Certain events are noteworthy turning points in a life: birth, death, wedding, graduation. When you look back on those moments you know that there was a “before” and an “after” — that things were different because of what occurred. Such an event in the life of Jesus was his baptism. All of the gospel writers talk about it. In the Acts of the Apostles St. Peter says that whoever would take the place of Judas would need to be someone “who have been with us the whole time the Lord Jesus was living among us beginning from John’s baptism.” The baptism of Jesus was looked upon as a starting point. What is interesting is HOW the different gospel writers talk about Jesus’ baptism. For Mark, it was the time Jesus heard the affirming word as beloved Son of his Heavenly Father. For Matthew, it was when Jesus was introduced to the crowds as God’s chosen one. In Luke it was the inauguration of his ministry. In St. John’s gospel, as we just heard, the baptism is not referred to directly but the image of Holy Spirit descending on Jesus provides the context. John said, “The reason why I came baptizing with water was that he might be made known to Israel.” Jesus’ baptism was the occasion for John the Baptist to give witness to Jesus before the world. “Behold the Lamb of God.” “Now I have seen and testified that he is the Son of God.”
This is a reminder that each one of us as believers has a similar role to play. We are called to give witness, to testify, as John the Baptist did. Maybe in the olden days we could rely on the culture to carry the faith. We went to Church because our parents went to church and their parents went to church before them. Those days are gone. Those who are believers today have experienced something for ourselves, personally. We don’t believe because of what someone has told us about Jesus but because we have come to know him for ourselves. And, as we have been hearing since Renew My Church and will be hearing in the future, we, like John the Baptist, must give our testimony on the presence of Christ in our lives if we are to lead others to him. The way Jesus had touched John was as the one who “takes away the sin of the world.” Jesus as the one who overcomes sin is certainly prominent part of the Biblical witness but here is another man’s testimony on how Jesus has touched my life.
Behold the Lamb of God who has given me the blessed assurance that I am loved. Jesus teaches us that through no fault of our own, God has chosen to love us. In The Color Purple the character Celie says that all of our lives we are striving to be loved. She says, “Everything want to be loved. Us sing and dance and holler, just trying to be loved.” The Lamb of God lets us know that for God to love us we don’t have to do anything – no dancing required, phew. Just being who we are, we are loved for we are the children of God and God loves us just as we are. No amount of prayer will make God love us more. No amount of sin will make God love us less. God loves us completely, totally, unconditionally just for being us.
Behold the Lamb of God who is really present for he speaks to me in the Bible and when I share at the Eucharistic table. Historians might study Jesus. Scholars might parse the Scriptures. Archeologists might dig up the past. Experts might say who Jesus was but we can connect to who Jesus is. We are not like re-enactors of the past pretending to be the Yankees and the Rebs at Gettysburg. We are participants in the divine drama that is taking place today. The Word proclaimed is not memorable literature but current events. The bread broken and the cup shared (hopefully soon) are the same ones that Jesus gave to Peter, James and John at the Last Supper. Jesus is not a pious memory but a companion on our journey.
Behold the Lamb of God whose suffering redeems my suffering. There is so much we have to get through in life: loss, grief, disappointment, guilt, shame, failure, rejection, loneliness, sickness, anxiety, the Bears’ season. Then there is the suffering we see around us that we feel helpless to deal with: war, poverty, racism, hunger, homelessness, crime, violence, addiction, children being neglected or abused. It can all feel overwhelming. The example of Jesus on the cross proves that no bit of bad news gets the last word, that God can bring Easter Sunday out of Good Friday, that no matter what we are going through now in God’s time all will be well.
Finally, behold the Lamb of God who is my elder brother and, hence, makes everyone else a brother and sister to me. How easy it is to notice differences – this person doesn’t look like me or talk like me or think like me. But since Jesus chose to share in our humanity then what we have in common is more important than any differences since we all become part of the same family, the family of God. As the Bible puts it, what Jesus is by nature, we are by adoption, a child of God. And since we are part of the same family everyone has a claim on me. Just as I care about my brother who is sick, I care about everyone who is sick. Just as I feel the loss of my aunt, I feel everyone’s loss. We are all in this together with Jesus. This is my witness to Jesus, the Lamb of God. What would yours be? That is my testimony and it is the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth, so help me God.
