Obedient to the Law for Man

“Obedient to the Law for Man”
Feast of the Circumcision of Christ
January 1, 2011
Rev. Stephen E. Stults
St. Barnabas Anglican Church

“ALMIGHTY God, who madest thy blessed Son to be circumcised, and obedient to the law for man; Grant us the true circumcision of the Spirit; that, our hearts, and
all our members, being mortified from all worldly and carnal lusts, we may in all things obey thy blessed will; through the same thy Son Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen”

This Sunday’s lessons trace two very important events in the life of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Both of them have great significance for us and point to the glory of the Christmas season.

What are these two events and why are they important to note? Both are outlined in the Gospel selection from St. Luke overtly, and then referred to obliquely in the Collect for the Day and the Epistle from St. Paul. The first deals with the obedience and adoration of the shepherds. The second deals with the circumcision of Christ.

The first event involving the shepherds is important, for it foreshadows both the fame and the curiosity that would surround Jesus his entire earthly life. As St. Luke tells us in the verses immediately prior to the Gospel selection for today, the pronouncement of the birth of Jesus was extraordinary. An angel appeared to the shepherds “abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.” The glory of the Lord, as reflected by the angel, appeared to them, and as might be expected, they were terrified. Imagine lying peaceably on a hillside in ancient Judea, with the stars beaming brightly overhead because there was no modern light pollution. Imagine the still of the night, broken only by some quiet breeze. Then imagine a brilliant being standing before you, in blazing light and color. I think all of us would be scared out of our socks at this sudden appearance. Then, the being begins to talk! What an experience! Luckily for the shepherds, the first words were “Fear not, for I bring you tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.” As the angelic being speaks, all fear begins to subside and the wondering shepherds listen with great anticipation. The angel then says, (Luke 2:11-12) “1For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. 12 And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger”.

This would be astounding enough, if this was all that happened that night. But it wasn’t, as the next thing to occur was that the whole sky was filled with a multitude of angels, all singing and praising God. Can you imagine? Can any of us possibly fathom how utterly fantastic, yet completely glorious such a sight must have been?

Evidently, the shepherds were shaken to their boots, yet in a good way. The next thing they do is to agree that they must go and see this thing told them by the angel. This they do, and they dutifully find the Babe, lying with his mother, just as the angel told them. As they are impressed with this experience, in fact, they now have this happening indelibly printed in their memories, they begin to do what we all would do: tell everyone about it. In the wonderful words of the Authorized Version, “they made known abroad the saying which was told them concerning this child.” Thus begins the curiosity and the fame surrounding Jesus.

The significance to us is that we should mirror the actions of the shepherds. That is, first, we should allow our souls and consciences to be indelibly impressed by Christ. Second, we should go and see Christ. Today, we do that by reading the Holy Word and meditating upon Christ’s mighty acts, as well as regular attendance at holy worship. Third, we should “make known abroad” what we have learned and realized in our souls. We do this both verbally, as God gives us opportunity, and by a witness. How we conduct ourselves in our everyday affairs is a daily witness to Christ. By bearing the imprint of Christ in our souls and showing that forth by our conduct and our attitude, we do what the shepherds did. We make known abroad what Christ means to us.

The second event recorded in the Gospel selection deals with Christ’s compliance with the law. The collect for the day told us that God the Father “madest thy blessed Son to be circumcised, and obedient to the law for man.” Why would the collect expressly make a point about this? Why is it so important that Christ be “obedient” to the law? It is simply because it deals with Christ’s complete identification with man. Just as Jesus would later tell John the Baptizer on the occasion of his baptism, “Suffer it to be so now: for thus it becometh us to fulfil all righteousness”, so his parents complied with the ritual law of male circumcision. Jesus Christ had to be completely, absolutely human in all respects. In order to redeem Man, he had to be completely man. He also had to comply with all aspects of the Law in order to be the “spotless lamb” suitable for sacrifice for our sins. Thus, once again, we marvel at the wonderful, miraculous nature of Christ. Only he was the complete human being who was also completely God at the same time. This is completely mysterious and totally incomprehensible by us. Yet, just as Christ would later tell his disciples in Mathew 19:24 and Mark 10:25, regarding a camel going through the eye of a needle, “With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible.”

Indeed, with God, all things are possible. Looking around us today, we see the evidence of that. Not that this church home just appeared magically by divine fiat, but that God blessed us with a group of people, all of you Christians, that wanted to make this house of God happen. Through your careful stewardship, hard work, and cheerful giving, God has made this place possible through His People. Praise be to God, and again, thanks be to God!

We should also praise God for another thing. That simply is that God the Father made it possible for all of us to be here, worshipping in communion of spirit and of belief. Christ made this possible through his obedience and fulfillment of the Law. First, as we have mentioned, Christ fulfilled all righteousness by completely complying with the ritual demands of the law. Later, in Matthew 5:17, Christ would say, “Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil.”

How did He do this? How did He fulfill the Law so that we Gentiles could become part of the tree of life? He simply fulfilled the part of the Jewish ritual law to which He was obedient. In the Law of Moses, Abraham was given male circumcision as an outward sign that one was in a covenantal state with God. Under the Law, if one was not circumcised, one could not be included in the covenantal family and was excluded from all the benefits of being a Jew. In short, one forfeited the special state that the Chosen People had with God. Women, of course, were considered covered by the compliance of their male family members, or male head of the household. All were included by virtue of circumcision.

Now comes Christ and gives the New Testament community two sacraments, the Lord’s Supper, and Christian baptism. The Lord’s Supper, or the Eucharist, fulfills the need for all of the ritual Jewish sacrifices. Only one sacrifice was needful, and that was given on Calvary. As Galatians 3:13-14 says, “ Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree: 14 That the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.”

The other dominical sacrament, Holy Baptism, makes possible the blessing of Abraham by providing a way for us Gentiles to join the covenantal family. It does this not by the shedding of blood, as in circumcision, but rather with the washing of water. Thus, Christ fulfills male circumcision as a necessary means of salvation with Holy Baptism. We now enter the blessed state wherewith we can access the promises of God without the pain and blood of circumcision, but rather with the blessed cleansing of holy water. How wonderful and merciful this is!

This Baptism makes it possible for us to be here today and to be partakers in the blessedness of Christ. It makes possible our covenant with God and to have access to the hope of salvation. Without the sacrament of baptism, our salvation becomes at worst, impossible, or at best, problematical. Yet, through the mercies of God, all things are possible.

We are a blessed people. We are blessed because God sent a man, Jesus Christ, “to be circumcised and obedient to the law for man.” We are blessed because God the Father sent God the Son to expiate our sins. Finally, we are blessed because God loves us so much that He would do this. Humbly acknowledging this, let us enjoy and give thanks for our Christmas season. Thanks be to God! AMEN.