TESTIMONY

The testimony of John the Baptist is to point Jesus to others and to reveal His ultimate purpose and mission which is to redeem the sinful humanity. He said, “Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29-34) Jesus is the Lamb of God because the animals sacrificed in the temple of Jerusalem did not accomplish the goal of forgiveness of sins. God provides and gives us Jesus, the only one who performed the definitive, final and absolute act of atonement and reparation. This points to the sacrifice of Isaac who asked his father, “We have the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?” Abraham replied, “God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son.” (Genesis 22:7) Jesus is the fulfilment of the words of Abraham because He is the greatest gift of God to us. He is the fulfillment of all the rewards and promises of God. He is the fulfilment of the yearning and longing of the people of Israel and of all humanity. God gives us Jesus as the perfect sacrifice. He is New Passover Lamb, our ransom and restoration who frees us from our sins. Jesus takes away the sin of the world. He deals with the totality of sin in one sacrifice for the whole world. Sin must be dealt with. It cannot be left alone. It cannot be dismissed. It cannot be forgiven at a distance. He paid for our sins. This is The great act of substitution. He took upon himself our sins and punishment. We are not condemned anymore. We are reconciled with God. That is how we are so much loved. He died for all of us so that we might have new life. And we are called to love one another. Like Jesus, we are called to give all and love to the end. We are called to be imitators of Christ. Our baptism is rebirth, regeneration and daily dying and rising to new life. We are called to be servants of God, to point Jesus to others. All of us are called to holiness, to be saints. The only tragedy in life is not to be saint. To be holy is to be set apart so that we are formed according to the mind and heart of Jesus not for our sake but always for the sake of others. The goal of life is union with God. We are called to be in relationship with God because He is our Father and we are His children and to witness His loving presence in the world. The Church is the physical presence of Christ in our tormented world today. God alone satisfies us. Jesus alone is our peace and joy. He is the supreme good, the absolute treasure and the essential in life. If we do not realize this, we will spend the whole of our lives chasing after everything and nothing