Circumcision and Name of Jesus (01 January 2017)
Numbers 6:22-27; Galatians 3:23-29; St Luke 2:21
In the Name + of JESUS. Amen.
Beloved in Christ, we stand once again at the threshold of a new year. It is natural to wonder, “What will it bring?” But no man can answer that question. Only God knows the answer. You may also ask: “How will it go with my job, my vocation, this year?” The answer must be: God knows. You ask: “Will fortune or misfortune come upon me?” Again, the answer is: God knows. You ask, “Will I live through this year or die this year?” And so again, “Only God knows.”
Whatever paths on which our Lord has taken you this past year - no matter how diverse, joyous, or sorrowful they may have been - they have all had the one goal with each of you. Whether He has disciplined and deprived you, or He has spared you trouble and provided for you, His goal is that in Christ Jesus you bring forth fruit to eternal life.
So it shall also be for the year ahead. It is no coincidence that our Lord has so ordered it that the world’s New Year celebration occurs at the same time as the Church celebrates the Feast of the Circumcision and Name of Jesus. For this is your doorway through which you go forward into this New Year. Before you may be darkness and uncertainty, but the Lord has painted upon this entrance a beautiful and comforting image of the circumcision of Christ and the sweet and precious name Jesus. In this image, this painting, through this entrance, you can look into the fatherly heart of God in heaven.
You know, beloved, that God first introduced circumcision with Abraham, as a sign of the covenant and seal for him and his offspring. It is see in many passages through the Old and New Testaments, but its origin lies in God’s Word to Abraham in Genesis 17: I am God Almighty, walk before Me and be blameless, that I may make My covenant between Me and you, and may multiply you greatly. This is My covenant, which you shall keep, between Me and you and your offspring after you: Every male among you shall be circumcision. He who is eight days old among you shall be circumcised (Gn 17:1-2, 10, 12).
The Lord shall be his God, and the God of all his descendants after him. From him the Lord would bring forth the Seed of the woman promised in Paradise who would trample the head of the serpent. Circumcision is the sign and seal of the covenant that they would bear on their bodies. It would be a constant reminder that they have a gracious God; a God who would help them in temporal afflictions, save them, guard and protect them, and richly bless them. Indeed this God would also redeem them from sin, death, and judgment and give them eternal life.
At the same time, circumcision would be a reminder that all men are conceived and born in sin. The heinousness of sin, particularly original sin, needs to be held before the eyes of all so as to stress its seriousness. Look back over this past year; what do you have to confess? What indiscretions? What deceit and trickery? What anger and hatred? Indeed you have offended the Lord your God this past year with your sins. You deserve His temporal and eternal punishment.
So enters Christ, and on this day, the first of a new year, submits Himself to the covenant sign of circumcision and the curse and judgment of the Law. He had no personal need for circumcision; no need to be under the covenant and the Law. He is the Lord of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; the One who instituted circumcision. He is the Initiator of the covenant and the One who swears by Himself, by His own Name.
But here, for your sake, He subjects Himself to the judgment of the Law. He takes upon Himself the curse of the Law and receives for you the wages of your sin. These drops of blood that the dear child Jesus sheds here at His circumcision are, as it were, the earnest money, the downpayment, which your Guarantor lays down agains the judgment of God. Through it He pledges to pay the entire debt and establish peace between you and the Father by the new covenant in His Blood.
This is completed by His Cross and Passion, His death and resurrection. His life was a sin offering given for you, the lost children of Adam. His precious blood paid the full ransom and purchased you back from the curse of the Law. The Law can no longer threaten you. You have a reconciled Father who for the sake of Jesus, forgives your sins, receives you again as His children, and freely gives to you life and salvation!
Do you see what Christ’s circumcision means! This is of highest importance and blessing for lost sinners. Here, the fearful yoke and unbearable weight of the Law is taken off your shoulders and laid upon this beloved little Child; upon whom is bestowed the name Jesus, the name given by the angel to the Virgin Mary, repeated to Joseph in a dream; the Name given by God the Father Himself. For in Jesus, He has given you a Redeemer who loves you and has taken upon Himself your sin, your curse, that He might redeem and save you.
This same Jesus who freed you from the wages of sin and the wrath of God, guards and protects you in all danger and sufferings that come upon you. Indeed, Jesus controls these sufferings so they can only serve for your good. And, at the last, He finally rescues you completely from them. He leads you through death to eternal life and blessedness. All of this is contained in the name Jesus.
And this Name is given to you; placed upon you by the Lord Himself in Holy Baptism, even as Christ is put upon you, to clothe you and shield you. As it is written, In Him you also were circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of flesh, by the circumcision of Christ, having been buried with Him in baptism, in which you were also raised with Him through faith in the powerful working of God, who raised Jesus from the dead (Col 2:11-12). He is now seated at the right hand of the Father; through His crucified hands He governs the entire world.
