Patrick Comerford
Saturday 1 January 2021 is New Year’s Day and on this day the Calendar of the Church remembers the Naming and Circumcision of Christ.
The same set of readings is used on this day every year in the Revised Common Lectionary (RCL), as adapted for use in the Church of Ireland:
The Readings: Numbers 6: 22-27; Psalm 8; Galatians 4: 4-7; Luke 2: 15-21.
The calendar in the Book of Common Prayer lists this as one of the Festivals of the Church of Ireland (see p 20).
The celebration of this festival marks three events: firstly, the naming of the infant; secondly, the sign of the covenant between God and Abraham ‘and his children for ever,’ thus Christ’s keeping of the Law; and thirdly, traditionally the first shedding of the Christ’s blood.
The most significant of these events in the Gospels is the name itself, which means ‘Yahweh saves’ and so is linked to the question asked by Moses of God: ‘What is your name?’ ‘I am who I am,’ was the reply, thus the significance of Christ’s words: ‘Before Abraham was, I am,’ or the ‘I AM’ sayings in the Fourth Gospel.
Numbers 6: 22-27:
In this reading from the Book of Numbers, God tells Moses the words of the blessing to be used by the priests or cohanim, the children and descendants of Aaron. These words are still used in Jewish and Christian liturgical blessings:
The Lord bless you and keep you;
the Lord make his face to shine upon you, and be gracious to you;
the Lord lift up his countenance upon you, and give you peace. (Numbers 6: 23-26).
God’s blessing is for the whole community who will benefit from God’s blessing and protection.
Psalm 8:
Psalm 8 praises God as the creator and of humanity which is crowned with God’s glory. Even when God speaks through the mouths of ‘babes and infants’ (verse 2), his enemies are confounded. The psalmist contrasts God’s majesty with ‘the work of … [his] fingers,’ especially humans, for whom he cares. We share in God’s dignity for he has conferred on us dominion or responsibility for the rest of creation.
Whatever our experiences of the old year have been, whatever our expectations of the new year may be, the praise God remains our shared, common, constant call.
Galatians 4: 4-7:
Some teachers in Galatia have claimed that a Christian must first embrace Judaism, observing Mosaic law. Saint Paul writes this letter to rebut this argument, to insist that we come into union with God through faith in Christ, and not through ritual observances.
God has sent his Son, born a human – indeed, born a Jew, ‘under the law’ – so that we might be adopted as God’s children, be made part of him. We can now call God Father, Abba, the Aramaic word for father that Jesus used when he prayed to God. We are God’s children, and child makes you an heir to God’s kingdom, through Christ.
Luke 2: 15-21:
In this Gospel reading, Saint Luke recalls the Circumcision and Naming of Christ in a short, terse summary account in one, single verse: ‘After eight days had passed, it was time to circumcise the child; and he was called Jesus, the name given by the angel before he was conceived in the womb’ (Luke 2: 21).
Luke has told us of Joseph and Mary’s visit to Bethlehem, and of the birth of Jesus. This reading recalls the visit of the Shepherds, who are the first visitors to the new-born child, symbolising that Christ is our shepherd.
Before Christ was conceived, an angel has said ‘you will name him Jesus’ (Luke 1: 31). His name means God saves. The Hebrew and Aramaic forms of Jesus are similar to the words meaning ‘he will save.’
Reflecting on the Gospel reading:
This feast has been observed in the Church since at least the sixth century, and the circumcision of Christ has been a common subject in Christian art since the tenth century. A popular 14th century work, the Golden Legend, explains the Circumcision as the first time the Blood of Christ is shed, and thus the beginning of the process of the redemption, and a demonstration too that Christ is fully human.
This feast day is also a reminder that the Christ Child is born into a family of faith. He is truly God and truly human, and in his humanity he is also born a Jew, into a faithful and observant Jewish family.
In a prayer that has been used at circumcisions since the 14th century but that may be much earlier, God is asked to ‘sustain this child, and let him be known in the house of Israel as … As he has entered into the Covenant of Abraham, so may he enter into the study of Torah, the blessing of marriage, and the practice of goodness.’
The prayer continues: ‘May he who blessed our fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, bless this child who has been circumcised, and grant him a perfect healing. May his parents rear him to have a heart receptive to Torah, to learn and to teach, to keep and to observe your laws.’
The service concludes with the priestly blessing in Numbers 6: 23-26:
The Lord bless you and keep you;
the Lord make his face to shine upon you, and be gracious to you;
the Lord lift up his countenance upon you, and give you peace.
The festival of the Naming and Circumcision of Jesus provides a much-needed opportunity to challenge antisemitism in the world today, remembering that Christ was born into a practicing, pious Jewish family, and that January 2022 also marks the 77th anniversary of the liberation of the concentration camps, including Auschwitz and Birkenau.
A display in the Jewish Museum in Bratislava includes a typical example of Elijah’s Chair, used during the Circumcision of a new-born Jewish boy. The godfather (sandek) sits on the chair and holds the child on his knees.
Typically, the Hebrew text on the right-hand upper backrest reads: ‘This is the chair of Elijah, angel of the Covenant.’
The Hebrew text on the left-hand upper backrest reads: ‘Remembering the good (that he did), let him bring salvation quickly in our time.’
