Sunday 2 A (2023)
We are in year A, and so, Sunday by Sunday in Ordinary time,
– the ‘green’ Sundays –
we will hear the gospel of Matthew;
with Mark in year B, next year, and Luke in year C…
but, whichever year we are in
this Sunday in the 2nd week of Ordinary time has a gospel from John:
a passage from John’s account of Jesus’ ‘first week’ out-and-about
– an account which culminates in the wedding feast at Cana.
…..So, on this the first Sunday after the end Christmastide,
– which finished last Sunday with The Baptism of the Lord –
why do we hear John’s gospel?
The one-word answer is: epiphany.
‘Epiphany’ meaning a breakthrough moment, a first recognition,
in which God reveals, in a new way, who God is;
‘epiphany’ meaning a manifestation of the divine.
In the infancy narratives, for the wise men and the shepherds,
a baby manifests the divine.
Jesus’ baptism manifests the divine:
a heavenly voice proclaims, ‘This is my Son, the beloved’.
But, John’s gospel doesn’t give explicitly any of these epiphanies.
Instead, the account of Jesus’ ‘first week’ is a series of epiphanies,
culminating in the wedding feast at Cana;
today’s gospel is one of these.
So, liturgically, this Sunday is as an extension of Christmastide:
it keeps our focus firmly on who Jesus is,
and the initial recognition of this,
through the extended epiphany in John’s gospel.
The first encounter with Jesus in John’s gospel
brings a key announcement, identifying Jesus,
and setting the scene for the whole gospel:
Look, there is the lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world.
This identification of Jesus takes its meaning, its weight,
from what comes later in this gospel.
John’s gospel, unlike the other three, has Jesus being crucified
while the Passover lambs are being sacrificed.
Passover was the annual commemoration of God’s chosen people
being protected by the blood of the Passover lamb
and freed from slavery.
We are to think of this when Jesus is identified as the lamb of God.
He is the Passover lamb of the new covenant,
bringing liberation, freedom.
What kind of liberation? Well, John’s announcement says it.
He takes away the sin of the world.
The word translated takes away
has overtones of bear, carry away, lift up…
so ‘work’ is involved in takes away
– another pointer to the crucifixion.
So, this first spoken announcement in John’s gospel,
is rooted in his account of the crucifixion.
Jesus’ crucifixion and death, his sacrifice,
is sacramentally present in the Mass.
Six times, we acknowledge Jesus as
‘the lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world’
– twice in the Gloria, three times in the Lamb of God,
and once in the invitation to Communion.
The first spoken announcement in John’s gospel
permeates every Mass.
…..Lord Jesus, in this Mass,
touch our hearts with the gift of awe and wonder
at your saving presence among us
as we proclaim you Lamb of God.