The Lamb of God

2nd Sunday in Ordinary Time Yr B

We have now started what is called Ordinary Time. This is divided into two periods. We first live Ordinary Time, in the weeks between Christmas and Lent, then we continue after Easter until the Solemnity of Christ the King which concludes the current liturgical year while preceding Advent (a new liturgical year). During these weeks we hear about Jesus’ life and we learn how to be his disciples. This is the reason why we may refer to this time as being ordinary, because we want to live like Jesus did in our ordinary, daily life. It is also a time which helps us to mature and deepen our faith. 

Today’s Gospel speaks to us about the first persons who accepted Jesus’ call and followed him. They decided to follow him because they had already heard about him from John the Baptist. One of them was not happy to be the only one to follow Jesus. Thus, he sought his brother, so that he too, could come to know Jesus. This is what, as parents, you do with your children. You first came to know Jesus, through your parents and others. When you became parents, you too wanted your children to get to know Jesus and to follow him. So, you baptised them, you speak to them about Jesus, you pray with them and for them, you send them to catechetical meetings, you do your best to be good witnesses.

The Gospel concludes with the renaming of Simon. In Simon, Jesus does not see the person as he was but the person he could become. Jesus recognised the courage that was hidden within Simon. At that time, Simon was still a coward, and in fact, later, we see him betraying Jesus, to save himself. However, when he recognised his mistake, he was sorry and he is changed into the person Jesus had seen in him when he renamed him Peter – rock. His faith becomes strong, he is a witness till the end and he gives his life for Jesus. That is why, Jesus changed his name. Jesus was seeing how, Simon, with the grace of God, could change. Peter was the rock on which Jesus laid the foundation of the Church, a Church which is still a sign and instrument of Christ in the world today.

When Jesus looks at us, he sees in us, the persons who we could become if we allow the grace of God work within us. We can however choose differently, and what Jesus is seeing, remains only his desire.

A reading from the Gospel of John (Jn 1, 35-42) 

John was standing with two of his disciples, and as he watched Jesus walk by, he said, “Behold, the Lamb of God.” The two disciples heard what he said and followed Jesus.

Jesus turned and saw them following him and said to them, “What are you looking for?” They said to him, “Rabbi” — which translated means Teacher — “where are you staying?” He said to them, “Come, and you will see.” So they went and saw where Jesus was staying, and they stayed with him that day. It was about four in the afternoon.

Andrew, the brother of Simon Peter, was one of the two who heard John and followed Jesus. He first found his own brother Simon and told him, “We have found the Messiah” — which is translated Christ —. Then he brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, “You are Simon the son of John; you will be called Cephas” — which is translated Peter.

The Gospel of the Lord
Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ

  1. Read the Gospel story so that you are familiar with it.
  2. Reflect on what the Gospel story is saying to you. Which points would you highlight and why?
  3. Adverts affect us. However, we are more convinced about a product when someone tells us that they used it and that they were satisfied. Jesus is not a product. Nonetheless, we are influenced and persuaded to follow him when we see the peace and joy of those who are already following him. As parents, are you inviting the children and making it possible for them to get to know Jesus?
  4. When Simon started to follow Jesus, he became Peter, because he started to live the way Jesus wished. Are you allowing Jesus to lead you?
  5. John calls Jesus, the Lamb of God. Silently, repeat in your heart:
    Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world, have mercy on me
    Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world, give me peace. 
  6. Together with your family find the right time to read this gospel. The environment helps, so before you start, prepare:
    i. The Bible reading from St John (1, 35-42);
    ii. A candle
    iii. Cover the table with green cloth
    iv. A computer/laptop with the reading and clips
  7. Go through the steps with your children (2 age groups are being suggested)
  8. Feel free to adapt to your situation
  9. Be creative 😊
  10. Go to the Prayer Spaces section to continue praying as a family

When Jesus grew up, he did not continue to live with his Mother the Virgin Mary and St Joseph. He left home due to his mission through which he wanted to start telling people how much God loved them. He did not want to be the only one, so he made friends with others, so that together they could teach the people. Today, we will see Jesus meeting his first friends.

