Today we hear the second of four “Servant Songs” from the prophet Isaiah. In this one the servant is called to be a “light to the nations.” This reading will appear again on Tuesday during Holy Week, when we will get deeper insight into the particular service this servant will render. We will see how Jesus’ coming fulfills the promise made by the prophet. But pause for a moment: we don’t want to appropriate a reading for only Christian purposes, forgetting its original historical and literary setting.
The servant reflects on his awareness of being called, as was Jeremiah, from the womb. Grand is the servant’s task, “That Jacob may be brought back to God and Israel gathered to God.” And still more! The servant is to go beyond the nation’s boundaries to fulfill a world-wide vocation. How will the world come to know about God? Through the incredulous redemption of Israel. “I will make you a light to the nations that my salvation may reach the ends of the earth.” Through Israel’s restoration from the ruins of exile, slavery and destruction the world will come to know the God of Israel. The nation defeated will be restored, not by its own strength but by the power of God. The nations will have to know that only the God of Israel could have accomplished this feat.
This mysterious servant might be Isaiah himself, or even the people of Israel. As we hear the reading today we can also apply it to ourselves and our church. God now addresses the call to us. What does God have in mind for people? God wants to set all people free, just as we have been set free from sin and guilt. Now we servants are to live true to our identity as freed slaves. Our vocation is, by word and deed, to lead others, who are locked up in physical, spiritual and psychological prisons, to freedom.
People don’t usually begin a sentence with “Behold” do they? If they want us to notice something or someone they point and say, “Look over there.” But when John the Baptist wants to direct people’s attention to Jesus he begins, “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.” We say the same thing as Mass, just before communion, as the priest holds up the consecrated bread and wine and says, “Behold, the Lamb of God….”
“Behold?” Who talks like that? Perhaps John sees more than first meets the eye; more than Jesus, a man approaching. He seems to see, not only who is approaching, but the significance of the one approaching. So, John sees and proclaims to us, “Behold, the Lamb of God….”
People hoping for a Messiah were not looking for a lamb. They wanted a king. They wanted no sign or hint of weakness; they wanted a mighty ruler to pull them out from under the heels of their oppressors. They wanted another Passover from slavery; not the sacrificial lamb of Passover. But John was indicating something else to them. “Behold, you want God’s fist; but here is God’s Lamb. Behold, you want a leader of an army coming through to swat down your enemies; but here is the Lamb to show forth God’s power in weakness. Behold, you want victory; but it will come first through defeat, for the Lamb of God will be sacrificed.”
We might not put our own faith experience the way John did — “Behold!” We might say, “Surprise!” The way people exclaim at a surprise party — in this case, a surprise party thrown by God. We thought we knew what God was about. We were waiting for God’s big-bang entrance into our lives. Instead, God comes in the least obtrusive ways, like a gentle lamb. But a Lamb who will achieve a victory over our hearts and the world we could never achieve on our own; nor could the most powerful forces the earth drum up. Surprise!
John’s, “Behold!” begins to open the eyes and ears of others. John will direct his own disciples to Jesus and they, in turn, will announce Jesus’ presence to others. Andrew will search out his brother Simon Peter and tell him, “We have found the Messiah!” (1:41)
There’s a lot of talk these days in our church about the “new evangelism.” Evangelism is not a notion we Catholics have always claimed as part of our Christian identity and activity. We, like John and Andrew, are supposed to bring others to Christ. Each of us in the church has this responsibility — not just the “official ministers.” In one way or another, like John, we must also announce, “Behold, the Lamb of God.”
We squirm uncomfortably when we attempt — if we ever do attempt — to tell our faith story to others. But our baptism links us to Jesus and to the long line of his followers, who believe Jesus is the Lamb of God and that his death and resurrection is the source of new life for all peoples. We then, are to be like God’s servant in today’s Isaiah reading, “a light to the nations.” Or, to use the seldom spoken, we are to be “evangelists.”
John promises Jesus will baptize with the Holy Spirit. And so he did, for we received his Spirit when we were baptized. Perhaps that Spirit will help us overcome our shyness and hesitancy to speak to others about who Jesus is for us. Most likely, we won’t have to do that from a soapbox in the town square. Probably the Spirit will guide us to share in more personal ways how we have come to freedom, peace, joy and hope through our faith in Christ.
There is an evangelization method spelled out for us in today gospel. First, John has his own revelation about Jesus; then he announces it to others and they in turn witness to still others — right up to this present day.