ or ‘Redeemer’ or even ‘Son of God’. All of which were very fitting titles for Jesus. John says, “Here is the Lamb of God.” By saving this, John refers to Jesus with a metaphor stemming from the Jewish tradition. The lamb was an essential part of the Passover. As we remember, on the last night in Egypt, it was the blood of the lamb, placed on the doorposts of the houses of Israelites, that preserved them from death and made them free (Ex 12:7). The ‘lamb who takes away sin’ is a symbol of the Suffering Servant in Isaiah; he is the one who bears sins and iniquities of others, who suffers for others, and who is “led like a lamb to be slaughtered” (Is 53.7,11). Jesus’ death on the Cross will reveal Him as the perfect Lamb of sacrifice, bringing John’s words to fulfilment.^[4] No coincidence that, in the Gospel of John, Jesus dies on the Cross precisely on the night when the Passover lambs were being slaughtered in the temple by the Jewish priests.

As we contemplate these readings and on the image of Christ as a Lamb, we wonder what all of this has to do with us and our lives. Today’s readings speak about our lives more deeply than we may expect. To say that Jesus ‘takes away the sin of the world’ is to say that God is not helpless in dealing with evil and sin; it is to say that we, those who trust in God, are not helpless while facing evil, sin, or suffering. Since Jesus takes away sin, it means that all the evil we encounter in our lives, every sin and suffering we face, can be transformed, in a mysterious way, into goodness for us. This is the meaning of today’s readings. How is it possible that evil, suffering, and sin can be transformed into goodness?

This is possible because Christ, the Lamb of God, defeats evil not by supernatural power but by taking it upon Himself and by doing this out of love for us.^[5] Fr. Ron Rolheiser explains this in a simple way: Jesus takes inside of himself hatred and gives back kindness; He takes in bitterness and gives back warmth and compassion; He takes upon Himself our sins and gives us back peace and forgiveness. Evil can leave us because there is someone, that is Christ, who takes it upon Himself, and through a certain sacrifice of self, through an act of love, transforms them into goodness for us.^[6] Soren Kierkegaard, the great Danish philosopher and theologian, suggests that we shouldn’t just admire what Jesus did for us, we should imitate it.^[7] Whenever receiving hatred, we give back forgiveness; whenever receiving anger, we give back kindness; whenever, we act in a self-sacrificial way, we act like the Lamb of God who “takes away the sin of the world.”^[8]

What about suffering? Sometimes we wonder, is God able to do anything with suffering, particularly with the suffering of innocent people? Good Friday, Christ, the innocent Lamb of God, dying on the Cross, is the answer. God does not explain the meaning of suffering; He takes it upon Himself and transforms it into hope for us. We saw what flowed from the suffering of Christ on the Cross: the resurrection and hope for the whole human race, for each of us. We see what happens in our lives. How much energy and heroism is often brought out precisely in the midst of suffering. How much heroism is brought out in a family lovingly embracing a handicapped child or elderly person, bedridden for years! How much hope is given to suffering or dying people by dedicated volunteers or caretakers in hospices or hospitals? How much unexpected solidarity surrounds us, people who trust in God in the midst of struggle and suffering. How much otherwise unknown capacity to love is revealed! To say that Jesus takes away evil, is to say that, in a mysterious way, even suffering can be fruitful for us.^[9]

What about sins in our life, particularly those we struggle with again and again? Is there any way that sin can be transformed into hope? When the apostle Peter wept after his denial of Jesus, it was precisely there, in the midst of sin, that he had learned how much he was loved. Master Eckhart, a Dominican theologian from the fourteenth century, has the courage to say that ‘a committed sin is not sinful if it causes pain inside of us.’^[10] What kind of pain? The same pain St. Paul experienced when he said, “I do not do the good I want, but I do the evil I do not want” (Rom 7:19). It is the pain of helplessness with ourselves, pain of disappointing God and ourselves. Christ understands that pain and He can transform it into benefit for us. No coincidence that through the prophet God assures us, “though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be like snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become [white] like wool” (Is 1:18). To say that Jesus ‘takes away sin’ is to say that, when we allow Christ to embrace us in His mercy, even sin and darkness can work for us.

And so, the mysterious Suffering Servant of the Lord, who brings light and healing, undoubtedly is the image of Christ, who transforms evil by taking it upon Himself. That servant can also be each of us. Healing the wounds of others, bringing light and hope – this is what we are called for. Once we experience God’s mercy, we are capable of being ‘a light to the nations’ — that is, to bring hope and healing to those we love and those we meet in our lives.

^[1] Scott, Lewis SJ, “God’s Word on Sunday: Everyone is called to be a light to nations.”

https://www.catholicregister.org/faith/columnists/item/30967-god-s-word-on-sunday-everyone-is-called-to-be-a-light-to-nations

(accessed January 14, 2020)

^[2] See, Scott Lewis SJ, “Healing the world is a mission for all.”

https://www.catholicregister.org/faith/columnists/item/30944-god-s-word-on-sunday-healing-the-world-is-a-mission-for-all

(accessed January 11, 2020).

^[3]Ibid.

^[4] Elizabeth M. Nagel, et al. Workbook for Lectors, Gospel Readers, and Proclaimers of the Word, 2020, Year A.

(Ottawa: CCCB Publications), 48-50.

^[5] Ronald Rolheiser, How Jesus Takes Away the Sin of The World.

https://ronrolheiser.com/how-jesus-takes-away-the-sin-of-the-world/#.WF1SA7GZM1g (access December 20, 2016).

^[6]Ron Rolheiser, OMI. “How Jesus Takes Away The Sin Of The World.”