Lamb of God?

A Sermon preached on Epiphany II, January 15^th 2017 at St. Augustine’s, Wiesbaden

Isaiah 49: 1 – 7, 1 Corinthians 1: 1 – 9, John 1: 29 – 42

“John saw Jesus coming toward him and declared, “Here is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29) “The next day John again was standing with two of his disciples, and as he watched Jesus walk by, he exclaimed, “Look, here is the Lamb of God!” The two disciples heard him say this, and they followed Jesus.” (John 1:35-37)

What comes to your mind when you think of lambs? The nursery rhyme “Mary had a little lamb,” sweet, soft, playful, gamboling creatures, mint sauce? Is that the image of someone you would follow at the drop of a hat? Not really. Of course, that is not what the Jews of Jesus’ day would think of when hearing the words “Lamb of God.” They might have recalled one of the prophet’s Isaiah’s passages about the so-called suffering servant of Israel (53:7), “He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth.” Most likely however, they would have made a connection with the Passover lamb. This was the lamb, as described in the Book of Exodus (12:3-13), that each family was to take, without blemish. It was to be slaughtered and eaten, hurriedly, and its blood was to be smeared onto the doorposts and lintels of the houses of the Jews in Egypt as protection. For as God tells Moses, “when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and no plague shall destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt.”

That is not the same as Mary’s little lamb, but all the same, would you immediately drop everything to follow one who is described as a sacrificial lamb, someone who is identified as a victim? Would you follow a loser? Might you not be in danger too? And yet, the two disciples, one anonymous, the other identified later as Andrew did immediately follow the man described as the Lamb of God. From the very beginning, Christians have made this connection between Jesus and the Passover Lamb. In his 1^st Letter to the Corinthians (5:7) Paul writes: “For our paschal lamb, Christ, has been sacrificed.” We sing the Agnus Dei, “Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world” most Sundays between the Fraction, the Breaking of the Bread and the Distribution of Communion. We too follow the sacrificial Lamb of God, we follow the one who gave his life for the sins of the world, and if we mean it seriously, then we should be willing to follow him all the way. 

This weekend we remember the birthdays of two men who were certainly willing to follow the Lamb of God all the way, two men for whom the term Lamb of God with all its implications was the grounding of their ministry and witness: Martin Niemöller and Martin Luther King. Yesterday was Martin Niemöller’s birthday, he died in 1984, and today Martin Luther King’s, he died in 1968. 

Martin Niemöller was a German theologian and Lutheran pastor. He did not start his life as a “lamb,” during WWI he was a naval officer and even later as a pastor between the wars he, like many German protestant clergy, was a conservative nationalist and initially even a supporter of Adolf Hitler. Yet under the influence of the regime’s increasing ant-Semitism, he became one of the founders of the opposition Confessing Church, together with Douglas’ favorite theologian, Dietrich Bonhoeffer. Niemöller was imprisoned in the Sachsenhausen and Dachau concentration camps – as a personal prisoner of the Führer – and only narrowly escaped execution. He always regretted not having done enough to help the victims of the Nazis, and was the author of this statement, that you all know and that has recently made quite a re-appearance in social media:

First they came for the Socialists, and I did not speak out—

Because I was not a Socialist.

Then they came for the Trade Unionists, and I did not speak out—

Because I was not a Trade Unionist.

Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out—

Because I was not a Jew.

Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak for me.”

Niemöller, who by the way in the 1970s and early 1980s worshipped here at St. Augustine’s now and again with this second wife, lived in Wiesbaden after the war. He was President (“bishop”) of the Protestant Church in Hessen and Nassau (EKHN), chair of the National Council of Churches (ACK), and president of the World Council of Churches. He became a vocal anti-war activist and campaigner for nuclear disarmament, which were for him “sins of the world.” As a man who, though he just escaped execution under Hitler, was willing to die for his faith and for others, I think he very consciously followed the Lamb of God. 

More of you will know Martin Luther King, Baptist minister and leader of the Civil Rights Movement in America. His rhetorical claim to fame is of course the 1963 "I Have a Dream" speech. It is still well worth reading. In 1964, King received the Nobel Peace Prize for his work in combating racial inequality through nonviolent resistance, and like Niemöller, he too later expanded the focus of his ministry to include opposition towards war, as well as poverty in general. Racism, war, and poverty were for him “sins of the world.” As you know, he was not only willing to die for his faith and for others, but was murdered for them.

