January 16, 2005
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Mindekirken January 16, 2005 Lamb of God John - 1:29-42 When the tsunami hit Asia right after Christmas, more than 150,000 people perished. But hardly any animals were taken by the wave. That was because the beach area was dominated by people. But it has been told that for instance elephants tore apart the chains with which they were bound, and escaped to security at a higher elevation. Animals have senses that we don’t have. Chickens for instance, can warn about an earthquake before it happens. Animals have abilities which humans admire. Therefore it’s not rare that people are compared with animals.
Jesus called Herod a fox. Luke 13.32. Satan is called the snake. The Holy Spirit descended down upon Jesus like a dove. Jesus himself is called the lion of Judea in Rev 5.5. That’s to tell about his power as a king. Today, however, we’ll focus on another animal. This animal has been almost like a title for Jesus, a way to present him. Around the year 700 AD, Sergius became pope in Rome. He brought with him a song which had been sung in his country of origin, Syria, for centuries. Thanks to Sergius we’ll sing the same song today. For more then 1300 years this has been the most commonly sung song world wide. Whatever we might call forever favorite melodies look like current hits compared to this song. When John sat as a prisoner in the quarry on the island of Patmos around the year 100 AD, he saw in a vision that this song will one day be sung by every creation in heaven and on earth forever, Rev 5.12. Which song am I talking about? It’s the song of the lamb, expressed like this in the text I mentioned: You are worthy…for you were slaughtered and by your blood you ransomed for God saints from every tribe and language and people and nation… In Latin The Lamb of God is called Agnus Dei. That’s what we and Christians all over the world call the song we sing before the bread and wine of Holy Communion are shared. Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world, have mercy on us. Since 1000 AD: Dona nobis pacem. Give us your peace, has been added. Even if Pope Sergius is credited for introducing the song of the Lamb in the worldwide church, today’s text states clearly that he didn’t come up with this idea on his own. We get to hear that John the Baptist pointed at Jesus, saying: Here is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! But even he hadn’t come up with this idea by himself. How was this motive tied to Jesus? Why is he called the Lamb of God? I grew up at Tomb agricultural school in Norway. There they had an annual activity which fascinated me a lot: sheep shearing. The sheep shearer took a squirming sheep firmly, and made it lay calmly between his legs. Then he used the machine scissors with high speed, all over the sheep's body and cut off the wool. The sharp machine scissors was used close to the legs, ears and udder without hurting the sheep. The sheep which right before had wiggled in protest, lay calmly with confidence even though the machine scissors moved only a millimeter over its main artery. As an adult I have read Isaiah 53:7: Yet he did not open his mouth… like a sheep that before its sheerer is silent. These words were said about the suffering Servant of the Lord, who was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet did not open his mouth; like a lamb that is lead to the slaughter. This is a prophesy about Jesus. The Lamb is a picture of his suffering in our place. Jesus was obedient, and willing to suffer. A detail may be mentioned. When we sing in the Norwegian HC liturgy: Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world, we quote the text of Isaiah where sin is mentioned in plurals; sins. John the Baptist uses singular, sin. (This detail applies to the Norwegian liturgy particularly.) The matter is the same, but linguistically it shows that our HC liturgy is built on the song about the suffering servant of the Lord by Isaiah. But there are also other motives which comes to mind when Jesus is called the Lamb of God. John the Baptist worked in the wilderness When John pointed out Jesus as the Lamb of God, he might have thought of the Yom Kippur. That day the Israelites had a ceremony where the sin of the people was laid upon a ram which then was sent out in the desert no more to be seen. From that, we have got our word scapegoat. Jesus is our scapegoat. But more likely though, John thought of the paschal lamb. When the Jews were slaves in Egypt, Moses came to lead them out. The last night in a foreign land, every family should take a perfect, one year old lamb, and prepare a Passover meal. The blood of the lamb should be painted on the doorframes. That would be a sign for the angel of death to pass by that very house. Easter means "pass by" (Passover). The blood of the lamb became the means of salvation and life. When Jesus died on the cross they gave him vinegar on a stick of isop. The isop plant was used by the father of the family in Egypt when he would paint blood on the door frames. Do you see the connection? Our paschal lamb, Christ, has been sacrificed. Paul says in 1 Cor 5.7. No bone in the dead body of Jesus was broken on the cross. By that it’s underlined that he would be a perfect sacrifice. Today we are gathered for an exodus meal. Before we kneel at the altar rail we’ll sing: Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world, have mercy on us. Give us your peace. The body and blood of Christ through bread and wine are an answer to that prayer. It’s given us with the fullness of all the benefit of Jesus' death and resurrection. Here’s the forgiveness of sin, life and hope for the future. The heavenly praise will have this theme: Worthy is the Lamb that was slaughtered to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing! Amen. |
The Norwegian Lutheran Memorial Church · 924 E. 21st St, Minneapolis, MN 55404-2952 · (612)874-0716 |