Behold the Lamb of God!

 "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…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." Then he brought him to Jesus. (John 1:35-39)
 
In the Gospel from this second Sunday of Ordinary Time, we hear John the Baptist proclaim at the sight of Jesus, “Behold, the Lamb of God!” I can't think of a more beautiful expression of what we aspire to accomplish in the life of the Catholic school.

Our Catholic schools are privileged spaces where we can point to and perhaps even ‘shout-out’ to students and families alike: "Look! Right here! Right there! Right now! There He is. Behold, the Lamb of God! That's Him!" Science class, math class, history class, the work and life of the Christian community, the witness of the members of the community-- these are spaces to proclaim: “Look, there He is! That's Him!" What love the Father has bestowed on us that He allows us a simple and small, yet beautiful glimpse into His nature as we discover His creative imprint in nature, the logic of his mind in mathematics and science, His saving work in human history, and the intricacy and beauty of the human person- body and soul unity- on display in great human stories.

To behold these realities is to acquire a sacramental imagination. To awaken the sacramental imagination of the members of our Catholic school community so they can behold the far greater invisible realities present amongst us every day, is the most important work we can do in a Catholic school. This is the most valuable good we have to offer to our students and families. It is the greatest lesson we can impart.

Our Catholic Schools are called to be “sanctuaries of education” (Pope Pius XI, Divini Illius Magistri, #77) where love Himself, incarnate in our midst, reveals Himself to us and asks, “What are you looking for?”  The Catholic school is called to prepare the senses to “Behold the Lamb of God.” This preparation happens every time our senses are overcome with wonder and awe as we behold beautiful art, listen to beautiful sacred music, see beautiful movements of the body in athletics, and observe the self-gift of a person in service to another in the community. The Church hands us the privileged task of leading students out of the visible plane with all its material limitations that they might become capable of beholding the Lamb of God, who made us for Himself and made all things to lead us to know Him. 

Jesus longs for us to know Him and to allow ourselves to be loved by Him and rescued from our fallen and broken nature. Inevitably, then, in the embrace of this love we are invited by Jesus to live in relationship with Him and His Church, a relationship that will fulfill the deepest longings of our heart and lead us to abundant life. Thus, the greatest fruit of our Catholic educational mission lies not in worldly outcomes and social markers of success. As good, noble, and important as those endeavors might be, just focusing on academic and temporal success is not enough and if we're not careful, can become an obstacle to the most important pursuits. Rather, the greatest achievement of the Catholic school is to be found in how many in our community are moved to follow Jesus and ask, “Teacher, where are you staying?”  

Our best work will ultimately direct us to Jesus, inspire us to look for Jesus, grow our desire to know Jesus, and assist us all-- from the youngest student to the oldest adult in our school- to stay with Jesus that we might grow in greater love and knowledge of Him so that we can in turn might be able to share, “We have found the Messiah!” and bring others to Him. This, the Church holds, is the primary indicator of our success. It is a fruit that perhaps we may not be able to see in the moment and one that may be beyond human means to quantify and measure. However, this will truly change the world.