Both men understood what John meant when he called Jesus the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. Both men are examples and models for their commitment, for their faith, for their active witness, and for all they did to combat some of the sins of the world. When we hear the phrase sin, we often think only of our personal faults and failings, and those are the ones we focus on in our confession during the service. These sins are important too, and God promises us forgiveness for them in and through Jesus. Martin Niemöller acknowledged and asked for forgiveness for his personal guilt in his behavior and attitude between the two world wars.  

But Jesus was also sent to liberate us from the big sins, the communal sins, the sins of the world. The Passover lamb was not a sin offering, not a sacrifice to absolve the Jews in Egypt from any individual transgression. The Passover lamb was part and parcel of their liberation from slavery and oppression and death. When we sing the Agnus Dei, we ask the Lamb of God to take away the sins of the world, to have mercy on us, and to grant us peace, because war, violence, and all kinds of oppression are the sins of the world.

The two disciples in this morning’s Gospel, Martin Niemöller, Martin Luther King and countless Christians throughout the ages have dropped everything to follow and serve the Lamb of God because that vision of liberation from sin and sins is so compelling. And because we know that Jesus’ death was not the end and that our death is not the end and so we need not fear. The Lamb of God is vindicated; God lifts him up. Isaiah already points to this change of fortune:  “Thus says the Lord, the Redeemer of Israel and his Holy One, to one deeply despised, abhorred by the nations, the slave of rulers, ‘Kings shall see and stand up, princes, and they shall prostrate themselves, because of the Lord, who is faithful, the Holy One of Israel, who has chosen you.’” (Isaiah 49:7) 

This vindication is God’s promise to all the faithful righteous. I said earlier that Christians have connected Jesus and the Passover Lamb from the very beginning.  In the second century AD Bishop Melito of Sarda wrote a book called Peri Pascha, ‘about the Passover,’ explaining in great depth and detail how the Passion and the Passover are connected. I am going to finish with a passage from the very end of that book. It describes beautifully all that Jesus, the Lamb of God’s promises us, from forgiveness and liberation to glory:

So come all families of people,

Adulterated with sin,

And receive forgiveness of sins.

For I am your freedom.

I am the Passover of salvation,

I am the lamb slaughtered for you,

I am your ransom,

I am your life,

I am your light,

I am your salvation,

I am your resurrection,

I am your King.

I shall raise you up by my right hand,

I will lead you to the heights of heaven,

There shall I show you the everlasting Father.1)

Amen.

 1) Found in Construing the Cross by Frances M. Young

Paying Homage

A Sermon preached on the Feast of the Epiphany, January 8^th 2017 (transf.) at St. Augustine’s, Wiesbaden

Isaiah 60:1-6, Ephesians 3:1-12, Matthew 2:1-12

"Where is the child who has been born king of the Jews? For we observed his star at its rising, and have come to pay him homage.” (Matthew 2:2)

Pay homage is an interesting phrase. The Greek word being translated is proskynesis, which describes, and I quote, “an attitude of humbling submission, or worship adoration – particularly towards a sovereign ruler, God or the gods.” Most other English Bible translations I looked at, just use the word “worship,” but I think the NRSV is right to look for a different word with more emphasis, this is more than just “worship,” this is about commitment. The English word homage means a “special honor or respect shown publicly,” and that is clearly what the Magi or wise men have in mind. The word homage comes to us from medieval Latin, via Old French and it contains the root word homo/hominis, Latin for man – for  the original use of homage was to describe the ceremony at which a vassal declared himself to be his lord's ‘man.’ 

So, how and why do the Magi show respect publicly and declare themselves to be the Lord’s men. Well, to start off with, by coming an awful long way on what would have been a difficult and dangerous journey just to see Jesus, the king of the Jews. And by bringing him gifts – as prophesied by Isaiah (60:6) “They shall bring gold and frankincense, and shall proclaim the praise of the Lord.” For one thing, the presents can be seen as tribute – a payment made to a ruler as sign of dependence. We heard about this in Psalm 72 (v.10) earlier, when – referring to King Solomon – “The kings of Tarshish and of the isles shall pay tribute, and the kings of Arabia and Saba offer gifts.”

The gifts have a deeper meaning too. On the one hand they are simply rare and valuable items, standard gifts to honor a king or deity in the ancient world: a precious metal, a rare and fragrant form of incense. But they have a spiritual meaning too - gold as a symbol of kingship on earth, frankincense as a symbol of deity, and myrrh (an embalming oil) as a symbol of death. I’m certain you noticed that myrrh was not on Isaiah’s list – it is a gift that is already pointing forward to Jesus’ destiny in Jerusalem – pointing from the cradle to the cross.  

