The Festival of the Circumcision and Naming of Jesus, Cycle B
"The Gift of Spiritual Circumcision"
January 1, 2012
Saint Luke's Lutheran Church, Colorado Springs
Lessons: Numbers 6:22-27; Romans 1:1-7; St. Luke 2:21
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
I think you're going to miss my old-fashioned, old-school mindset and understanding! Or maybe not. You see, if we were following, strictly, the new Revised Common Lectionary, as found in the new Evangelical Lutheran Worship book, which we don't, then this day would be called simply, "The Name of Jesus". Historically, in the western catholic tradition, of which Lutheranism is a part, January 1st has been the Festival of the Circumcision and Naming of Jesus, but in the newer lectionaries, the day has been changed to focus only, or mainly, on the Name of Jesus. And why is that? An Anglican canon wrote recently, "The modern Church has gone all prissy about the name of the Feast, calling it the Naming of Jesus. But," he writes, "I prefer the earthiness of the Circumcision, which rams home the fact that Jesus was fully human, fully Jewish and fully helpless."
As recently as the LBW, though, the appointed Gospel lesson for this day was still but the one verse from Luke, wherein we hear, "And at the end of eight days, when the baby was circumcised, he was called Jesus, the name given by the angel before he was conceived in the womb." So, in my traditional way of thinking, and in my respect for you as mature adults, who are not offended by talking about such biblical things as "circumcision", this festival day, whenever it falls on a Sunday, deserves to be observed in its fullness, as the day of the Circumcision AND the Naming of Jesus—because the two are intimately related; because there is a spiritual and a theological reason that they are linked, and because to focus on the one and ignore the other is to miss the important connection between the two. For, from the beginning, being circumcised and named was the sign and the symbolic ritual for being transferred, from this world and yes, even our own biological families, to God's kingdom and family, where we receive a new identity as children of God.
For circumcision was first commanded by God in the Old Testament, at almost the very beginning, when it was to be the sign of the new covenant between God and His people, when in Genesis 17:10-14, Jahweh, the Lord commanded Abraham saying, "You shall be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskins, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and you...he that is eight days old among you shall be circumcised; every male throughout your generations..." In this regard, our Gospel account shows Joseph and Mary doing for their son everything in accordance with the laws and covenants of God. It shows that Jesus and his parents were truly obedient descendants of Abraham, not ignoring the commandments of God, but fulfilling them in every point and article. And this alone is worth noting about the circumcision of Mary's son on the eighth day. But there is more to it than that.
First, circumcision symbolized the putting off of the flesh, literally, to live spiritually for God. There was no more vivid symbol of this casting off of the sinful flesh than, to be blunt, cutting off a hunk and throwing it away. Now the Jewish man was to live a chaste and pure life, being concerned for cleanliness and godliness, and the circumcision was a constant, visible personal reminder of this need for physical and ritual purity among the children of God. Second, and more importantly, the circumcision sealed the covenant between God and man, and God and this man, with blood. If you are ever asked, when did Jesus first shed his blood for humankind, the answer is not "on the cross", but "when he was circumcised". For covenant-making was always accompanied by the shedding of blood. So, in the making of the covenant between the Lord God and Abraham and his descendants, it was to be more than figurative, more than just symbolic—it was to be personal, to Abraham and all who would come after him, so that the sign of the covenant-making would not be lost, left behind on a stone altar somewhere, but actually carried in the bodies of the sons of Abraham all their days. The sign of the covenant, the circumcised male, was both a seal and a constant reminder that faithfulness was not to be taken lightly, or forgotten, or ignored, for the sake of your children and your children's children after you. And yet, the circumcision of Jesus, which still meant that for him, would mean something different for those of us who would come after Jesus. For Jesus' circumcision meant the end of the legal requirement of circumcision, as a sign of the Abrahamic covenant, as we were given what might be called "Pauline circumcision", or more properly, what St. Paul calls "spiritual circumcision".
St. Cyril of Alexandria wrote in the 5th century, "St. Paul says that 'neither circumcision counts for anything, nor uncircumcision.' On the eighth day Christ rose from the dead and gave us the spiritual circumcision. He then commanded the holy apostles, 'Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.' And", Cyril writes, "we affirm that the spiritual baptism takes place chiefly in Holy Baptism...Joshua led the children of Israel across the Jordan river, then made them stop immediately and circumcised them with knives of stone...so when we have crossed the Jordan river in baptism, Christ circumcises us with the Holy Spirit, not by purifying the flesh, but rather by cutting off the defilement that is in our souls. On the eighth day therefore," wrote St. Cyril, "Christ was circumcised and received his name. We were saved by him and through him because 'in him you were circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of flesh in the circumcision of Christ, which is baptism, when you receive your Christian name."
You see, Holy Baptism is our spiritual circumcision, as the old self, the old flesh is discarded and put to death, and the new self is made alive in Christ Jesus, as we are given a new name, which is not the name our parents gave us, but the name, "Christian"—follower, or disciple of Christ! This is why our first lesson for today is not the Genesis text commanding circumcision, but the passage from Numbers when, after delivered through the Red Sea, which itself symbolizes baptism, the people are given marching orders for their time in the wilderness, one order of which is that Aaron is to bless the people in the name of the Lord, giving them, not the name "Israelites", not the name "Jews", or "Hebrews", but imposing upon them, the name of the LORD, that having the name of the LORD upon them, they would be blessed! And that's what happens in Holy Baptism, and that's what happens at the end of our service each week, when the name of the Lord is invoked upon us, and we are given marching orders, "go in peace to serve the Lord", knowing we are blessed as we go! When we are baptized in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, the holy name is imposed upon us, so that we become children of the Triune God—blessed by His presence with us—even as the name of the LORD goes with us, as Aaron and the pastor say, "The Lord bless you, keep you, the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; the Lord lift up the face of his countenance upon you and give you peace. So shall they put my name upon my people, and I will bless them," says the Lord. And so are we blessed by the name of our Triune God, through our spiritual circumcision and naming, which happens in Baptism. So are we blessed by the name of the Lord, as we receive the final benediction each week and then go to serve.
I pray that each and every Sunday of this New Year will find you in worship, celebrating your baptismal identity, and receiving anew and afresh, the name of the Lord, the blessing of the Lord, as you live to serve Him and Him alone—every day, in every way.
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.