Adult Object Lesson: Agnus Dei
Lamb of God? What’s That?
Today’s gospel tells the story of Jesus baptism from a different point of view than the other gospel writers. The banks of the Jordan are crowded with spectators. It might be a bit like Woodstock!
John looks at Jesus and makes an announcement. “Here, folks, comes the Lamb of God.”
Huh?
Lambs don’t mean much to us today. In Jesus’ day, they meant a lot. They were money in the bank. To sacrifice a lamb was to sacrifice something of value. The people on the banks of the Jordan could relate to two stories from their heritage: Abraham’s sacrifice of Isaac and the Passover story.
Sacrifice is a tough concept to visualize. Any “object” seems trivial in comparison to the foreshadowing of God sacrificing his Son.
Today, explore the idea of sacrifice and perhaps your adult learners can suggest objects that mean something to them.
Sacrifice is often intangible.
Sacrifices can be forced upon us. A jail sentence is a sacrifice.
Sacrifices can be cultural. Slaves sacrifice freedom. Women are often culturally expected to sacrifice their own potential for the order of society.
Time spent at work is a sacrifice from time spent with family. Parents sacrifice their own desires to better the lives of their children. Sacrifices are costly emotionally and monetarily. Sacrifices are supposed to mean something. One person’s sacrifice should make a difference.
Ask your adult learners what might symbolize sacrifice. Ask: What is given up? What cause is furthered?
It might be a diploma. Choosing to devote time and money to education is a sacrifice that parents and students make to further their careers and ability to serve.
It might be a baseball and bat. In baseball, a capable athlete, who could use his at bat to try for a grand slam, goes for the bunt to move teammates around the diamond.
It might be a spreadsheet. In business, decisions must be made. What great feature might be sacrificed to keep down production costs or get a product to market.
It might be a helmet or medal. In war, sacrificial decisions are made. It is called heroism when one soldier risks his life to save another. It is called collateral damage when decisions are made to sacrifice villages to meet a strategic goal.
Today’s lessons are a bit mystical. Jesus is the Lamb of God. Lambs are meant to be sacrificed. Even God’s lamb. But what cause will be furthered?
Nothing short of saving the world.