28th Sunday in Ordinary Time

ORATIONS: EUCHARISTIC ADORATION. In part 9 of my series on The Mystery of the Eucharist in the Life of the Church US Bishops’ document, I’m reflecting on the 3rd of the 7 prayers used to end Benediction. The 7 ‘themes’ are: Memorial; True God/True Man; Paschal Lamb of God; Heavenly Bread of Angels; Spirit and Truth; Life-Giving Bread/Viaticum; and Paschal Mystery Renewed. Past articles on this Revival , the whole document, and a free study guide, are on our Parish website: stmaryrutherford.org; click on National Eucharistic Revival Bulletin Articles.

PASCHAL LAMB OF GOD. The magnificent prologue with which Saint John begins his Gospel truly soars to literary heights; an introduction second to none, it climaxes with this awesome statement: “And the Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us.” (John 1:14a) Then, after introducing John the Baptist, the evangelist says of him: “The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him and said, ‘Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world.'” (1:29) These familiar words are proclaimed at holy Mass as the Blessed Sacrament is held high for all to see before we receive Holy Communion. Let’s ‘unpack’ these words to better appreciate them.

John the Baptist could have used so many ‘job descriptions’ to introduce Jesus to the world after calling Him the Incarnate Word or Word made flesh! He could have called Jesus: Redeemer or Savior; Messiah or The Promised One; Son of David or Second Person of the Blessed Trinity. While all these – and more – are true, the Baptist called Jesus ‘the Lamb of God.’ And of all the images of Jesus the Church could focus on right before we receive Holy Communion, she, too, settled on “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world.”

THE PASSOVER LAMB. To better appreciate WHY the Baptist and the Church highlight this image, we must go back to the ancient Jewish Passover Meal. Known also as a Seder Meal, this ritual was instituted by God through Moses on the very night our ancestors were freed from slavery and certain death in Egypt and began their 40-year journey to the Promised Land. Each family was instructed to procure a lamb, which was roasted and eaten, but whose blood, into which a stick of hyssop was dipped, was then used to mark each door of an Israelite’s home. When the Angel of Death came to destroy the first-born son in each Egyptian home, he ‘passed over’ the homes marked with lamb’s blood.

As I previously noted in this series, Saint John’s Gospel also specifies that it was with a stick of hyssop – a flimsy, short stick – that a sponge soaked in wine was raised to the lips of the Crucified Christ. Since this is physically impossible, it had symbolic meaning, which is exactly what the Church teaches! For the Blood of Christ, the True Lamb of God, shed for us on the Cross, frees us from sin and eternal death. No wonder Jesus so solemnly proclaimed: “Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him on the last day. For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me and I in him.” (John 6:54-56)

BUT WAIT, THERE’S STILL MORE! We have also been promised something this oration refers to: we will be rewarded for our faith with the eternal vision of God’s glory! For Jesus also solemnly declared: “(I am) the bread that came down from heaven. Unlike your ancestors who ate and still died, whoever eats this bread will live forever.” [6:58] Each time we honor “the sacramental presence of the Lamb” – by adoring Him in the exposed Blessed Sacrament during Benediction or Eucharistic Adoration, receiving Him in Holy Communion, or genuflecting as we pass by a Tabernacle that contains the reserved Eucharist – we claim for ourselves the great gift of grace He offers us in His Most Sacred Body and His Most Precious Blood. Again, when was the last time you received or simply made a ‘visit’ to the Blessed Sacrament?

With God’s love and my prayers,

Very Rev. Michael J. Kreder, VF, KCHS