Homily For Wednesday Before Epiphany, 3rd January, 2024

Readings: 1 John 2:29-3:6, Ps 98, John 1:29-34

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia.

 

OUR TASK IS TO BEAR WITNESS FOR CHRIST THE LAMB OF GOD

 

As Christians, our duty is to teach and bear sincere witness to God’s commandments by our ways of life. This of course points out the mission of the Church in proclaiming the word of God and our part in this mission. Little wonder the Gospel passage today reminds us of how God has called us all to follow Christ, the Lamb of God and Saviour of the world. For when John the Baptist saw Jesus passing by he declared: ‘this is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world... Yes, I have seen and I am the witness that he is the Chosen One of God.’

 

Here John is pointing out the essence of Jesus’ mission, whose coming was foretold by the prophet Isaiah (49:3.5-6), telling us about that great Servant of God, whose mission was to bring sinners back to God. Considering this great task of Jesus, John introduced him as a Lamb of God and not a Lion and also described the Holy Spirit as a dove, not a hawk which is more powerful.

 

why? Because, the Lamb is the most gentle, harmless and loving creature of God while the dove is a gentle bird, a symbol of peace and goodwill. So these images tell us about the person of Jesus and the approach by which he will carry out his mission. Consequently, Jesus, the gentle Lamb of God, gently died for our sins, so that we could live in joy and freedom of God’s children, teaching us to bear authentic witness of this great event in our relationship with one another.

 

This is our vocation and mission for John said in our first reading: You know that God is righteous then you must recognize that everyone whose life is righteous has been begotten by him. So, to all of us Christians, who have been called to follow Christ and have been sanctified and blessed to be God’s people, who are reunited and brought together from the world to bear the fruit of love and holiness of life. So that we can be true and living witnesses of our faith in God, to proclaim His salvation among the nations and the peoples of the earth.

 

Dear friends, like John we can say: I have seen and I am a witness. For we have been entrusted with the great task of witnessing. We are commissioned as Christ's disciples to go forth and make disciples of all the nations, making all peoples God’s children through His Church by the power of the Holy Spirit. We are called to bear authentic witness of our experience of God.

 

 But how can we achieve this task? The approach is given to us by John the Baptist, who tells us to follow the way of the Lamb and the dove. That is, we are to be the most gentle, harmless and loving children of God, we must be a symbol of peace, compassion and goodwill. We are not to force people to believe in God by the use of intimidation or force, and neither should we use any forms of tricks or false persuasions.

 

All these methods do not usually lead to true faith and love for God, and in fact, they may cause people to turn away from God and the Christian faith. Instead, we should love people and do our best to live our lives with faith and holiness each moment of our lives. Because, if our actions and way of life do not match what we profess to believe in, how can we then expect people to believe in us or the Lord? Instead of bringing others closer to God, we will only end up sending them further away from God.

 

Therefore, as the year unfolds, we are all challenged to live our lives as the Lord has taught us. We should put our trust in the Lord and make him the centre of our lives in every action. We should show love, care, compassion and concern for our fellow brothers and sisters just as the Lord has loved us.

 

LET US PRAY: Lord God, give us the grace and courage to bear authentic witness of your Gospel in a world where people are confused and no longer pay attention to your word. This we ask through Christ our Lord. Amen. Do have a peaceful day.