Circumcision of our Lord
January 1, 2006
Vicar Michael Monterastelli
Text: Luke 2:21
Merry Christmas and blessed New Year.
In the Name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen
Brothers and sisters in Christ,
Do not hinder your little children from coming to see the whole Jesus. Like every son born from father Abraham, so was God’s own Son, begotten in the flesh, through the Blessed Virgin Mary, circumcised and called by His God-given Name.
“At the end of eight days, when he was circumcised, he was called Jesus, the name given by the angel before he was conceived in the womb.”
If modern man has trouble recognizing something that separates men from animals, he need look no further than the Hebrew circumcision. What animal would ever do that to themselves and to every male, generation after generation? None that I know of. If there are, certainly, none of them had a command and promise from God, their creator, to go with it. But Abraham and his descendents did. That included Joseph and Mary. So they rightly brought Jesus to be circumcised and named on the eighth day, as the Lord Himself had commanded.
The Son of God became man in order to die. He was born to die to redeem us from the punishment our sins deserve. But first, before He would grow, suffer, die, and rise from the dead, He was circumcised. Among other things, God became man in order to be circumcised. He made that promise to Abram, who became Abraham, remember? God promised great offspring and land to Abraham. He also promised Abraham: you and your offspring shall keep my covenant. What meaning does Jesus’ circumcision hold for us as we enter this New Year? Whatever God says shall be, shall be. In order to fulfill His own promise, God-in-the-flesh was circumcised.
It was a bloody affair. A direct result of our sin. Circumcision was instituted by our Lord when He commanded Abraham to have it done for himself, his sons, and all the males of his household. God promised to make Abraham’s people (and land) great. And what’s more, He promised to be their God. Circumcision served as a sign of our Lord’s promise to Abraham. It was a sign he carried with him when he was sitting in his house, and when he was walking by the way, and when he would lie down, and when he would rise (Dt. 11:19).
So what does circumcision mean for the Hebrew? It means: welcome to the promise, welcome to the family. Welcome to the nation through whom all God’s work is finished. Just like Jesus said on the cross. It is finished. Salvation and eternal life are won, in the perfect One. What the first perfect man lost, the second perfect Man won. And what He won, He won for all us imperfect men and women. God said, “you shall keep my covenant… you shall be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskins, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and you.” The Hebrew circumcision meant the Lord is your God and you are His people.
Why did Abraham have to circumcise the male children so early in their lives before they had a chance to decide for themselves? Simply because, any man who was worldly-wise would refuse this cutting-off of the flesh, and he would then be cut-off from his people, and therefore, God’s promise could not help him. Better to enter eternal life wounded, than to be uncut and thrown into hell (Mt. 5:29-30, 18:8-9, Mk. 9:43-47, Jn 11:50). It was out of love that God told Abraham to circumcise the boys so early.
But what is the significance of the eighth day? It was the day after the Sabbath. God created everything in the heavens and earth in seven days. But His work does not end there. His work of sustaining, and now saving, what He has created, continues. Your life is proof of His on-going work. The eighth day signifies new life. It was the day each newborn child of Abraham was to be circumcised and named. In this way, they were given life among Abraham’s people. This next day is the new day-of-our-Lord. The eighth day is a brilliant beam of light and hope in a world where each passing year grows old and passes away. The eighth day is forever new.
Our Lord’s circumcision marked Him as a Son of Abraham. But He was not just another child of the promise. Jesus is the promise fulfilled. Just like the Hebrew circumcision did before our Lord was circumcised, now Holy Baptism marks you as one redeemed by God’s own Son. God’s own Son, not only died for your sin, but was first circumcised for you. The Lord’s own flesh was cut-off. The blood of His circumcision was shed in righteous obedience to the Law and Promise of God. The blood He shed on the cross was freely given to win righteousness for you, for me, and for the whole world. Even though He was The Promised One, He first became a child of the promise, marked by circumcision. He became a child of Abraham. As we enter a new year, Jesus circumcision bears witness to a newness that never grows old.
