Word to the Wise
Sunday, January 15, 2017 - 2nd Sunday in Ordinary Time - A
[Isa 49: 3, 5-6; 1 Cor 1:1-3; John 1:29-34]"Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!" [John]
These words from the Gospel of John should be familiar to us. We recite them (with one little but important - change from "sin" to "sins") at every celebration of the Eucharist just before the "communion." Today's gospel scripture reminds us of the richness of tradition in regard to understanding WHO Jesus is. The title we give to any person or event shapes the interpretation of that event or person. As soon as we hear the word, "champion," or "championship," we have a filter through which we watch that person or event. In the case of sacred scripture, we have the meaning of the words when they were said or written, the tradition of interpretation, and our own understanding and context to deal with. In today's scripture from John, we are given two titles (added to others that John the Baptist claimed NOT to be earlier in the chapter): "Lamb of God," and "Son of God." Both John the Baptist and Nathanael use the latter title. Jesus also adds a title, "Son of Man."
Scripture scholars spend their lives on these titles! Perhaps we could ask ourselves two simple but profound questions. What do the titles in today's scripture mean for our own understanding of Jesus? What "title" would we give him based on our understanding of him? The titles given in the early chapters of the Gospel of John are meant to give us tools to interpret what comes later. What titles did we receive early in life that have shaped our subsequent understanding of Jesus? All of this could make for some interesting meditation and, one might hope, conversation this Sunday! AMEN
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