Sermon on the Eve of the Name and Circumcision of Jesus

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Jesu Juva

“An Ending and a Beginning”

Text: Luke 2:21

In the Name of Jesus. Amen.

We can say that little phrase, In the Name of Jesus, because of what we heard tonight. Because on the eighth day after He was born, this baby boy, conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary, was circumcised and given that name: Jesus. The name the angel told Mary (Luke 1:31), and then later told Joseph, too (Matthew 1:21), to give Him: Jesus. The name that means God saves. For this one, this child, is God come to save us. To save all people. The eternal Son of God, begotten of the Father from eternity, is born a man and given a man’s name: Jesus. 

And He is circumcised. As had been happening to baby boys ever since God gave this sacred sign of His promise to Abraham, that one of His offspring, one of His Seed, would be the one through whom all the families of the world would be blessed (Genesis 17). It seems a strange kind of sign, until you consider that it is connected to where a man’s Seed comes forth. Then it makes sense. It really was a sign of the promise. 

But with Jesus’ circumcision, something else happened, something different. Now, it is not only faith in the promise continued, it is faith in the promise fulfilled. For this sign of the Seed had, down through the centuries, pointed to this Seed - to Jesus. Now that Jesus had come, this sign would no longer be needed. 

And, Luke tells us, this happened on the eighth day, as God had commanded. The Law is being fulfilled. Every last bit of it. For as Jesus would later say, He did not come to abolish the Law or the Prophets, but to fulfill them (Matthew 5:17-18). That is, to fill them up with Himself. They all pointed to Him, were waiting for Him. Now, He would fulfill them. Fill them up, so that nothing more need be done. Nothing more need be accomplished. The Law which accuses and condemns us, would be able to no longer. It would no longer be able to say you did not! because Jesus did - all of it, for all people. 

But what good is that for you? Jesus did it; He can’t be accused or condemned. But can’t you still be? You who are sinner. You who have not fulfilled the Law?

Well, yes. . . if that is all there is to it. But just as the eternal Son of God is given a man’s name, so we sons and daughters of men are given a divine name: the name of Jesus. Not His human name, though, but His divine name. That’s what happens in Baptism. We are baptized into His Name. We are given His Name. His Name is placed upon us. The Name of the Triune God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. 

So when the Law comes to accuse you, you who are in Christ . . . when satan tries to accuse you and condemn you, you who are in Christ and bear His Name . . . it is as if He comes to you but cannot find the sinner. He must say: where is the sinner? For you no longer bear the name of sinner, but of Christ. The sinner was crucified in Christ. So you are no longer sinner, but Christian. Of Christ. Saved. Redeemed. He took your name, your sin, and your death, and gave you His name, His atonement, and His life.

So on this eighth day (which began at sundown, according to the Jewish reckoning), with His circumcision and with His Name, a sign and promise are fulfilled and a new part of the story begins.

Which makes this day in the life of the church a perfect day to start a new year in the life of the world. For tonight is both an ending and a beginning for the world, too. An old year brought to a close and a new year ushered in. The problem for the world is that it is not always so easy to start over, to turn the page of more than the calendar. The things of the old often carry over into the new, whether we want them to or not. But it is not so with Jesus. With Jesus, fulfillment really is fulfillment and a new life really is a new life. In Jesus, you really are a new creation and really can live a new life. You need not fear the sins of your past when Jesus took them away. For they’re not buried under the page of an old calendar, they’re buried in His grave, and they’re not coming out.

And that changes not only our future, but also our present and our past. Our past is forgiven, we can live in the present with confidence, and our future is secure. All is made new in Christ. Who was born for you, circumcised for you, and named for you. To give you not just a Happy New Year, but a happy new life. 

So just as we began this little sermon In the Name of Jesus - the human name given the Son of God when He was circumcised for us, so we end it In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit - the divine Name given to you when you were baptized into Him. One promise fulfilled and another begun. 

And all on the eighth day. For the day you were baptized was the eighth day for you - the day you began to live a new life. A new life not like the old seven-day-life-cycle, but a new life in a brand new day. A new life that will never end, in the day that will never end. The day of eternity. That’s yours, already now. That’s the life you are living, already now. Through all the pages and calendars of your life. You have already begun to live your eternal life. For when that day comes when you will die, you will not really die - you will simply move from this life to the next.

That’s what this day means for you. Jesus’ eighth day to give you an eighth day. One promise fulfilled and another begun. So it really can be a Happy New Year.

In the Name of the Father, and of the (+) Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.