2nd Sunday in OT 2026
Isaiah 49:3,5-6; 1Cor 1:1-3; John 1:29-34
Right, can we settle this? Is this the final stage of the Epiphany, or not?
“Certainly not!” I hear you cry. “As we know, the first stage of the Epiphany is the showing forth of Jesus to the Gentiles, represented by the Wise Men. The second stage is His showing forth as the Beloved Son of the Father at His Baptism, while the third stage, as is made clear in the ancient and recent hymns, antiphons, and prayers, is His showing forth as God, by allowing His ‘Glory’ (an attribute of God) to be seen at the marriage feast at Cana.
“We don’t hear the account of the marriage feast this year. Furthermore, in the one year out of three that we do hear it, it is on the Second Sunday of Ordinary Time, celebrated in green vestments, with no mention of Epiphany.”
You are, of course, correct. Is it fair to say that the liturgists have made a pig’s breakfast of the calendar at this time of year? That sort of thing is not unknown. Fifteen years or so ago, ICEL came up with a perfectly adequate English translation of the prayers (including the Eucharistic Prayers) of the Mass, which came as close to the vernacular as possible, given that it was intended for the whole English-speaking world. This was duly submitted to Rome, which appointed another commission, under the leadership of the late Cardinal Pell, which rejected it, on the grounds that it wasn’t literal enough, and imposed instead the current translation, which does not resemble any vernacular anywhere. It strikes me as no coincidence that Cardinal Pell later became a bitter critic of Pope Francis.
We do not, then, have the third stage of Epiphany presented as such. AND YET, there appears to be a hankering after Epiphany in the widest sense. In the two years in which we don’t hear the account of Cana, we nevertheless have a form of “showing forth”. This year, it is the showing forth of Jesus as the Lamb of God. What is the significance of this?
It is a term used at every Mass, every day of every year, all over the world. We are so familiar with it that we hardly give it a thought. Yet it is earth-shattering in its implications.
The whole Bible is awash with lambs, sheep, and shepherds. “Oh Shepherd of Israel, hear us, you who lead Joseph’s flock” pleads one psalm, while another states that “we are His people, the sheep of His flock”. The prophets take the concept of lambs and sheep deeper and further, especially Deutero-Isaiah, who describes the Suffering Servant of the Lord as being “brought as a lamb to the slaughter” and adds that “as a sheep before its shearers is dumb, so He opens not His mouth”.
Sheep were slaughtered then, as now, as a matter of course, to provide food, but in Judaism, the killing and eating of lambs had, and has, a deeper significance, at the heart of the Jewish faith. You remember, of course, the instructions given to the Israelites in Egypt, for each household to kill a yearling lamb, and to sprinkle the blood on lintel and doorposts as a sign for the destroying angel to PASS OVER those houses, thus liberating the Chosen People both from death, and from slavery in Egypt.
Furthermore, the people were commanded to keep the Passover throughout their generations, a command which they continue to fulfil today, but which in Jesus’ time entailed a mass slaughter of lambs in the Temple courts. Consequently, in pointing out Jesus as the Lamb of God, John the Baptist is identifying Him not only as the Suffering Servant who is to be led to the slaughter, but also as the Paschal Lamb whose blood redeems the people throughout the ages from death and slavery. John makes this identification still more explicit by declaring that this Lamb “takes away the sin of the world”.
This brings us to the weekly question: “What are the implications for us?” They are mind boggling. Whenever the elements which have been consecrated at Mass are shown to the people, with the words “Behold the Lamb of God! Behold Him who takes away the sins of the world!”, we are, as a people, declaring that these elements, formerly and still physically bread and wine, are Jesus Himself, Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity as the formula puts it. They are the Lamb who was slain, given to us as our food and drink, as He Himself promised in chapter 6 of St. John’s Gospel. Whenever the Sacred Host is displayed in the monstrance, or simply present in the tabernacle, we can say “Behold the Lamb of God” and genuflect in worship. You can’t beat it!
