Saturday, January 15, 2022

And Then the Birds Vanished

 Leviticus 16:22 “The goat will carry on itself all their sins to a remote place; and the man shall release it in the wilderness.”

John 1:29 “The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!”

 In the first light of the morning, I saw the flock of gray birds enjoying the thorn tree’s winter berries prepared for them by God.

 Israel was assured on a regular basis that their sins were taken away, out of the sight and memory of God as the priest ceremonially places his hands on the scapegoat’s head, confesses the sins of all the people, and then gives the goat to someone who releases the goat and their sins in the wilderness. Gone forever.

 Centuries later a prophet announced the arrival of Jesus not with his name but with his title and his mission.  The Lamb of God bears the sins of the world on his head. Your sins. Gone forever.

 When the morning light grew, as if someone had sounded a cue, the entire flock of birds lifted their wings as if they were one bird and then they vanished.

No comments:

Post a Comment