John was standing with two of his disciples, and as he watched Jesus walk by, he said, “Behold, the Lamb of God” (John 1:29).
John confessed earlier when asked if he was the messiah that he wasn’t. John knew who he was in the plan of God’s salvation. He did not claim to be more than he was but accepted his position as the one who would prepare the way for the messiah. Here he is doing just that with two of his disciples. Not seeking to hold on to them so that they would follow him but pointing to Jesus as the one to follow and give their lives to.
Andrew, one of the two of John’s disciples, would have picked up on the reference regarding the lamb of God right away. This is the lamb that would be sacrificed at the Passover meal each year. How that referred to Jesus, Andrew, Peter’s brother, and who would become one of the Twelve Apostles, would come to understand later as he experienced Jesus’ passion, death, resurrection, and ascension.
Jesus gave his life for us, not just so that we could exist, not to race through life at breakneck speed, but to live a life of meaning, purpose, fulfillment, service, in balance, and abiding in God’s love. This is not to mean that we won’t suffer. It means that as we surrender our lives to Jesus and his timetable, even when challenges arise, we can experience his peace in the midst of what we are going through.
Often, we miss John’s invitation to, “Behold the Lamb of God” because we are not paying attention, we are distracted or diverted, we are “anxious and troubled about many things.” We need to catch our breath and slow down more often than we allow ourselves to.
I have shared a lot in these morning texts about the importance of slowing down – breathing, resting, receiving, abiding in God’s love, and only a few days ago, thinking I was writing that too much. I need the reminder, as I believe we all do. Life goes too fast and so many of us hop on board the train of life that whizzes by and we are barely hanging on with one hand. That is not how God intended or wanted us to live.
One reason we may not to slow down is we aren’t ready, willing, or able to face the pain of our past nor surrender our will to Jesus and invite him to reveal to us what we need to let go of. Slowing down is not easy but with the love of God our Father is possible. We will not be crushed by what we fear to see. We will be loved, forgiven, and healed.
Berating ourselves for not slowing down does not help. We need to give ourselves permission to be kind and patient with ourselves. The thing about slowing down, is we need to slow down to slow down and that takes consistency and time of repeatedly doing so. The good news is that you have already begun the process of doing so.
A good place to ground our efforts, is to set up a sacred space in our homes that we can go to everyday, ideally the same time and same place each day. It doesn’t have to be amazing or perfect, it can and ought to be simple. Some place comfortable to sit and something to focus on like a statue, picture, candle, a view outside… The point is that you have a place to go where you can be still, focus, breath, and pray.
Best to start small and build from there. 5-10 minutes is good. A simple prayer you can start with is, “Jesus, please help me to slow down.” You can also follow John’s invitation, “Behold the lamb of God.” Behold Jesus in your imagination as Andrew did in person and follow his lead. Then just sit with Jesus and breathe. And bring either of these prayers back up when your mind drifts away. You can also start simply and slowly and stay with the sign of the Cross or the Our Father. The point is not to seek a mystical experience, not to grasp at anything. The point is to be still with Jesus. As Mary shared with me, when you show up each day, God will happen! That is true whether you experience something or not!
Creating for ourselves a sacred space and showing up there daily is a good anchor point to start with each day, and from there, we have made an intention to slow down as the first decision and action of our day. We have invited Jesus to help us, and then we can carry that intention and Jesus with us through the rest of the day and return anytime we need with a simple closing of your eyes, slowing down of our breathe, and calling on his name or short passage from Scripture. Jesus will help us to put the pieces of a balanced lifestyle together.
Remember, Jesus loves us as we are right in this moment. Nothing needs to be changed before he helps us other than inviting him to be with us and be still enough to experience him in the moment and then, one breath at a time, allow him to happen in our lives, and he will lead us step by gentle step, as Andrew and the other disciple of John did. They spent an afternoon with Jesus and their lives were transformed. Ours can be too!
Behold, trust, and spend some time with the Lamb of God!
Photo: Quiet Rosary evening walk last Monday night.
Spiritual Stepping Stones 