In Holy Baptism, we are marked as well. We are completely united with the risen Christ. The Law, including the Law of circumcision, no longer applies to the Jew or Gentile reborn as a Christian. The Holy Baptism of all children, boys and girls, not only replaces circumcision of the male member with a spiritual circumcision of the heart, made without hands, but it conveys the Word Who creates saving faith. Before Abraham was ever circumcised, it was the faith of Abram that God counted as righteousness, not his circumcision (Rm 4:11). As we enter the New Year, the Word Who creates saving faith, is where the newness that does not grow old comes from.
When the Lord of the promise commanded Abraham to cut-off not only a portion of his male member, but that of every boy in his household, Abraham obeyed the Word of God. Without question. Such is the faith of father Abraham and every male who remained in his household. Such is the faith that saves. Not everyone winds up with this kind of faith in God’s Word. Many have freely chosen to reject it. Unfortunately, this choice can effect not only the parents but also their children and their children’s children for generations. People who live in lands where the Gospel promise is not proclaimed as it was given to Noah and passed to each generation through our Lord’s Prophets and post-resurrection Apostles, have their ancestors to thank on the Last Day, when the Son of Man returns. In the meantime, there’s only one thing needful. So God sends His Church to deliver Him. The Church is sent to reintroduce the Gospel to all lands and all nations. The Church delivers Him as Jesus commanded Her: through the preaching of His Good News and through the physical elements of water, bread, and wine. In this New Year, God would have the Church that gathers at Luther Memorial Chapel, center her life on receiving Him and proclaiming Him in this lost and dying world.
Our Lord instituted circumcision for this purpose, so He could wear yet another mark of His love for you for all eternity. The Lord giveth, and the Lord takest away. It was a symbol of unity with Him and His chosen people. But that physical sign is no longer necessary. He has ended its significance and replaced it with a more unifying sign — a sign of mutual death and resurrection — a sign of new birth. It has been replaced with Holy Baptism. The sign of circumcision was a sign of the Law, and Baptism is a sign of the Gospel. Circumcision could not save anyone, but Baptism does. By the sign of Holy Baptism you have been physically bathed in His Name, in which every promise of God is given to you. Holy Baptism has the unique quality of creating faith through the Word of God…in the Name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Vicar Michael Monterastelli
Text: Luke 2:21
Merry Christmas and blessed New Year.
In the Name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen
Brothers and sisters in Christ,
Do not hinder your little children from coming to see the whole Jesus. Like every son born from father Abraham, so was God’s own Son, begotten in the flesh, through the Blessed Virgin Mary, circumcised and called by His God-given Name.
“At the end of eight days, when he was circumcised, he was called Jesus, the name given by the angel before he was conceived in the womb.”
If modern man has trouble recognizing something that separates men from animals, he need look no further than the Hebrew circumcision. What animal would ever do that to themselves and to every male, generation after generation? None that I know of. If there are, certainly, none of them had a command and promise from God, their creator, to go with it. But Abraham and his descendents did. That included Joseph and Mary. So they rightly brought Jesus to be circumcised and named on the eighth day, as the Lord Himself had commanded.
The Son of God became man in order to die. He was born to die to redeem us from the punishment our sins deserve. But first, before He would grow, suffer, die, and rise from the dead, He was circumcised. Among other things, God became man in order to be circumcised. He made that promise to Abram, who became Abraham, remember? God promised great offspring and land to Abraham. He also promised Abraham: you and your offspring shall keep my covenant. What meaning does Jesus’ circumcision hold for us as we enter this New Year? Whatever God says shall be, shall be. In order to fulfill His own promise, God-in-the-flesh was circumcised.
It was a bloody affair. A direct result of our sin. Circumcision was instituted by our Lord when He commanded Abraham to have it done for himself, his sons, and all the males of his household. God promised to make Abraham’s people (and land) great. And what’s more, He promised to be their God. Circumcision served as a sign of our Lord’s promise to Abraham. It was a sign he carried with him when he was sitting in his house, and when he was walking by the way, and when he would lie down, and when he would rise (Dt. 11:19).
So what does circumcision mean for the Hebrew? It means: welcome to the promise, welcome to the family. Welcome to the nation through whom all God’s work is finished. Just like Jesus said on the cross. It is finished. Salvation and eternal life are won, in the perfect One. What the first perfect man lost, the second perfect Man won. And what He won, He won for all us imperfect men and women. God said, “you shall keep my covenant… you shall be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskins, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and you.” The Hebrew circumcision meant the Lord is your God and you are His people.