And He sends you everything that will come upon you this year; and His blood and His name are the guarantee that out of His hand must flow pure blessings to you.
Now He has not promised you that no want or sickness or trouble will befall you this year. Rather, He has said to you: Unless a man take up his cross daily and follow Me, he cannot be My disciple (Lk 9:23). Thus, at Baptism, He allowed you to be marked with His cross. This is so that at all times you think about His cross and about the fact that you belong to the cruciform kingdom of the Crucified One.
As His disciples, you will pass through many troubles to enter the kingdom of heaven. As certain as you are a Christian - for He has made you one - so certain will you experience cross and need. My dear friends, if they have called the Master of the House Beelzebul, how much more will they persecute those of His household (Mt 10:25)?
Nevertheless, in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God through faith. And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to promise. And so the circumcision of Christ teaches us that we have a Savior and so every cause of fear and angst and concern is removed. The Law with its curses and judgments has been removed.
Thus in the misfortune that may affect you, you no longer see any punishment or anger of God, but rather the disciplining hand of a loving Father. It is possible in this new year that you will face sufferings and trials. You may remain poor or become poor in earthly possessions. It is possible that God may sift His Church through persecution. It is possible that you may die this year. And if the children of this world, in the midst of their partying yesterday and today, were told they would die this year, they would be terrified. But with you, it is something quite different.
For you have the One who has conquered death and brought life and immortality to light. His Name has been placed upon you. And the Name Jesus encompasses all compassion, all love, all promises, and all blessedness. It guarantees that God is with us and is our reconciled Father. As such, He can only let good things come to us. What should we fear? The Almighty, who sits on the throne of glory, who rules in the midst of His enemies, before whom all His enemies must bow down, before whom every knee must bow, whether in heaven or on earth or under the earth - He is your Savior, Brother, Bridegroom, and Judge. And He loves you.
He gives you grace anew in Word and Sacrament. His forgiveness of your sins surrounds you like the very air. It is as vast as the heavens themselves. He who has called you is faithful. He will do it. Only hold to His Word and Sacrament. Do not forsake or despise prayer. May you die, when, where, and as He wills. He will lead you into an eternal and new jubilee year, in true peace and blessedness, and right in the struggle of death, this most beautiful name will enlighten and happily bring you through to eternal life: JESUS! Amen.*
* This sermon is an adaption of a sermon for Consolation and Encouragement by Friedrich Wyneken, preached January 1, 1868. (Found in At Home in the House of My Fathers, Rev. Dr. Matthew C. Harrison)
Numbers 6:22-27; Galatians 3:23-29; St Luke 2:21
In the Name + of JESUS. Amen.
Beloved in Christ, we stand once again at the threshold of a new year. It is natural to wonder, “What will it bring?” But no man can answer that question. Only God knows the answer. You may also ask: “How will it go with my job, my vocation, this year?” The answer must be: God knows. You ask: “Will fortune or misfortune come upon me?” Again, the answer is: God knows. You ask, “Will I live through this year or die this year?” And so again, “Only God knows.”
Whatever paths on which our Lord has taken you this past year - no matter how diverse, joyous, or sorrowful they may have been - they have all had the one goal with each of you. Whether He has disciplined and deprived you, or He has spared you trouble and provided for you, His goal is that in Christ Jesus you bring forth fruit to eternal life.
So it shall also be for the year ahead. It is no coincidence that our Lord has so ordered it that the world’s New Year celebration occurs at the same time as the Church celebrates the Feast of the Circumcision and Name of Jesus. For this is your doorway through which you go forward into this New Year. Before you may be darkness and uncertainty, but the Lord has painted upon this entrance a beautiful and comforting image of the circumcision of Christ and the sweet and precious name Jesus. In this image, this painting, through this entrance, you can look into the fatherly heart of God in heaven.
You know, beloved, that God first introduced circumcision with Abraham, as a sign of the covenant and seal for him and his offspring. It is see in many passages through the Old and New Testaments, but its origin lies in God’s Word to Abraham in Genesis 17: I am God Almighty, walk before Me and be blameless, that I may make My covenant between Me and you, and may multiply you greatly. This is My covenant, which you shall keep, between Me and you and your offspring after you: Every male among you shall be circumcision. He who is eight days old among you shall be circumcised (Gn 17:1-2, 10, 12).
The Lord shall be his God, and the God of all his descendants after him. From him the Lord would bring forth the Seed of the woman promised in Paradise who would trample the head of the serpent. Circumcision is the sign and seal of the covenant that they would bear on their bodies. It would be a constant reminder that they have a gracious God; a God who would help them in temporal afflictions, save them, guard and protect them, and richly bless them. Indeed this God would also redeem them from sin, death, and judgment and give them eternal life.
At the same time, circumcision would be a reminder that all men are conceived and born in sin. The heinousness of sin, particularly original sin, needs to be held before the eyes of all so as to stress its seriousness. Look back over this past year; what do you have to confess? What indiscretions? What deceit and trickery? What anger and hatred? Indeed you have offended the Lord your God this past year with your sins. You deserve His temporal and eternal punishment.
