When Jesus entered our world, everyone was expecting the long-awaited Messiah, a man who would rule with an iron fist, a man who would be both king and warrior, a man who would conquer by the sword and be victorious by his military expertise.
No one expected their Messiah to be compared to an animal that was daily sacrificed on the altar, as it was on the night of Passover, no one was expecting Jesus to be a lamb, they were expecting a lion.
And, while He was not who they expected Him to be, He did become a great king, He did conquer the world, not by military expertise, but by bringing the very Kingdom of God within our midst, He conquered hearts and He did so not by destroying His enemies, but, instead, by giving His life for them and for us.
And, what this means is quite simple, we have been saved, and through Him, as St. Paul says in our second reading, sanctified and called to be holy. So that now, by our very lives, by His sacrifice we become a living sacrifice for Him.
No one expected their Messiah to be compared to an animal that was daily sacrificed on the altar, as it was on the night of Passover, no one was expecting Jesus to be a lamb, they were expecting a lion.
And, while He was not who they expected Him to be, He did become a great king, He did conquer the world, not by military expertise, but by bringing the very Kingdom of God within our midst, He conquered hearts and He did so not by destroying His enemies, but, instead, by giving His life for them and for us.
And, what this means is quite simple, we have been saved, and through Him, as St. Paul says in our second reading, sanctified and called to be holy. So that now, by our very lives, by His sacrifice we become a living sacrifice for Him.
Because, upon that altar He becomes the New Passover, the New Lamb that is sacrificed daily, not as a reminder of freedom from Pharaoh, but as a reminder of our freedom from sin.
That is why when the words “Behold, the Lamb of God” are spoken before we receive Him, they are words that mean more than just “here is Jesus” they mean “behold our Savior, He who has taken away every single sin in our lives and continues to do so, who has given us the opportunity, as a result, to become holy, to become saints, if we so choose to do so.”
Because, upon that altar is Jesus Himself, that same hoped for Messiah, upon that altar is the Eucharist, the same that has conquered more people, more places and more hearts than any king or military leader could hope to conquer. And, He does so by giving Himself to us, He does so by allowing us to participate, to receive Him Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity, which, literally then, dwells within us.
As some of you may know, I have had a few major surgeries, which is why one of the greatest consolations I ever received before my third open-heart was to understand the reality of what happens when we receive communion. That Jesus’ body and blood become a part of us, so that His very blood, the same that filled His Sacred Heart, courses through our veins and, the same blood He shed for our salvation, fills our hearts and can, literally, transform our souls.
That is the power that every single one of us receive, that is the power that Jesus has, which is why He never needed to rule with an iron fist, He never needed to conquer by the sword, because, as God, He knew and knows that in order to change the world, He needs first to change us. And, He knows that in order to change us it has to be internal, it has to be, first, reconciliation and then a communion, an intermingling of Him with us, so that we become the embodiment of that mercy and that Eucharist in the world.
If we only knew what was possible, what can happen in the world and to the world, by that Eucharist, by our prayer, by our absolution, we might never want to leave this altar, we might never want to leave this church.
God has a purpose for every single one of us, no matter who we are, or what our state in life is, because, as it reminds in our first reading, we are all called to be a light to the nations, to be little lambs, as it were, who offer ourselves constantly to Him. Therefore, as I hold up that Eucharist in a few moments and repeat those same beautiful words St. John spoke, may we always remember what they truly mean and what they truly entail: “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world.”
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