Christ our Paschal Lamb
Faustino de Jesús Zamora Vargas
SUMMARY: The prophecy of John the Baptist announcing the arrival of the "Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world" is an extraordinary moment in the history of the Hebrew people. Christ is the lamb without blemish, who carried our rebellions and sins on the cross. Christians celebrate Christ's resurrection and his presence in our lives and in his church. The Lord's Supper is a memorable and reverent ceremony that symbolizes our permanent union with Christ until he returns. Let's take this blessed week to shed the old leaven and celebrate the victory of life that we enjoy today in Jesus. There is life in Jesus!
When John the Baptist cried out in the desert warning of the inauguration of the public ministry of Jesus, he made, perhaps, the most extraordinary prophecy in the history of the Hebrew people by announcing to his countrymen the arrival of the "lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world ”(John 1:29). Christ himself left us an unappealable sentence in the Scriptures when he said of John that "among those born of women no other prophet greater than himself has risen" (Mt. 11:11). John was acknowledging that Christ would be the martyr who was to be slain innocent and that his sacrificial death would erase the sins of mankind. The image of Christ as the Lamb of God moves our being, makes us see and think about the glorious scene of his death on the cross, confronts us with the same cross, calls us to reconsider with joy and pain, with reverence and emotion, the path of holiness that we have decided to travel.
Christ was the lamb without blemish, the Kebes (little lamb used for sacrifice in the time of Christ) humble and obedient that "with his precious blood ... as of a lamb without spot and without contamination" (1 Pet. 1:19) would carry in the tree your rebellions and mine, those of this increasingly forgetful and foolish world that celebrates the Week of the Passion of Christ and his resurrection as one more festive event in its calendar of foolishness conducive to cheap revelries and unbridled passions.
Christians who have been born again by the grace and mercies of God are celebrating. We celebrate Christ, his resurrection, his presence in our lives and in his church. Christ is Easter for Christians because there is life in Jesus. Paul says that "our Passover, which is Christ, has already been sacrificed for us" (1 Cor. 5: 7). Is there a better reason to celebrate in God's people? Before being handed over to be taken to the slaughterhouse (Is 53: 7) Christ celebrated Passover with his disciples and linked the wine and bread with his blood and his body, making this event the most memorable and reverent ceremony of the people of God in what today we call the Lord's Supper. He established this celebration so that we will remember his death and resurrection, so that our humanity may merge with his body and blood as a symbol of a permanent union until he returns victorious to seek his church.
Let's take this blessed week to shed once more of the old leaven that still persists in polluting us. We are a new mass, a new, different people, a paschal people that rejoices in the Lamb of God who calls us to the living sacrifice to serve and honor him. Let us celebrate the cross, the victory of life that we enjoy today in Jesus, the lofty and perfect lamb that was resurrected and rejoices in the children who celebrate him with love and dedication. Do not forget, dear brothers and sisters: there is life in Jesus!
God bless you!
Christ was the lamb without blemish, the Kebes (little lamb used for sacrifice in the time of Christ) humble and obedient that "with his precious blood ... as of a lamb without spot and without contamination" (1 Pet. 1:19) would carry in the tree your rebellions and mine, those of this increasingly forgetful and foolish world that celebrates the Week of the Passion of Christ and his resurrection as one more festive event in its calendar of foolishness conducive to cheap revelries and unbridled passions.
Christians who have been born again by the grace and mercies of God are celebrating. We celebrate Christ, his resurrection, his presence in our lives and in his church. Christ is Easter for Christians because there is life in Jesus. Paul says that "our Passover, which is Christ, has already been sacrificed for us" (1 Cor. 5: 7). Is there a better reason to celebrate in God's people? Before being handed over to be taken to the slaughterhouse (Is 53: 7) Christ celebrated Passover with his disciples and linked the wine and bread with his blood and his body, making this event the most memorable and reverent ceremony of the people of God in what today we call the Lord's Supper. He established this celebration so that we will remember his death and resurrection, so that our humanity may merge with his body and blood as a symbol of a permanent union until he returns victorious to seek his church.
Let's take this blessed week to shed once more of the old leaven that still persists in polluting us. We are a new mass, a new, different people, a paschal people that rejoices in the Lamb of God who calls us to the living sacrifice to serve and honor him. Let us celebrate the cross, the victory of life that we enjoy today in Jesus, the lofty and perfect lamb that was resurrected and rejoices in the children who celebrate him with love and dedication. Do not forget, dear brothers and sisters: there is life in Jesus!
God bless you!
