BEHOLD!!!
Isaiah 49:1-7; Psalm 40; John 1:29-42
Rev. Tiare L. Mathison, Pastor & Soul-Tender
Desolate was my name after a very messy and very public divorce in a town of 15,000 people in Iowa in 2008. Co-pastors of a church that suffered immense grief and anger, themselves betrayed by the split.
Out of the miry bog, God placed my feet on the hewn rock, strong Black Angels surrounded the territory of my healing space. Hagrid?
I learned a new song. I know my Redeemer lives. Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.
This song is not mine alone. This singing to peoples from far away is God’s way of catching the ear of all who will listen. All the nations of the world, the Psalmist declares. It is a song of healing, hope and clarity. Yahweh stakes a claim on Her people, a covenant renewed, a reminder to remain faithful. Tell the stories of deliverance, do not hide your salvation, preach it sisters & brothers, see what God has done for me! God is already down in the miry bog when you get there, this God resides very, very near. This God stays in the pit until all are saved. Behold!!!
I have a good friend, Ann, who is going through a rough round of chemo for ovarian cancer, to get ready for surgery tomorrow and then more chemo and/or radiation. She told me recently she was crying out to God in the middle of the night about all that was wrong with her life. She says, “In a Boston kind of accent I heard these words:
I’m workin on it!” Behold!!!
So tell me,
What are you looking for today? What brought you to worship? Desire? Resolve? Habit? Hunger for community? Do you count on an encounter with the Living God? Do you need to be here, to strengthen your faith for another tough week of life? Or maybe you just thoroughly enjoy the music and the singing! Behold!!!
In Jewish tradition, the lamb is rooted in their self-identity and their liberation, for it is the lamb’s blood that became the Passover. Two spots were put on the lintel, the door frame of Jewish homes, the night the Angel of Death swarmed through Egypt. If a home was marked, they were saved. The next day, Pharaoh let the people go. The exodus began.
In this daily sighting referential, the next day, John sees Jesus walking toward him and declares, “Here is the Lamb of God who takes way the sins of the world. The One I’ve been telling you about, I am here to testify, this is the Son of God.” Behold!!!
Now this Lamb is not meek and mild, sweet and pet-able. This Lamb reigns in the kindom of God, brings judgment on the wicked and grace to the righteous. This Lamb goes all the way to the cross, open-eyed, filled with compassion for the ones who kill Him, ‘Forgive them Father, they do not know what they are doing.”
The next day, John points his finger to Jesus again, here is the One and some of John’s disciples turn from him and follow Jesus. They found what they were looking for, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world.
These two guys brought two guys, infamous Simon, née Peter. John’s witness is complete and he fades away. Behold!!!
Do you ever wonder why they started following Jesus? He didn’t convince them with words or explain an action plan to defeat the Romans and rule the world. This one comes eating and drinking with sinners - you might say He hangs out in bars and goes to ball games! No lofty airs, no see how smart I am? I have a Master’s Degree! No patriarchal arrogance, just a real life, Spirit-filled human who takes away the sin of the world. The Capital S Sin of the world.
Our salvation, this taking away of sin by the Lamb, is constituted in the WORD becoming flesh and dwelling with us. It is this action that reveals, makes manifest, is an Epiphany. Jesus did not dole out salvation one at a time like a pardon before a judge. Atonement was not handed over just to me or just to you. Rather, we, all of humanity, have been brought into the God-head, what we call the Trinity, God abiding with us. In heaven, on earth, and in the miry bogs of our daily lives. Jesus becomes flesh and dwells with us, a permanent action, Behold!!!
This is your great gift to take with you and pass along in your own daily living. This forgiveness. It is a constant process of guilt removal, with the added bonus of Spirit-baptizing, two sides of the same experience labeled conversion, Dan Bruner says. It is not a one and done kind of thing. It is a process of transformation, life long, making all things new, making all things beautiful, making all things sacred, making all things holy. Including you, Beloveds.
Listen to the cadence of the Baptist’s words: Behold; The Lamb, Behold, the Sin, Behold the world. At the very beginning of Jesus’ adult ministry, the cross looms. This is The Sin, capital S, the original, the one from Genesis 3, the stain upon fallen humanity since the beginning. “Who told you you were naked?” The aching heart of the Living God, broken open. Behold!!!
The root of all other smallish sins, this fundamental focus on Me! As my god, whom I worship, it is all and always about Me! This is the sin that fouls relationships and personhood, first with God, certainly with one another.
We did not get what we deserve. Judgment by God is legitimate as creatures to a creator. Yet, in this act, Jesus takes our place and declares, “It is finished.” It is done, the Lamb, the Suffering Servant, the last sacrifice, His blood shed. It is not a partial atonement only for some. It is for all. This past action, 2100 years ago, is written in present tense participles to indicate the on-going power of Jesus’ atoning work on the cross. So it matters today, for you and me and the world. We call it grace. Behold!!!
What I find difficult is ‘the whole world’ part. Salvation for all? Even the worst evil doers alive today? Even the ones who pay absolutely no attention to this grace offered? How can it be? In our Reformed Tradition, we say God calls and we respond. But what if we don’t? Are we still saved? Hmmmm
I do know this: The cross does not stand alone, a singular sacrifice. We must be reminded of Jesus’ life: from the beatitudes -Blessed are - to the woman ‘caught’ in adultery all by herself; calling tax collectors and sinners; dining with the Pharisees. Living life full of glory.
This glory is open and welcoming.
This glory forgives and gives up judgment.
This glory stands up and shouts NO to oppressors and exploiters.
This glory says Yes to you. Behold!!!
I trust the witness of Jesus’ life.
He hated violence, oppression, injustice.
He hated the little ones being smashed by the big ones.
He invited people to rest.
He reassured them of God’s deep and abiding love for them.
He redeemed the violent.
He restored the broken-hearted.
He welcomed the outcast.
It is this mutual sense of being WITH Christ and He WITH us as we live into our salvation. The gift of Christ’s life, death and resurrection is the completion of the promise of God: God is for us and God is with us. It is why we gather to worship every Sunday, to say thanks. We are saved
Now the tricky part for more progressive Christians. Tell someone else. The church is the church because someone told somebody. It’s not a soap box, it is an invitation. Behold!!!