The Eighth Day of Christmas
Numbers 6:22-27;
Psalm 67:2-3, 5-6, 8; Galatians 4:4-7; Luke 2:16-21
When eight days were
completed for his circumcision, he was named Jesus, the name given him by the
angel before he was conceived in the womb.
Luke 2:21
Merry Eighth Day of Christmas!
Today we celebrate the Blessed Virgin Mary in her role as the
Mother of God. Through her docility
Christ has come into the world. Today is
also the day we remember the circumcision of Jesus. As the Law states, Jesus was circumcised on
the 8th day after His birth.
We see the devotion of the Holy Family in this act and we also see what
St. Paul speaks of in his letter to the Galatians: “When the fullness of time
had come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to ransom
those under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons.” It is on the occasion of His circumcision
that the Child is named. He is given the
name the angels gave: Jesus, which means “the Lord saves” because He will save
His people from their sins.
We are heirs to all these things. The Church has adopted the custom of
celebrating the Octave of her great feasts.
Each day we have been re-living Christmas. Today the emphasis is on these themes. What do they mean for us?
First, let us consider circumcision. This ceremony was given to Abraham as a sign
of the covenant with God. Once
administered it set each male apart as now being a member of the covenant
community. However, as the scriptures
state, Abraham was not justified by circumcision, but by faith. The circumcision became a sign of this
covenant of faith.
For us, there is a corresponding sign of the new covenant:
Baptism. Through Baptism we come by
faith into union with God. We are made
members of the covenant community. In
short, we are known as Christians once we have received Baptism. This is why the Church from her earliest days
adopted the custom of baptizing infants.
If 8 day old infants could be members of the old covenant community then
certainly they could be members of the new covenant community. The only difference is that there is no need
to wait 8 days. Baptism can be
administered immediately.
Second, let us consider the naming. Names were considered very important in
ancient Israel. They carried the import
of foreshadowing what the child would become.
We see this all through the Old Testament as in Eve, the mother of the
living, or Jacob, the supplanter, or Israel, the one who prevails as a prince
with God.
The name of Jesus, as we mentioned, means “the Lord saves”,
or “the Lord is salvation”. It
corresponds to the Hebrew name of Joshua.
As we reflect back on Joshua we see that he was the one chosen by God to
lead the Israelites into the Promised Land.
So this new Joshua would lead His people into the Promised Land of
eternal life.
It is interesting to note that in Baptism newborn children
are officially given their name. Thus
the use of the term “Christening”. It is
in Baptism that we become fully identified with Christ and thus we are the
recipients of His gift of salvation as well as made new in Him so that His life
may be lived out through ours.
At the outset of the New Year let us consider our role as
part of the covenant community of Christ.
The light, the love, the joy, and the peace of Christmas are ours. They are ours to give away freely to the world. Through our Baptism we became
missionaries. God’s great invitation of
love continues to issue throughout all the world calling sinners to come
home. This is ever our mission.
The world in not our playground it is our battleground. We are constantly in the midst of a warfare
for souls. Through the proclamation of
the Gospel it is our great privilege to pronounce God’s blessing on the
baptized: “The LORD bless you and keep you!
The LORD let his face shine upon you, and be gracious to you! The LORD look upon you kindly and give you
peace!”
This is the message of Christ. This is the message of Christians. This is the message of Christmas. “You are no longer a slave but a son, and
if a son then also an heir, through God.”
We have been celebrating the Birth of our Lord for 8
days. Four more remain in this great
feast, capped off with the Epiphany.
Rejoice, dear Christian. For
today we remember that Christ has given us the freedom and the privileges of the
New Covenant people and He has called us by His own name.
Merry Christmas!
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