Behold the Lamb of God

     "Behold the Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world!" is a very familiar expression for us Catholics. We sing or recite it at every Mass. Today’s gospel reading tells us how John the Baptist, on seeing Jesus coming towards him, presented Christ to his listeners and to the world by announcing him as the Lamb of God. 
     The book of Exodus gives us the context of the expression, “Lamb of God.” Prior to the exit of Israelites from Egypt, God killed the first born of Egyptians and spared the lives of the Israelites because they smeared their doorposts with the blood of the Passover lamb. Even though the Passover lamb was a sign of deliverance from oppression and slavery, it did not take away the sins of Israelites and so was not capable of bringing them eternal salvation. The letter to the Hebrews 10:4 is specific on how impossible it is for the blood of animal to take away human sins. The writer insists that only the sacrifice of the son of God could do it. The blood of the Passover lamb in Exodus, therefore, remains a sign of what the blood of Jesus will realize in the history of our salvation. 
     What does this mean to us who are followers of Jesus, the lamb of God? Like John the Baptist, the church has the mission to present Christ to the people of different cultures, languages and background. It is the desire of the Church to echo the same words today to its members and to the world. As members of the Church, it is also our task a be a ‘John’ in the various places and areas of our lives. We have to identify our respective ways of showing or bringing Christ to others and to our current world. The parents have the mission to lay the foundation of faith for their children. The teachers and educators, those in politics and in civil spaces and all of us in our different fields of work are commissioned to bring and show Christ to our friends, acquaintances, and colleagues. 
     Like the time of Exodus, we are called to “smear” the doorposts of our very selves with the visible sign of Jesus Christ, the lamb of God. The “doorpost” here means that our Christian lives must be open; must be seen; and must be felt by everybody around us.