Jan. 1, 2011 - The Circumcision of the Lord

From the Gospel Reading for this day, Luke 2:15-21

When the Christmas wrap is all recycled and the new things from Christmas begin losing their novelty, and there isn't another corner left in the stomach for another piece of fudge, we are left with a stark Christmas reality: we still have a Baby to contend with.

In keeping the Jewish Law, Joseph and Mary did what they were required to do: they had the Christ Child circumsized. A most mundance operation, circumcision was the mark of the Covenant of Abraham, kept by Jews for centuries as their participation in that same covenant.

There is more to it than that. The Circumcision is one more testimony of the fact that God became flesh and dwelt among us (John 1:14). Jesus Christ was no phantom or mysterious philosopher from the east: He was (and is) God Incarnate. As such, His Divine Flesh was subject to the Law, and subject to circumcision.

The Circumcision is also testimony that Jesus Christ was a normal baby boy. There may have been times when "the little Lord Jesus, no crying He made," however, there are also likely times when the little Lord Jesus cried His eyes out for His mother's milk or to notify His holy stepfather of his dirty diaper. As a normal boy, He would grow through the scrapes and scuffs of childhood, as Luke later avers in Luke 2: "Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and man."

The Circumcision tells us that all flesh is yet under the Law. Certainly, in the Church we understand that Jesus Christ is the fulfillment of the Law. However, as St. Paul reminds us in Romans, the Law remains valid for the man who remains in the flesh. The Law shows us where sin is, in the world and in ourselves. The Law is a schoolmaster to bring us to Christ (Galatians 3). Without Christ, there is judgment; with Him there is grace and peace. If the flesh of the Christ Child was subject to the Law, why should I expect that my flesh would not be?

Circumcision was also the "naming event" of the time. In Jesus Christ's case, the naming event was almost anticlimatic. Prophets had anticipated Him for generations. He would be the One Who Saves (Y'shua or Joshua), the Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Prince of Peace, Emmanuel. Yet, as a human baby, the Baby of Bethlehem was to be named on the eighth day, as were all other Jewish babies of the time. No Name the Baby books in the stable, only the name the Angel game to Mary and Joseph: Jesus.

Finally, the Naming of the Savior on the eighth day reminds us of our own "eighth day," the era of the Resurrection. The "first day of the week" and its Resurrection are like the eighth day of Creation: a new era has arrived and in that new era, that eternal "eighth day" we are named as well. We are named as co-heirs of Christ, His brethren, His friends, His children, His people.

There is still a Baby to contend with. As the year progresses, may this be a time of watching Christ grow in our own hearts and lives.