60, They saw a Samaritan carrying a lamb going into Judaea. He said to his disciples: Why does he carry the lamb? They said to him: That he may kill it and eat it. He said to them: So long as it is alive he will not eat it, but if he kill it and it become a corpse. They said: Otherwise he will not be able to do it. He said to them: You also, seek for yourselves a place within for rest, lest you become a corpse and be eaten.
Rev. 5:6 And I beheld, and, lo, in the midst of the throne and of the four beasts, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent forth into all the earth.
This one is hard (for me), but Leloup offers some good clues:
"The lamb symbolizes innocence, vulnerability, the gift of ourselves , and the power of love....the dead lamb is the hardened heart." Jesus suggests that we protect the lamb and not kill it.
So it's the same story we find in almost every one of the sayings, aptly expressed by Paul in Romans 12:2: be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind. Being conformed to the world is killing the lamb.
3 comments:
"The lamb symbolizes innocence, vulnerability, the gift of ourselves, and the power of love...."
How sweet is that!
What does it take in our own hearts to maintain this vulnerability, a quality of innocence in which we embody virtue, incorruptibility, and purity? Because to lose these qualities is to be hardened of heart, to be eaten.
Hi Larry. Yes, I think you're right, lambs are vulnerable and innocent, harmless, dependant ... all things people try so hard not to be, but things I think God appreciates in us.
Great post, Larry. Meredith, your question resonates with me because the maintenance is so hard. My only clue at the moment is mindfulness -- quiet awareness and appreciation. How the world conspires against us! and back to Larry's quoting Romans.
Was Christ crucified a symbol to show us how hard renewal is?
Post a Comment