THE SACRIFICE OF THE LAMB OF GOD

PRESENTATION OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY

Apo 5:1-10; Ps 149:1-6,9; Lk 19:41-44

The Sacrifice of the Lamb

The vision of the heavenly and mystical liturgy continues in today’s reading as John receives new aspects of the holy and immutable will of the Father. From yesterday’s reading, we received enlightenment on the sacredness and holiness of the One who sits on the everlasting throne and how the lightning, peals of thunder, and the accompanying voice give the holy will of God. The whole creation adores and worships the immutable will of the Father, enforced by the seven Spirits of God. The Eternal Word reveals the will of the Father, symbolically given in the strange four animals John described. He still enters the vision with the unique symbol of a sacrificed Lamb. The appearance of the Lamb enriches the liturgical interpretation of the whole vision, for the heavenly liturgy is incomplete without the Lamb, who is the High Priest and the Victim at our liturgical sacrifice. The symbol of the Lamb denotes obedience, which is the proper and due worship/sacrifice every creature owes God. Thus, the Eternal Word comes from its symbolic representation as lightning, peals of thunder, and voice to assume the form of a Lamb to reinforce the idea of sacrifice central in today’s reading as the cause of the holiness of creatures. The vision of the scroll in the right hand of God, with writings in front and back, indicates the compendium of events ordained (in front) and permitted (in the back) by the divine will of the Father.

Only the Eternal Word of God, in his humanity, revealed as the Lamb, can reveal and properly judge these events among creatures (men). He has the authority to expose and judge these events because he has the fullness of knowledge and power of God represented by the seven eyes and horns. “Then I saw, standing between the throne with its four animals and the circle of the elders, a Lamb that seemed to have been sacrificed; it had seven horns, and it had seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits God has sent out all over the world.” The Lamb seemed sacrificed because the Son, in his humanity, is consecrated to the revelation of the Father’s will, which was the cause of his death. He can take the scroll and open its seals because of his consecration; hence, he can judge every deed, ransom and reward those who profess faith in him, and punish every unfaithfulness and evil. His blood represents his consecration to the Father’s will through which he ransomed the faithful and condemned the faithless. “You are worthy to take the scroll and break the seals of it, because you were sacrificed, and with your blood you bought men for God of every race, language, people, and nation and made them a line of kings and priests, to serve our God and to rule the world.”

By the same consecration of his life to the Father’s will, he consecrated us to the truth and gave us a new life in the Holy Spirit so that we may now share in his life of consecration as kings and priests. By our baptismal consecration, we share in his life of holiness and authority, given by the Lamb’s seven horns and seven eyes. Those who refuse the revelation of God’s will from the Lamb are judged and condemned as Jerusalem, over whom the Lord wept. “As Jesus drew near Jerusalem and came in sight of the city, he shed tears over it and said, if you in your turn had only understood on this day the message of peace! But, alas, it is hidden from your eyes!” The Blessed Virgin Mary is the prototype of our consecration to the Eternal Word of God in his humanity, for she was dedicated to the humanity of Jesus Christ before the foundation of the world but revealed after the fall of Adam and Eve. She is given to us with her Son as the sign of our salvation at the fall. The memorial is a celebration of the consecration. Since our consecration must be a conscious act of our will and never imposed on us, we celebrate that our Mother Mary dedicated herself to God from infancy, inspired by the Holy Spirit, who filled her with grace right from her immaculate conception. By this self-dedication or sacrifice, she patterned herself after the Lamb of God and shared intimately in his self-immolation. Following her example, the Lamb makes us into a line of kings and priests to serve our God as we join the heavenly liturgy through our faithful participation in the Eucharistic celebration.

Let us pray: As we venerate the glorious memory of the most holy Virgin Mary, grant, we pray, O Lord, through her intercession, that we, too, may merit to receive from the fullness of your grace. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever.