Contents
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Introduction
Due to their insistence, John the Baptist explained to the Jews, alluding to the words of Isaiah, that he is only a voice in the desert, imploring people to prepare the way for the Lord (cf. Isa 40:3). After this, the Pharisees continued questioning him: if you are not the Messiah, Elijah or the Prophet, why then do you administer baptism to people? The Baptist further clarified that his baptism is that of water and that he who is to come after him, is already standing before them, though unknown to them, will baptize in the Holy Spirit (cf. John 1:33). After this conversation, both parties parted. This Sunday Gospel is founded on the incident that took place in John 1:29).
By declaring he was not the expected messiah, John the Baptist declined every responsibility of the messiah. He showed humility and limited himself only to his own assignment. He never wanted to get involved in a role that was not meant for him. Since such role implied and involved death on the cross, John the Baptist knew it was not his mission. His mission was to prepare the way for the Christ.
It is not enough to believe and profess with our lips that God exists and that Jesus is Lord, we must also bear witness with our lives. We must testify with our words and actions that God really exists.
Sin in John
The noun sin (Greek: hamartia), derives from the verb to fail to hit the mark hence, missing the mark. In the Christian (New) Testament sin is always used in an ethical sense, If as Socrates said that an unexamined life is not worth living, then, a godless life is not worth mentioning.….….….….
The Sin of the World
It is interesting that for John, sin of the world is in the singular form. Instead of “the sins of the world”, John prefers “sin of the world.” Why? Just as the sacrificial lamb took away the sins of the Jewish people, so will Jesus as the Lamb of God, take away the sin of the world, no more of the Jews only as their sacrificial lamb did.
John 1:29 announces the unfolding of God’s universal plan of salvation. Notwithstanding the existence of numerous laws in the Jewish culture and in every nation of the world then and today, people still lived and continue to live as if God does not exist. This is the sin of the world. It is anthropocentricism. That is, Man, making himself the author and centre of creation. It is from this single but serious sin that emerge all other evils in the world and among human beings.….….….……
As the true lamb of God, the Holy Spirit did not just descend on Jesus, but rested on him and remained on him. Such permanent sojourning is an indication of Jesus’ divine choice. According to Isaiah, the messiah will be permanently full of the Holy Spirit (cf. Isa 11:2; 61:1). What rested and remained on Jesus was the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and strength, the spirit of knowledge and the fear of God. Any leader especially Christian leader who is not endowed with such spirit, is bound to live as if God does not exist, and Christian Churches are filled with such people or leaders.
Conclusion
The sin of the world was exhibited in various ways during John’s day and the same continues even in our own time. Generally, people seem to be religious, but the high rate of evil and godlessness in our various societies is appalling. Corruption, injustice, discrimination, hasty and harsh judgment, prejudice, lying, character assassination, extreme self-centredness, favouritism, poisoning, killing, are all by-products of people living and behaving as if God does not exist. Ours is a world where God exists only in principle but is completely absent in our actions, both in the civil and particularly religious contexts. This is or rather, was what John said Jesus as the Lamb of God, came to take away. What is the situation today? Has Jesus or rather, did Jesus succeed in taking away this sin of the world? Or, have we gone on to rejoice that Jesus died on the cross, taking away our sins while we continue to live as if God does not exist and as if we are masters of life and of the universe?
We all have our share in the sin of the world. And for any sin of the world, there is someone or some people who pay the price of what they know nothing about. What effort are you making to get rid of yours? Lamb of God, you who take away the sin of the world, have mercy on us. Lamb of God, you who take away the sin of the world, grant us peace. In the words of Paul (cf. Second Reading), “may God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ send you grace and peace.” May God bless your effort this week and always. Amen! Shalom!
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