  

The Magi also pay homage by kneeling: “On entering the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother; and they knelt down and paid him homage.” (Matthew 2:11) Putting yourself below the person you were paying homage to, by falling down, bowing, or kneeling was another way in which respect was and still is shown. It was also mentioned in the psalm: “All kings shall bow down before him, and all the nations do him service.” (72:11)

And why do the wise men want to pay homage? To travel such a long way, they must have been convinced that this child was more than just the king of the Jews, and more in fact than any normal earthly king. Their very act shows that they consider this child to be above their own kings and gods. They follow a star, a symbol of light and “when they saw that the star had stopped, they were overwhelmed with joy” (Matthew 2:10) because the star was shining its light onto the Light of the world, the one Isaiah describes so beautifully: “Your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you. For darkness shall cover the earth, and thick darkness the peoples; but the Lord will arise upon you, and his glory will appear over you.” (Isaiah 60:1-2)

Psalm 72 also describes the priorities of the one whose light will drive away the darkness of sin and despair: “He shall deliver the poor who cries out in distress, and the oppressed who has no helper. He shall have pity on the lowly and poor; he shall preserve the lives of the needy. He shall redeem their lives from oppression and violence.” (Psalm 72:12-14) To be freed from sin is to be liberated from oppression and violence. It is sin, the sin of greed that keeps the poor, poor. It is sin, the sin of pride that oppresses. It is sin, the sin of selfishness that keeps us from loving God and our neighbor. The wise men know that they have come not just to pay homage to an earthly king, but to the Savior. 

And what about us? How do we pay homage? I know that some of you travel quite far to be here on a Sunday, from Nierstein, Wispertal, Taunusstein, Hadamar … and many other places. It is important that come to church we worship together, but that is not the long journey I am thinking of. Unlike the Magi, our journey does not end with Jesus, it begins with him. Our long, difficult and dangerous journey is the journey of faith that begins at our baptism when we promise to follow and obey him as our Lord. If we take this promise seriously and with full commitment it will take us to places we do not expect, but where we can serve our Lord best.

In my Christmas Day sermon, I talked about gifts, presents. About how we are the ones who received a huge present, God’s gift of God’s Son. But as part of our homage we are called to bring gifts too. We give of our time, talent, and treasure to God’s church and to God’s people in need. Most of all though, we give ourselves. In the words of the traditional language, Rite I, Eucharistic Prayer “we offer and present unto thee, O Lord, ourselves, our souls and bodies.” 

What about kneeling? Well, depending on your tradition many of you bow or kneel during our worship, as a sign of respect. I haven’t seen any of you fall down, mind you. We bow to the altar, we bow to the cross, we bow our heads at Jesus’ name, we bow or bend or knee before the bread and wine made holy, in which we believe that Jesus is present. Just how that happens I will not try and explain …. We had that discussion 500 years ago (it wasn’t pretty). 

But it is not just God and God’s Son Jesus who we need to show respect to. I said earlier that the word homage comes from the Latin homo/hominis for man, as does the word ‘human.’ And I want to dwell a little on that connection.

The story of the visit of the wise men already points to the climax of the Gospel, when Jesus comes face to face with the Pontius Pilate, the representative in Palestine of the world’s greatest king, Caesar. In Matthew’s Gospel, Pilate’s soldiers are the first gentiles since the Magi to call Jesus the “King of the Jews;” even if it was meant mockingly. But in John’s version of the event, Pilate uses a very special title for Jesus. When he brings Jesus out, wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe, to show him to the crowd, he says Ecce homo: Behold, here is the man! (John 19:5). There is that word again. I don’t think Pontius Pilate meant to pay Jesus homage, to be Jesus’ man, but he does manage to remind us of an important truth about Jesus, the Son of God and Son of Man. 

We worship and adore not just Jesus the God, but also Jesus the man, Jesus the human, the perfect human, Jesus the new Adam. We can and must do that at church, in our worship services of course, but we also worship and adore him everywhere and anywhere and when, in the words of our Baptismal Covenant, we “seek and serve Christ in all persons, loving your neighbor as yourself and strive for justice and peace among all people, and respect the dignity of every human being.” 

Paying homage is a commitment, to follow Jesus on our journey through life, to give fully of ourselves, and to serve him and those he came to serve and to save.

Amen.