"The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, "Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!" (The Gospel According to Saint John I.xxix RSV) This morning we listen to St. John's version of the Baptism of Jesus. And some of you may be thinking... "didn't we, just last week, read of the Baptism of Jesus by John the Baptist?" Do not worry, you are not going crazy, if you were in Church last Sunday morning you did in fact, hear the story of Jesus' Baptism. Now you maybe asking, "why again?...the Bible is a pretty big book, couldn't they think of something else for us to read this morning?" "The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, "Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!" (The Gospel According to Saint John I.xxix RSV)

This morning we listen to St. John's version of the Baptism of Jesus.  And some of you may be thinking... "didn't we, just last week, read of the Baptism of Jesus by John the Baptist?"  

Do not worry, you are not going crazy, if you were in Church last Sunday morning you did in fact, hear the story of Jesus' Baptism.

Now you maybe asking, "why again?...the Bible is a pretty big book, couldn't they think of something else for us to read this morning?"

There are a couple of reasons we are twice given the story of Jesus' baptism.  The first is this the Season after the Epiphany...and Epiphany we all remember is the Feast wherein Jesus is made manifest to the gentile world...or the Wise men recognize Jesus as Lord and Saviour.

And so, tying in to that theme is the notion that the beginning of Jesus' public ministry is His baptism.  And his baptism is the point in His life when He takes on fully the ministry of bringing about salvation to the world.  

So then it is fitting that we hear over and again the story of the Baptism of Jesus.  But, there is another reason to hear twice the story of Our Lord's Baptism.

Saint John, in his Gospel, tells the story from a different point of view.  In John's Gospel we see a deeper understanding of this event...for Saint John is trying to tell us something of God, and how God the Father relates to Jesus and in that, how Jesus relates to us.  





And Saint John also issues to the hearer a call to follow Jesus...to have our lives made complete in the Spirit of God.

"Behold the Lamb of God, behold Him that takes away the sins of the world!"  Saint John proclaims something very profound about Jesus.  He calls Him the Lamb of God...which is imagery from the prophet Isaiah and which recalls the Passover Lamb during the Exodus.  

But, besides recalling the past...this proclamation also looks to the future...looks to Jesus' passion and death and His resurrection.  So, in this sense, John the Baptist seems to have a very good grip or understanding as to who and what Jesus is.  

But at the same time John the Baptist claims to not have known Jesus...in fact, twice John the Baptist makes this statement during this morning's Gospel.  

And what are we to make of that?  On the one hand, the Baptist seems to know all about Jesus, and on the other...seems to not know Jesus at all.

While this may seem troubling...Saint John wants us to know that the Baptist's knowledge of Jesus came from God Almighty and not from Jesus.  Which is to say that this information was revealed to the Baptist in no uncertain terms as a part of the Divine plan of God.

Then, we catch a small but very meaningful turn of phrase in the Gospel of John that outlines the relationship of the Father to Jesus and Jesus to us.  

Saint John records: "I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it remained on him..."  So the Spirit descends from the Father and remains on Jesus...and in John's Gospel it will be Jesus who dispenses the Spirit of God to mankind.  

So in this way, Jesus plays a very important and fundamental role in this whole business of taking away sins...not only by His atoning death and resurrection...but also by bestowing the Spirit of God on persons so they may have a meaningful connection with the Father and in that connection, be forgiven.  

One more thing about this morning's Gospel stands out clearly...all of this happens within the sense of calling.  Jesus is Baptized and begins His public ministry...and immediately he begins to call the Disciples.  
This is a very active sort of reading...and in that, it calls us, as followers of Jesus to action.

We are called ourselves to proclaim the same message as John the Baptist... "Behold the Lamb of God that takes away the sins of the world!"  

We are directed to take this message to others...we are called to Evangelization.  

And in our own day...where is it we most often hear the proclamation... Behold the Lamb of God?... In the Eucharist, of course.  At the end of the Eucharistic prayer, it is very common to recite the Agnus Dei.. "O Lamb of God that takest away the sins of the world...have mercy upon us.

And we do that in the presence of a great and wonderful mystery...With the Bread and the Wine being changed into the Body and Blood of Jesus, we proclaim to all, Behold the Lamb of God...

And in that, we are asked to take that proclamation into the world and tell others what we have seen and what we have experienced.  We are to tell the world that we have seen the Lamb that takes away the sins of the world.  We have been given the Spirit by this Lamb and now have union with God Almighty.  

Now while that is awesome and wonderful and that point in the mass is the greatest thing in the world...it is also one of the most difficult things to tell others about.

I have heard, over and over again, that we have a very difficult time with evangelization because our faith is so complicated.  

Well, take heart, this morning we are also given a method and model for spreading the Word and doing our duty.

It is not ours primarily to try and explain the great mystery that occurs here each and every Sunday.  Just as John knew Jesus because God revealed Him to him...

God will also reveal the content and meaning of the mysteries in the hearts of those who come...God will plant seeds that will grow and sprout and bloom.  

We have another model of this...Jesus Himself.  He is being asked questions by those around Him this morning and His reply is simply "Come and see".  Now this is an odd thing.  Jesus doesn't explain anything anybody wants to know...he simply issues and invitation to come and see.  

Now, that should take the pressure off us a bit...ours is to invite people...to proclaim that which God has revealed.... "behold the Lamb of God".  It is God's to plant seeds in the heart...it is God's to help bring a deeper understanding.

This is the season wherein the truth and person of Jesus was made known to the world...so it is the season for spreading the Word...for proclaiming the Lamb of God.

So, do not fear that you do not completely understand what you are doing here...or that you cannot speak to the entirety of the mysteries of faith...do not let these things stop you...

Go into the world proclaiming that you have seen and touched and been given the Spirit of God...go into the world proclaiming that you have seen the "Lamb of God that takes away the sins of the world".

And when you proclaim this message invite all who hear to come and see for themselves...to come and behold the Lamb of God...to come and see Jesus.