Why did Abraham have to circumcise the male children so early in their lives before they had a chance to decide for themselves? Simply because, any man who was worldly-wise would refuse this cutting-off of the flesh, and he would then be cut-off from his people, and therefore, God’s promise could not help him. Better to enter eternal life wounded, than to be uncut and thrown into hell (Mt. 5:29-30, 18:8-9, Mk. 9:43-47, Jn 11:50). It was out of love that God told Abraham to circumcise the boys so early.
But what is the significance of the eighth day? It was the day after the Sabbath. God created everything in the heavens and earth in seven days. But His work does not end there. His work of sustaining, and now saving, what He has created, continues. Your life is proof of His on-going work. The eighth day signifies new life. It was the day each newborn child of Abraham was to be circumcised and named. In this way, they were given life among Abraham’s people. This next day is the new day-of-our-Lord. The eighth day is a brilliant beam of light and hope in a world where each passing year grows old and passes away. The eighth day is forever new.
Our Lord’s circumcision marked Him as a Son of Abraham. But He was not just another child of the promise. Jesus is the promise fulfilled. Just like the Hebrew circumcision did before our Lord was circumcised, now Holy Baptism marks you as one redeemed by God’s own Son. God’s own Son, not only died for your sin, but was first circumcised for you. The Lord’s own flesh was cut-off. The blood of His circumcision was shed in righteous obedience to the Law and Promise of God. The blood He shed on the cross was freely given to win righteousness for you, for me, and for the whole world. Even though He was The Promised One, He first became a child of the promise, marked by circumcision. He became a child of Abraham. As we enter a new year, Jesus circumcision bears witness to a newness that never grows old.
In Holy Baptism, we are marked as well. We are completely united with the risen Christ. The Law, including the Law of circumcision, no longer applies to the Jew or Gentile reborn as a Christian. The Holy Baptism of all children, boys and girls, not only replaces circumcision of the male member with a spiritual circumcision of the heart, made without hands, but it conveys the Word Who creates saving faith. Before Abraham was ever circumcised, it was the faith of Abram that God counted as righteousness, not his circumcision (Rm 4:11). As we enter the New Year, the Word Who creates saving faith, is where the newness that does not grow old comes from.
When the Lord of the promise commanded Abraham to cut-off not only a portion of his male member, but that of every boy in his household, Abraham obeyed the Word of God. Without question. Such is the faith of father Abraham and every male who remained in his household. Such is the faith that saves. Not everyone winds up with this kind of faith in God’s Word. Many have freely chosen to reject it. Unfortunately, this choice can effect not only the parents but also their children and their children’s children for generations. People who live in lands where the Gospel promise is not proclaimed as it was given to Noah and passed to each generation through our Lord’s Prophets and post-resurrection Apostles, have their ancestors to thank on the Last Day, when the Son of Man returns. In the meantime, there’s only one thing needful. So God sends His Church to deliver Him. The Church is sent to reintroduce the Gospel to all lands and all nations. The Church delivers Him as Jesus commanded Her: through the preaching of His Good News and through the physical elements of water, bread, and wine. In this New Year, God would have the Church that gathers at Luther Memorial Chapel, center her life on receiving Him and proclaiming Him in this lost and dying world.
Our Lord instituted circumcision for this purpose, so He could wear yet another mark of His love for you for all eternity. The Lord giveth, and the Lord takest away. It was a symbol of unity with Him and His chosen people. But that physical sign is no longer necessary. He has ended its significance and replaced it with a more unifying sign — a sign of mutual death and resurrection — a sign of new birth. It has been replaced with Holy Baptism. The sign of circumcision was a sign of the Law, and Baptism is a sign of the Gospel. Circumcision could not save anyone, but Baptism does. By the sign of Holy Baptism you have been physically bathed in His Name, in which every promise of God is given to you. Holy Baptism has the unique quality of creating faith through the Word of God…in the Name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
posted by Luther Memorial Chapel at
1/03/2006
