1st Reading: 1 Sm 3:3b-10,19
Responsorial Psalm: Ps 40:2,4,7-10
2nd Reading: 1 Cor 6:13c-15a,17-20
Gospel: Jn 1:35-42
It is truly great to be back at this parish. I will be returning to the seminary on the 21st of January to finish up my final semester of the seminary. Following this upcoming semester I God willing will be ordained a priest for the Diocese of Knoxville. I take each day with great excitement as I finally draw closer to something that I have spent the past eight years of my life preparing for. This final semester of studies will continue to help me prepare to minister to the people of God as a priest. Through my preparation I am preparing to "behold the Lamb of God" in a very profound way. Each of us here find ourselves upon different paths towards holiness, but our goal remains the same and that is to do everything possible to draw closer to Christ.
"Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world." We have taken the time out of our day, so that we could come to this Church and do just that. We have made the sacrifice out of our day, so that we can gather as a community of faith who desires to "behold the Lamb of God." To fathom the things that are going on in the world around us such as television, sports, movies, work, and the need to get some much needed rest, but we have still drawn ourselves to this Church for a reason. We have taken time away from these daily events even if we were pulled here by somebody that we love. For this hour we step outside of the noise of the world and we allow our hearts and souls to enter the realm of the divine. It is here at this Mass that we join with all of the Heavenly Host of Heaven and allow time to stand still. It is only here that we will be able to "behold the Lamb of God" through the Eucharist.
If we indeed dare to "behold the Lamb of God" we have a lot of work that needs to be done. In our second reading from the first letter of Saint Paul to the Corinthians we are told that our "body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you." If we truly believe that the Holy Spirit dwells within us how can we continue to fall into sin even if it is the smallest of sins? With the knowledge that we have been created within the image and likeness of God we should strive our hardest to do away with any impurity which might cause harm to ourselves or to those who surround us. Each of us are joined to Jesus Christ because we share in Holy Communion. It is through this great Sacrament that we are all joined together no matter where we may be. Therefore the reality of sin does more then effect you, but it effects all of us. Sin gets in the way of being able to "behold the lamb of God" because through our own sinful behavior we have decided that we do not want to behold Him inside of the Sacrament of the Altar.
Thankfully we are reminded through today's first reading from the first Book of Samuel that the Lord keeps calling out to each of us. It took the Lord four times to be able to actually get Samuel to hear and to understand. How many times have we heard the Lord calling out to us in our lives and yet decided that we were not ready to respond? In this passage Samuel hears the Lord calling, but needs the assistance of Eli in order to understand how he is to react to this call. It can indeed be difficult to understand where we need to orient our lives when we have so many voices and distractions that get in our way. Despite any distractions that arise in our lives it can be important to seek out help from another person. A close friend or family member could be the perfect place to begin to seek the direction that we need in our lives in order for us to hear this call from God. Taking advantage of different classes and occasions of prayer that this Church offers can also open up hearts and souls to "behold the lamb of God."
John's Gospel presents the apostles to us and tells how they were called to follow Jesus Christ. They saw Christ walking towards them and John pointed out the fact that this was the man that they were now to follow. At this moment the living Gospel of Christ had walked into their lives and all written in the Law would be fulfilled. The fact that John pointed out that He is "the Lamb of God" is very profound. Through this statement he is making reference to the spotless lamb who is sacrificed upon the altar. He is making the statement that Jesus Christ is the one who is free of sin and has arrived in order to be a sacrificial offering for each of us. This is truly the arrival of the Messiah. The apostles had no other option then, but to follow Christ because this is what they were preparing for. They had been called to follow Christ because He was "the Lamb of God" and they did so with great faith. Therefore it was out of the faith of these two apostles that Jesus finally turned his face towards them. They were finally able to come in this close contact with the Divine Savior of the World.
Christ desires to come into contact with each of us. It is His desire to show His face to us, but we must have the faith to actually desire it. Prayer creates this relationship and helps us to grow closer and closer to God each day until we are able to clearly see His face. No matter how wonderful or grim our life may seem to be Christ is still present in those moments and continues to walk into our lives. We must never take for granted "the Lamb of God" who has walked into our lives. It is because of His sacrifice that we have been granted everlasting life. Therefore when we say "Lamb of God you take away the sins of the world" we should not be saying only words, but should be crying out with joy that Christ overcame the sin of the world through His sacrifice on the cross. Following that moment the priest will raise the Body of Christ over the chalice and will proclaim to each of us "Behold the Lamb of God, behold him who takes away the sins of the world. Blessed are those who are called to the supper of the Lamb." At this moment the priest is calling to us like John called to the two apostles. The priest is inviting us to this divine union with Jesus Christ. May we truly "behold the Lamb of God" and profess that we are here to do His will upon this earth.
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