Behold the Lamb of God

Posted: 10.09.09

One of the most moving and theologically accurate depictions of the Eucharist is the 15th-century Ghent Altarpiece or “Adoration of the Mystic Lamb.” It is a very large and complex early Netherlandish panel painting, which is considered to be one of Belgium’s masterpieces as well as one of the world’s treasured art pieces. Painted by the brothers Hubert and Jan van Eck, the painting was commissioned for a private chapel at the St. Bavo Cathedral in Ghent, Belgium, and later moved to the cathedral chapel for security reasons. Typical of the artistic style for its time and setting, the painting depicts an ornate outdoor scene in the city of Ghent. The central panel of the scene is the Paschal Lamb standing on an altar with blood from the animal’s pierced side flowing into a chalice. Above the Lamb is the descent of the Holy Spirit and surrounding him are angels in adoration encompassed by martyrs, saints, apostles, popes, bishops, clergy, Old Testament prophets, knights, hermits and pilgrims. The Lamb stands facing a fountain, reminiscent of a baptismal font, from which water is flowing. The panels above the descending Holy Spirit depict God the Father, Mary, John the Baptist, angels, and Adam and Eve.

The “Adoration of the Mystical Lamb” is clearly a vivid representation of the sacrifice of Christ as celebrated in the Mass. However, it does so in such a manner as to emphasize Jesus as the Passover Lamb, especially as described in the Book of Revelation. The image expresses the reality of heaven breaking into earth as Mass is celebrated. The universal Church is present at this sacrifice. In line with the Book of Revelation, the painting expresses that the celebration of the Eucharist is but a temporal reflection of the Mass of the Heavenly Jerusalem which is celebrated for all eternity.

This is a splendid depiction of a theological reality that is often overlooked. This reality is referred to in the first eucharistic prayer, after the consecration, when the priest says, “Almighty God, we pray that your angel may take this sacrifice to your altar in heaven. Then, as we receive from this altar the sacred body and blood of your Son, let us be filled with every grace and blessing.” St. Albert the Great, in his mystical commentary, “On the Sacrifice of the Mass,” tells us that “the sacrifice is borne to the sublime altar of God when all within this sacrifice cleave to the deity of Christ present before the Father’s majesty.”

To better understand this mystical reality, we especially look to the Gospel of St. John and the Book of Revelation. In these inspired writings, we hear reference to Jesus as the Lamb of God. In the Gospel of John, we find the words that we hear every time we celebrate the Eucharist as the priest holds up the consecrated host to invite us to receive holy Communion, “This is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world; happy are those who are called to his supper.” The first part of this proclamation are the words of St. John the Baptist, spoken shortly after the baptism of Jesus as John points to Jesus, “Behold the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world” (Jn 1:29).

The last part of this proclamation is a reference to the Last Supper and also to the wedding feast of the Lamb at the conclusion of the Book of Revelation as the angel proclaims, “Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb” (Rev 19:9). We also use this scriptural reference to Christ as the Lamb of God in the Gloria of the Mass and in the refrain “Lamb of God, you take away the sins of the world, have mercy on us.” By our receiving Christ, the Paschal Lamb, in the Eucharist, we enter into his life which is an eternal sacrifice of himself to his Father in pure love from which we draw life.

Christ is the Passover Lamb as clearly defined by St. Paul when he proclaims, “Christ, our Passover Lamb has been sacrificed” (1 Cor 5:7). Commemorating the Israelites’ deliverance from the Egyptians, the sacrificial lamb became the center of the Jewish Passover meal as prescribed by God himself (cf., Ex 29). Jesus celebrated his Last Supper at the same celebration to make clear that he is the Passover Lamb of the new covenant for all eternity. His sacrifice on the cross fulfills all others. In the Gospel of John, Jesus is crucified at the same time the lambs were being sacrificed for the Passover supper (cf., Jn 19:14). Just as none of the bones of the Passover lambs were broken, so none of Jesus’ bones were broken on the cross, as described by St. John (cf., Jn 19:36; Exod 12:46).

Two scriptural references regarding the Paschal Lamb are significant in emphasizing the eternal sacrifice of Christ. One is that of St. Peter who refers to the sacrifice of the precious blood of Christ as of a spotless unblemished lamb. In this context, Peter refers to the reality that Christ was made known before the foundation of the world (cf., 1 Pt 1:18). The other is in the Book of Revelation where St. John refers to “the Lamb slain since the foundation of the world” (Rev 13:8). This text from Revelation is one that is not often noted, but is the actual wording of the Greek. Both of these references allude to the mystery that the sacrifice of Christ, the Paschal Lamb, has no beginning and no end.

The Mass is eternal in so far as it transcends time and space and brings the entire Church into the saving action of Christ. It is also eternal in so far as it reflects of the sacrificial attitude of Christ in relation to his Father even before the creation of the world. When Christ was crucified, he gave us a glimpse of this glorious eternal attitude which is the very love of God. For all eternity, Christ celebrates this Eucharist and gives himself over to his Father. The cross is the moment of that giving in time. When we celebrate Mass and enter into the hour of Christ, we experience in time the eternal giving of the Son in complete joy. Christ’s sacrifice on the cross was but a detail of the eternal sacrifice of the Lamb slain since the foundation of the world. The Catechism of the Catholic Church expresses well this mystical reality when it states, “It is in this eternal liturgy that the Spirit and the Church enable us to participate whenever we celebrate the mystery of salvation in the sacraments” (CCC, 1139).

Pope John Paul II realized that understanding the eternal aspect of the eucharistic liturgy helps us to enter more deeply into the contemplative dimension of awe and adoration which are fundamental in our relationship with God. He not only expressed this in words, but also in his own celebration of the Mass. In an address to a group of bishops of the United States on their “ad limina” visit on Oct. 9, 1998, the pope expressed that “the liturgy has dimensions both local and universal, time bound and eternal, horizontal and vertical, subjective and objective. ... The universal Church is united in the one great act of praise; but it is always the worship of a particular community in a particular culture. It is the eternal worship of heaven, but it is also steeped in time.”

At the conclusion of his address, the pope described our earthly pilgrimage as a “journey as sinners into the unfathomable depths of the Church’s liturgy, the liturgy of creation, the liturgy of heaven – all of which are in the end the worship of Jesus Christ, the Eternal Priest, in whom the Church and all creation are drawn into the life of the Most Holy Trinity, our true home.”

As we gaze upon the Ghent Altarpiece, depicting the imagery of the Book of Revelation with the Lamb slain since the foundation of the world, the words of the Second Vatican Council’s “Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy” fittingly come to mind: “In the earthly liturgy we take part in a foretaste of that heavenly liturgy which is celebrated in the Holy City of Jerusalem toward which we journey as pilgrims, where Christ is sitting at the right hand of God’’ (No. 8). With our baptismal robes “washed … in the blood of the Lamb” (Rev 7:14), our response, in worship and adoration, can only be that of the angels in the Book of Revelation: “Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power and riches, wisdom and strength, honor and glory and blessing” (Rev 5:12).

May the graces we receive through the Eucharist this Jubilee Year make more evident that the Eucharist joins the Diocese of Palm Beach to heaven, which is our true home.

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