So enters Christ, and on this day, the first of a new year, submits Himself to the covenant sign of circumcision and the curse and judgment of the Law. He had no personal need for circumcision; no need to be under the covenant and the Law. He is the Lord of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; the One who instituted circumcision. He is the Initiator of the covenant and the One who swears by Himself, by His own Name.
But here, for your sake, He subjects Himself to the judgment of the Law. He takes upon Himself the curse of the Law and receives for you the wages of your sin. These drops of blood that the dear child Jesus sheds here at His circumcision are, as it were, the earnest money, the downpayment, which your Guarantor lays down agains the judgment of God. Through it He pledges to pay the entire debt and establish peace between you and the Father by the new covenant in His Blood.
This is completed by His Cross and Passion, His death and resurrection. His life was a sin offering given for you, the lost children of Adam. His precious blood paid the full ransom and purchased you back from the curse of the Law. The Law can no longer threaten you. You have a reconciled Father who for the sake of Jesus, forgives your sins, receives you again as His children, and freely gives to you life and salvation!
Do you see what Christ’s circumcision means! This is of highest importance and blessing for lost sinners. Here, the fearful yoke and unbearable weight of the Law is taken off your shoulders and laid upon this beloved little Child; upon whom is bestowed the name Jesus, the name given by the angel to the Virgin Mary, repeated to Joseph in a dream; the Name given by God the Father Himself. For in Jesus, He has given you a Redeemer who loves you and has taken upon Himself your sin, your curse, that He might redeem and save you.
This same Jesus who freed you from the wages of sin and the wrath of God, guards and protects you in all danger and sufferings that come upon you. Indeed, Jesus controls these sufferings so they can only serve for your good. And, at the last, He finally rescues you completely from them. He leads you through death to eternal life and blessedness. All of this is contained in the name Jesus.
And this Name is given to you; placed upon you by the Lord Himself in Holy Baptism, even as Christ is put upon you, to clothe you and shield you. As it is written, In Him you also were circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of flesh, by the circumcision of Christ, having been buried with Him in baptism, in which you were also raised with Him through faith in the powerful working of God, who raised Jesus from the dead (Col 2:11-12). He is now seated at the right hand of the Father; through His crucified hands He governs the entire world.
And He sends you everything that will come upon you this year; and His blood and His name are the guarantee that out of His hand must flow pure blessings to you.
Now He has not promised you that no want or sickness or trouble will befall you this year. Rather, He has said to you: Unless a man take up his cross daily and follow Me, he cannot be My disciple (Lk 9:23). Thus, at Baptism, He allowed you to be marked with His cross. This is so that at all times you think about His cross and about the fact that you belong to the cruciform kingdom of the Crucified One.
As His disciples, you will pass through many troubles to enter the kingdom of heaven. As certain as you are a Christian - for He has made you one - so certain will you experience cross and need. My dear friends, if they have called the Master of the House Beelzebul, how much more will they persecute those of His household (Mt 10:25)?
Nevertheless, in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God through faith. And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to promise. And so the circumcision of Christ teaches us that we have a Savior and so every cause of fear and angst and concern is removed. The Law with its curses and judgments has been removed.
Thus in the misfortune that may affect you, you no longer see any punishment or anger of God, but rather the disciplining hand of a loving Father. It is possible in this new year that you will face sufferings and trials. You may remain poor or become poor in earthly possessions. It is possible that God may sift His Church through persecution. It is possible that you may die this year. And if the children of this world, in the midst of their partying yesterday and today, were told they would die this year, they would be terrified. But with you, it is something quite different.
For you have the One who has conquered death and brought life and immortality to light. His Name has been placed upon you. And the Name Jesus encompasses all compassion, all love, all promises, and all blessedness. It guarantees that God is with us and is our reconciled Father. As such, He can only let good things come to us. What should we fear? The Almighty, who sits on the throne of glory, who rules in the midst of His enemies, before whom all His enemies must bow down, before whom every knee must bow, whether in heaven or on earth or under the earth - He is your Savior, Brother, Bridegroom, and Judge. And He loves you.
He gives you grace anew in Word and Sacrament. His forgiveness of your sins surrounds you like the very air. It is as vast as the heavens themselves. He who has called you is faithful. He will do it. Only hold to His Word and Sacrament. Do not forsake or despise prayer. May you die, when, where, and as He wills. He will lead you into an eternal and new jubilee year, in true peace and blessedness, and right in the struggle of death, this most beautiful name will enlighten and happily bring you through to eternal life: JESUS! Amen.*
* This sermon is an adaption of a sermon for Consolation and Encouragement by Friedrich Wyneken, preached January 1, 1868. (Found in At Home in the House of My Fathers, Rev. Dr. Matthew C. Harrison)
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