  • Jesus loves us
  • Jesus wants us to be friends
  • Jesus wants us to follow him
  • Printouts of the activity
  • Colours
  • Pencil
Printout 1 Download
Printout 2Download

When you meet someone you love, and whom you have not seen for some time, what do you do?
You run to them?
You hug them?

In today’s Gospel, John the Baptist meets Jesus. He was very happy to meet him. He did not run to him, neither did he hug him! He did not even say “Look, it is Jesus,” instead he said “Look, it is the Lamb of God!” Do you think it was strange how he greeted Jesus?

Most probably the people looked around to see who had arrived.
Who was this Lamb of God?
Do you think the people understood John?

When John described Jesus as the Lamb of God, he wanted to deliver a message. It could be that some did in fact understand him. Let us too, try to understand.

In those days, people offered lambs to God as sacrifice. That means, that they killed a lamb in the Temple and asked God to forgive them for what they had done wrong. No one likes to see a lamb being killed. The lamb is cute and sweet. We do not like to see this lovable animal killed. 

When we do something which is not right, we are not happy, either. We are in fact sad, when we make wrong choices. When these people killed the lamb, they were showing that they were sorry for their wrong choices and which did not please God. The lamb did nothing wrong. When they killed it, it was like it was being punished instead of the people.

John had been talking about Jesus. Many times, he had told the people, that Jesus was the Saviour. John was right when he compared Jesus to a lamb. Like the lamb, Jesus never did anything wrong. Jesus died on the cross because he loves us, and he wants to save us. So, when Jesus died, like the lamb, he took the punishment which we deserved for our sins. How Jesus loves us! Jesus is really our true friend. 

There were some of John’s friends, who paid a lot of attention when he was telling them about Jesus. They wished to become friends with Jesus too. One of these was Andrew. When John pointed out Jesus to them, they went to meet him, because they wanted to become his friends.

Jesus was very happy that these people wanted to be his friends. When they asked him where he lived, he invited them to follow him. They were so happy with Jesus, that quickly they went to tell others to join them. Andrew went to tell his brother Simon.

Do you want to be friends with Jesus?

We know that to be friends with Jesus we must do what he wishes. When we do not, it is like we are telling him: “Jesus, today I do not wish to be your friend.” Jesus is sad when this happens. He loves us. He waits for us to want to be friends with him again.

Jesus would like us all, young, and old, to be his friends. What will we do this week to show that we are Jesus’ friends?

Note to parents: prepare the footprint printouts. There are small ones and a larger one. The small ones may be used by those who will write (this is an activity for all the family), the larger one is for the children, who will draw on it. 

In the footprint we will draw or write what we will do this week to show that we are Jesus’ friends. There is another printout, with the words: We want to follow Jesus. Colour these words.

When everyone is ready, he/she shares with the others what was drawn or written. Put the footprints and the words We want to follow Jesus on the fridge, so that during this week, everyone remembers what he/she promised to do.

Sign of the cross.

Thank you, Jesus, that you are our friend and you want us to be your friends and to follow you. During this week, I promise to (everyone mentions what he/she drew or wrote). Help me to remember my promise. Jesus, I love you.

Sing, Come follow me.

In today’s Gospel, we will see how Jesus starts to gather the apostles. The first two who started to follow Jesus, were already disciples of John the Baptist. They came to know Jesus through John’s preaching, and when they saw Jesus they wanted to get to know him better.

  • God sends people to speak to us about Jesus
  • Jesus invites us to follow him
  • One of your photos
  • Printout of the activity
ActivityDownload

It was the custom in Jesus’ time for people to learn from others. They used to choose the person from whom they wished to learn, and they followed this person to hear him teach. They called teachers such as these, “Rabbi”. From what Andrew and his friend heard about Jesus, they decided that they wanted Jesus to be their Rabbi. Andrew at once noticed that Jesus was a special teacher. He told his brother to join them in their quest to get to know Jesus better.

As Andrew and his companions, we did not know anything about Jesus. Who was the first person to speak to you about Jesus?

Who speaks to you about Jesus today?