Saint Luke does not say where the Christ Child was circumcised, although great artists – Rembrandt in particular – often place the ritual in the Temple, linking the Circumcision and the Presentation, so that Christ’s suffering begins and ends in Jerusalem.
We have another opportunity to reflect on the Presentation in a few weeks’ time, at the Feast of the Presentation falls [Wednesday 2 February 2022].
New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day make a good time to look back and to look forward with eyes of faith in company with one another and with God. The beginning of redemption, the beginning of the New Covenant, the beginning of the New Year … as TS Eliot opens and closes ‘East Coker’:
In my beginning is my end
… In my end is my beginning
Luke 2: 15-21 (NRSVA):
15 When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, ‘Let us go now to Bethlehem and see this thing that has taken place, which the Lord has made known to us.’ 16 So they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the child lying in the manger. 17 When they saw this, they made known what had been told them about this child; 18 and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds told them. 19 But Mary treasured all these words and pondered them in her heart. 20 The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them.
21 After eight days had passed, it was time to circumcise the child; and he was called Jesus, the name given by the angel before he was conceived in the womb.
Liturgical resources:
Liturgical colour: White
The Penitential Kyries (Christmas):
Lord God, mighty God,
you are the creator of the world.
Lord, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy.
Lord Jesus, Son of God and Son of Mary,
you are the Prince of Peace.
Christ, have mercy.
Christ, have mercy.
Holy Spirit,
by your power the Word was made flesh
and came to dwell among us.
Lord, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy.
The Collect of the Day:
Almighty God,
whose blessed Son was circumcised
in obedience to the law for our sake
and given the Name that declares your saving love:
Give us grace faithfully to bear his Name,
to worship him in the freedom of the Spirit,
and to proclaim him as the Saviour of the world;
who is alive and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.
Introduction to the Peace:
Unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given,
and his name shall be called the Prince of Peace. (Isaiah 9: 6)
Preface:
You have given Jesus Christ your only Son
to be born of the Virgin Mary,
and through him you have given us power
to become the children of God:
The Post Communion Prayer:
Eternal God,
whose incarnate Son was given the name of Saviour:
grant that we who have shared in this sacrament of our salvation
may live out our years
in the power of the name of Jesus Christ our Lord.
Blessing:
Christ, who by his incarnation gathered into one
all things earthly and heavenly,
fill you with his joy and peace:
An additional resource:
At the beginning of the new year, it is good to be reminded of the promises at our baptism, and that we have been incorporated into the Body of Christ, which is the Church. A good example of how this is done at the beginning of the year is the Methodist Covenant Service and the Methodist Covenant Prayer:
I am no longer my own but yours.
Put me to what you will,
rank me with whom you will;
put me to doing,
put me to suffering;
let me be employed for you,
or laid aside for you,
exalted for you,
or brought low for you;
let me be full,
let me be empty,
let me have all things,
let me have nothing:
I freely and wholeheartedly yield all things
to your pleasure and disposal.
And now, glorious and blessed God,
Father, Son and Holy Spirit,
you are mine and I am yours. So be it.
And the covenant now made on earth, let it be ratified in heaven.
Recommended Hymns:
Numbers 6: 22-27:
695, God of mercy, God of grace
717, May the Lord bless you and keep you
Psalm 8:
316, Bright the vision that delighted
6, Immortal, invisible, God only wise
362, O God beyond all praising
32, O Lord my God! When I in awesome wonder
33, O Lord of every shing constellation
Galatians 4: 4-7
558, Abba Father, let me be
241, Sing, my tongue, the glorious battle (verses 1, 2, 5)
185, Virgin–born, we bow before thee
Luke 2: 15-21:
250, All hail the power of Jesu’s name
147, Angels, from the realms of glory
149, Away in a manger, no crib for a bed
152, Come and join the celebration
158, God rest you merry, gentlemen
92, How sweet the name of Jesus sounds
162, In the bleak mid-winter
94, In the name of Jesus
583, Jesu, my Lord, my God, my all
98, Jesus! Name of wondrous love!
99, Jesus, the name high over all
101, Jesus, the very thought of thee
484, Lift high the cross, the love of Christ proclaim
195, Lord, the light of your love is shining
170, Love came down at Christmas
102, Name of all majesty
104, O for a thousand tongues to sing
172, O come, all ye faithful (Adeste Fideles) (verses 1-3, 6, 7b)
104, O for a thousand tongues to sing
179, See amid the winter’s snow
180, Shepherds came, their praises bringing
182, Silent night, holy night
111, There is a name I love to hear
117, To the name of our salvation
187, When the crimson sun had set
Also suitable on 1 January:
81, Lord, for the years your love has kept and guided
537, O God, our help in ages past
83, The year is gone beyond recall
‘In my beginning is my end … In my end is my beginning’ … a sign for the old year and the new year in Saint John’s Hospital, Lichfield (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)Scripture quotations are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicised Edition copyright © 1989, 1995, National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. http://nrsvbibles.org
Material from the Book of Common Prayer is copyright © 2004, Representative Body of the Church of Ireland.
The hymn suggestions are provided in Sing to the Word (2000), edited by Bishop Edward Darling. The hymn numbers refer to the Church of Ireland’s Church Hymnal (5th edition, Oxford: OUP, 2000)
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