In this second article of the series on the Knock apparition we focus on the most important Person of the vision– the Son of God – the ‘Lamb of God.’ Jesus appeared then as He is now seen face-to-face in heaven.
Last time we referenced the silent aspect of the Knock Apparition as a striking feature and as a necessary disposition in preparing us to contemplate what, and more importantly Who, is set before us.
Here presented is the spotless Lamb of God, Our Lord Jesus Himself appeared as the silent Lamb on the altar in front of the Cross. Not a word is spoken. We might ask why.
The significance of this silence of the Lamb is two-fold.
Firstly, it highlights the Old Testament reference to ‘the dumb lamb before its shearers.’ It is a posture of readiness for sacrifice.
Secondly, it points to the silence in heaven as depicted in the Book of Revelation which contains 28 references to the ‘Lamb.’ We will return to this below.
The Passover Lamb
We believe that Jesus, the Lamb of God, was slain but is now risen, victorious over sin and death, over all earthly powers and all the forces of evil.
We are all too aware of the scale and awfulness of sin in all its aspects, personally and communally. Jesus “takes way the sins of the world” – sin on a global scale of wars, conflicts and other injustices, but also at a personal level, yours and mine.
Knock is an invitation to see the wonders that the Lord has done in taking upon Himself all- and I mean all – of the sins of the world upon Himself. Innocent though he was, he died for all our sakes.
The death of Jesus on the Cross for our sins took place at the precise moment that the many thousands of spotless lambs were being slain for preparation of the annual commemoration of the Jewish Passover. At Passover, the Jewish participants drank wine and ate unleavened bread and roast lamb. Can we not see the connection? “Jesus took bread saying, ‘this is My Body’, He took a cup of wine and declared ‘’Take and drink, this is my blood, the blood of the new and everlasting covenant, shed for you and for all so that sins may be forgiven.”
The phrase ‘The Lamb of God’ was used by St John the Baptist in reference to Jesus – “Behold the Lamb of God”, a title of address which we repeat at every Mass. Note that John says, ‘the Lamb’ not ‘a lamb’. Jesus is the fulfilment of all the lambs sacrificed over the centuries to honour Passover. It is a curious fact that the parish church of Knock had been dedicated in honour of St John the Baptist.
The lambs for the burnt offering were for centuries to be offered in remembrance and gratitude for God’s great work”
To appreciate the significance of the phrase ‘Lamb of God’ one must go back to the Book of Genesis, where Abraham, our father in faith, was prepared to sacrifice his only son to prove his devotion and obedience to God. Isaac, the boy in question, asked as he carried the wood, “where is the lamb for the burnt offering?” In prophetic words, Abraham replied, “God Himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering.” (Genesis 22:7-8)
The lambs for the burnt offering were for centuries to be offered in remembrance and gratitude for God’s great work of freeing His people. On the eve of their departure from the bondage of slavery in Egypt, the Book of Exodus describes God’s directives to Moses and the Hebrews to avoid death by slaying a one-year-old unblemished lamb and sprinkling its blood on their doorposts. The angel of death would pass over them.
“This day shall be kept as a memorial day, and you shall keep it as a feast of the Lord throughout your generations… you shall eat unleavened bread…kill the Passover lamb.” (Exodus 12:3-14)
Revelation
For the Church, the Letter to the Hebrews is an explanation to first century Jewish converts, including many Jewish priests, that the Temple sacrifices of these thousands of lambs had now been abolished as Christ died, once for all, for sin.
In the Catechism of the Catholic Church we read:
“After agreeing to baptize him along with the sinners, John the Baptist looked at Jesus and pointed him out as the “Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world (John 1:29). By doing so, he reveals that Jesus is at the same time the suffering Servant who silently allows himself to be led to the slaughter and who bears the sin of the multitudes, and also the Paschal Lamb, the symbol of Israel’s redemption at the first Passover.
The first century Jewish historian, Josephus, noted that the Jews continued to celebrate Passover on a grand scale”
“Christ’s whole life expresses his mission: “to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” (CC 608)
In Christ are fulfilled the prophecies:
“He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth; like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he opened not his mouth.”
“He poured out his soul to death and was numbered with the transgressors; yet he bore the sin of many and made intercession for the transgressors.” (Isaiah 53:7, 12)
“But I was a gentle lamb led to the slaughter I did not know that it was against me they devised schemes.” (Jeremiah 11:19)
“For Christ, our Paschal (Passover) Lamb has been sacrificed” (1Cor 5:7)
The first century Jewish historian, Josephus, noted that the Jews continued to celebrate Passover on a grand scale. He referenced 500,000 lambs sacrificed in Passover in the Temple of Jerusalem in 50 AD.
The Victorious Lamb
“In heaven there was silence for half an hour.’’ (Revelation 8:1)
It is impossible to understand or begin to decipher the significance of the Knock apparition without reference to that most mysterious of books in the New Testament – the Book of Apocalypse or Revelation. It is a very difficult book, eluding easy interpretation. However, in his vision the author John, perhaps the same John in the Knock apparition, refers to Our Lord as the ‘Lamb of God’ a total of 28 times. He is slain but victorious – a sacrificial victim with the wounds of the Passion – especially his wounded side. He stands upright- in authority.
Thousands of living creatures – angels as well as elders – cry out “Worthy is the Lamb who was slain to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honour and glory and blessing!”
But there is a second ‘silence of the Lamb.’ What does this mean? The Lamb pauses before the Final Judgment of all humanity. It’s a time of liturgical silence, a summons to the Church to offer intercessory prayer accompanied by incense.
“The Lord is in his holy temple; let all the earth keep silence before him.” (Habakkuk 2:20)
Then the Lamb will come to rule in triumph definitively over all His enemies. Those who remain faithful are likewise victorious over Satan, the Antichrist, the rulers of this world and the many collaborators in evil and sin, whereas the virtuous, including many martyrs, will share the spoils in a triumphant wedding feast to which all are invited.
“There will be a new heaven and a new earth, a new heavenly Jerusalem. Only the righteous may enter – only those written in the Lamb’s book of life.” (Revelation 21-22)
The Lamb’s Supper
The Church teaches us that the Mass is the great ‘re-presentation’ to us, in an unbloody manner, of the sacrifice of the Lamb of God, once slain on the altar of the Cross. The Knock vision is a depiction of Calvary and of the Risen Christ, as well a reminder of the sacred, sacrificial aspect of the Mass.
We may recall several references to the Lamb of God in the Mass. In the Gloria we pray
“Lord God, Lamb of God, you take away the sins of the world, have mercy on us.”
In the Rite of Holy Communion, we hear: “Behold the Lamb of God: behold Him who takes away the sins of the world, blessed are those called to the Supper of the Lamb.”
We recite together in reply:
“Lamb of God, you take away the sins of the world, have mercy on us. Lamb of God, you take away the sins of the world, grant us peace.”
But what is this ‘Supper of the Lamb’ to which we are invited? None other than the heavenly banquet.
The apparition of Knock, with the Lamb of God at its centre, is a summons to, and a reminder of the very meaning and goal of our existence, as well as the sum of all our longings to behold God ‘face to-face.’ The Mass is the foretaste of the heavenly banquet. The Knock apparition acts as it were, as a keyhole to look in at what St Paul once described:
“What no eye has seen and nor ear heard, nor the heart of man conceived, what God has prepared for those who love him.” (1 Cor 2:9)
