Bishop Eric Menees
Alleluia! Christ is risen! I pray that this week’s Bishop’s
Note finds you well and blessed by your worship of the Risen Lord this past
Sunday!
This week we continue our examination of the 2019 Book of
Common Prayer and more specifically the Service of Holy Eucharist, Standard
Form. We left off last week, appropriately, with the Prayer of Humble Access.
Today, again appropriately, we look at The Agnus Dei.
THE AGNUS DEI
The following or some other
suitable anthem may be sung or said here
Lamb of God, you take away the sin of the world: have mercy
on us.
Lamb of God, you take away the sin of the world; have mercy
on us.
Lamb of God, you take always the sin of the world; grant us
your peace.
The Lamb of God here is a direct reference to Jesus, whom
John the Baptist proclaimed to be the Lamb of God: “The
next day he saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God,
who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29) This proclamation was
astounding in that it proclaimed Jesus as the only one who could be sacrificed
for the atonement of sin. This is, of course, what we celebrated on Maundy
Thursday and Good Friday that Jesus, the Lamb of God, would lay down his life
for us so that we may have life eternally in heaven and abundantly on earth.
And so, in a threefold act of praise, we proclaim Jesus’
sacrifice as the Lamb of God and we simply state “have mercy on us.” This is
both a petition and a thanksgiving. Jesus is the only one who can truly have
mercy on us and the only one who truly has had mercy on us. As a result peace -
true peace - is available to us in Christ. This is the peace that comes through
reconciliation with God the Father, wrought by Jesus’ sacrifice and the peace
that “passes all understanding.” It comes with the assurance of both our
salvation and that we are loved beyond measure by our Heavenly Father who has
made us His children by adoption.
This coming Sunday as you sing or say this beautiful prayer
I bid you to open your hearts and minds to receive and acknowledge the mercy
and peace that can be found in Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God, and Him alone!
The Lord is risen indeed! Alleluia!
Bishop Menees
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