The same thing that happened to the first friends of Jesus, happens to us too. The more we hear about him, the more we want to get to know him and to do what he asks us to do. That is why we read the Bible, we go to Mass, we go to Catechetical meetings, so that we get to know Jesus better. Jesus invites us to follow him too. The more we know him, the more convinced we become that we want to follow him. We cannot see Jesus, the way that Andrew and his friends saw him. When we say that we follow Jesus, we mean that we want to do what he wants. Andrew was not the only one following Jesus, he was with others. Like Andrew, are not alone. All of us who wish to do what Jesus wants, together, form Christ’s family which we call “the Church”. As Jesus’ friends, we help and love each other.

  • Andrew had a brother, what was his name? (Simon)
  • What did Jesus do? (change his name)
  • What name did Jesus give him? (Cephas / Peter)
  • What does it mean? (rock)

Jesus gave Simon the name which represented someone who was strong and mighty. He did not call him stone or pebble, but rock. In Peter, Jesus could see the qualities of a leader. Jesus knew that he could not continue being with these friends forever in so far, he was destined to die for our salvation, overcome death and ascend to heaven. He wanted to teach them, so that they could teach others. He could see these good qualities in Peter. It could be that Peter did not realise that he could be the person Jesus wanted him to be. Yet, after living with Jesus, after learning from him, he became a person who loved God, a man who wanted to teach others about Jesus and was not afraid to give his life for Jesus.

Note to parents: for the following exercise, it is important to allow enough time for thinking. It helps if there are no distractions and the light is dimmed. There can be some background music. Do it on replay so that it continues playing. This is not an exercise for children only, it is meant for all the family.

Let us close our eyes. Imagine that Jesus is near you. Jesus knows you well. He is looking at you and he can see what is on your mind and in your heart. Jesus can see all the good things you can do. He can also see the good things which you can do, but you have not yet discovered them.

  • What is Jesus telling you?
  • What are those good qualities that Jesus is seeing?
  • What are the good qualities you wish to have?
  • Jesus is hugging you and calling you by a new name. What is this name? Do you like it?
  • Thank Jesus and tell him that you love him. Jesus tells you that he loves you.
  • Remain with Jesus a little bit longer, then open your eyes.

Now that we have allowed Jesus to speak to us, we can do this week’s activity. On the printout, stick your photo. In the part, Jesus knows that I can, write down all your good qualities, and others, you wish to have (for example: keeping a secret, being good in maths, helping friends in this subject, being a good singer, helping in the house, spending time talking with granny who lives on her own, calling friends who are not coming to school because they are sick, saying kind words about others, keeping my room tidy, reading the Bible, reading stories from the Bible to my younger brothers or sisters).

When you are ready, write down the name Jesus gave you. You may search on the internet to find the name with which Jesus described you. For example, if you are courageous, Audrey, Gabriella, Andrew, and Zane, are names signifying this meaning. If you are a peaceful person, you may choose, Salome or Jonah. If you bring joy to others: Abigail or Isaac.

Sign of the cross.

Dear Jesus, I want to know you better and I want to follow you. Thank you, Jesus, for the people who speak to me about you. Thank you for (mention these people by name, for example: mummy Marica, daddy James, Nanna Maria, Nannu Paul, Ms Mary, Fr Joe)

Jesus, Andrew brought his brother to you. Today I would like to bring to you these people (name those you want to pray for, for example someone who is sick, someone who has no friends, someone you know is sad …)

Listen to and sing, I have decided.

1. In today's Gospel, John the Baptist describes Christ as...

Correct! Wrong!

2. Jesus called two disciples and asked them to follow him and they...

Correct! Wrong!

3. What did Jesus reply to the disciples when they asked him to show them his living place?

Correct! Wrong!

4. Andrew, one among the disciples, invited his brother to join him and meet Jesus. Who did Andrew invite?

Correct! Wrong!

How to use this space

God speaks to us in many ways, including through the Sunday Scripture readings. Here you will find useful background and activities to better understand the upcoming Sunday's Scripture readings, helping you to connect the Scripture to daily life in a meaningful way.