November 30, 2021 - Advent Week 1

  


Lamb of God (in Latin, Agnus Dei) is an oil painting completed between 1635 and 1640 by the Spanish Baroque artist Francisco de Zurbarán. It is housed in the Prado Museum in Madrid, Spain

 

“Come, all you who are thirsty,
    come to the waters;
and you who have no money,
    come, buy and eat!
Come, buy wine and milk
    without money and without cost.
 Why spend money on what is not bread,
    and your labor on what does not satisfy?
Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good,
    and you will delight in the richest of fare.
 Give ear and come to me;
    listen, that you may live.” Isaiah 55:1-3

“The next day John again was standing with two of his disciples, and as he watched Jesus walk by, he exclaimed, ‘Look, here is the Lamb of God!’” John 1:35-36

The word “come” appears 12 times in today’s readings. Of course it does! During Advent we hear and speak the word often. We repeat our request, “Come, Lord Jesus, come.” The expression comes directly from the ancient Aramaic, “maranatha.” During this season, our hope is for our Lord to come to us. The readings assure us that He does indeed come and that we must wait. And the waiting is the heart of Advent.

We wait for our Lord and we consider all the things He is and does. He is called many names and titles in His life and death, but in today’s Gospel reading, John calls him “Lamb of God.” We know that this name for Jesus foretells his great sacrifice. That the one we await comes for many reasons, but mainly to die. We wait with hope that is laced with grief. We ask Him to come, although we know it will mean He must suffer.

But when we look closely at today’s readings, we are reminded that He also waits for us. Isaiah 55 opens with the invitation, “Come, all who are thirsty.” Of course, those who are thirsty refers to each of us. We all experience thirst. Not only ordinary, physical thirst, but thirst for life. Throughout these verses we are invited in many ways and for many reasons to come to the Lord. To drink, to eat, and to live.

He has promised to come. But as we ask again and again “Come, Lord Jesus, come,” we must not forget that He has also asked us to come. He has invited us and we must accept that invitation. He will come to us, to offer Himself as the sacrificial lamb. With Him, and through His blood and body, we will drink and eat, and most importantly, we will live.

 

Just as I am, without one plea,
But that Thy blood was shed for me,
And that Thou bid’st me come to Thee,
O Lamb of God, I come! I come!

~Charlotte Elliott

 

Ceri Penner 




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