Christmas Weekday
(I John 2:29-3:6; John 1:29-34)
In a movie about the aftermath of War II a young German woman
works for the American officer conducting an investigation. She is the daughter of a German colonel who
was executed for having attempted to assassinate Adolf Hitler. When Germans coming for an interview hear her
last name, they ask if she was related to the colonel. As soon as she answers that he was her father,
they stop and acknowledge her father’s sacrifice. The colonel was held in high
esteem for his courage.
A similar recognition takes place in today’s gospel. John, seeing
Jesus coming his way, stops and pays him homage. He calls Jesus “the Lamb of God,’ who will be
sacrificed to “take away the sin of the world.”
Of course, he is the first human to recognize Jesus as the Son of
God. This is the Gospel of John. In Luke’s gospel John is also the first human
to recognize Jesus as the Christ, but
there he does so as an infant in his mother’s womb.
As important as the Incarnation is, it cannot be separated
from the sacrifice Jesus will make on our behalf. We also must stop to recognize who this newborn
babe, who has brought us so much joy, is.
He is the one who will be crucified so that we might be freed of our
sins.
