Dear friends,

The poinsettias are gone, the lights are down, and the Christmas season is over. Now we move on with the very beginning of Jesus’ public life, usually referred to as his ministry. We will be spending most of the “Ordinary Time” watching Jesus through the eyes of Matthew.

Today’s selection devoted to the testimony of John the Baptist focuses on Jesus as the Lamb of God.

In the Bible the lamb is the symbol of being innocent; it cannot do evil to anyone but only suffer it. It is quite a common sight in camp of Bedouins to see a little lamb or a kid roaming around with a red ribbon round its neck. Welcome and petted by everybody, is the lamb that the camp has set aside for the annual sacrifice to God. Jesus is this Lamb.

The same very words spoken by John the Baptist are to be found during Mass, before Holy Communion, when the priest shows the faithful the consecrated bread and wine and invites them to come forward.

Even though these words may be heard often, we must admit they become quite foreign to us. We certainly know how a lamb looks. But what does it mean this description that John the Baptist uses to refer to the strong young man in front of him?

He does not simply call him a lamb in the same way we address a somewhat timid and naïve person with a hint of a mind derision.

“Lamb of God” calls to mind of the listeners the image of the lambs which were sacrificed every day in the temple, but more so of the lamb which marked the beginning of their exodus, of their freedom.

This strong man in the best years of his youth that stands in front of them is the one who will take upon himself the sins of the entire world. These mysterious words about Jesus predict his entire future path. He will set us free not through a military or political success but taking what is wrong on himself.  In this seeming impotence, the impotence of a lamb, he will lift off its hinges the entire burden of evil that weighs heavily on the world.

I received an invitation to attend a seminar on: “ dealing with difficult people”. It promises to help us “never again fall victim to those who love to make life miserable for the rest of us” Further says “you will learn why they act the way they do. You will find out how to say and do in  specific situation. Learn to take offensive against: know-it-alls, dictators and all the other contrary characters you confront every day”.

True there are lots of broken people around us. As Christians we are called to imitate Jesus and embrace these people to our heart giving them the hug of their lie!

In the words of St. Paul to the Galatians: “Brothers, if someone is caught in a sin, you who are spiritual should restore him gently. But watch yourself, or you also may be tempted. Carry each other's burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ” Gal. 6,1-2

We don’t find it difficult not because we are strong, but because Christ did it to us first. Having been healed we become healers in turn.