First Blood
Luke 2:21

Grace to you and peace from God our Father, and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.

On the eighth day after His birth, the Son of God was circumcised according to the covenant given by God to Abraham. God told Abraham that all male children were to be circumcised eight days after their birth as a sign of the promise God had made with Abraham and his descendants. What could have run through Abraham’s mind when God commanded this? What God proposed was not pleasing to the world then, nor to our sensibilities now. The word circumcision is not one that is used in polite conversation, nor are we comfortable talking about anything that word conjures up. And yet this festival day in the Church Year honors the circumcision of the Christ Child. It is important that Christians honor this holy day, for this is the day on which Jesus first submitted to the Law on our behalf. And because He did, it is now no longer a matter of salvation whether or not one is circumcised. Jesus kept that Old Testament Law perfectly and fulfilled it in our place.

The message of salvation for the uncircumcised was a tough sell in the early days of the Church. St. Paul’s Epistle to the Galatians is a testimony to the difficulty the Jews had in believing and confessing that the good news of Jesus was for both Jew and Gentile, for both circumcised and uncircumcised. This message of salvation is still a tough sell two thousand years later. Paul’s letter to the Galatians is as relevant today as it was in the Church’s infancy. The root problem was then, and still is now, a confusion of the distinction between Law and Gospel. Jewish Christians were mistaken when they taught Gentiles that there was a condition attached to the Gospel. They preached a message of salvation by grace through faith, but only if you were first circumcised. Those Jewish Christians dared to say that the Gospel really means nothing unless you are circumcised, and you abstain from unclean foods, and you live just as the Jews did before Christ came.

When you read St. Paul’s Epistle to the Galatians, you can almost see the smoke coming out of the apostle’s ears and feel the fire roaring off his pen. God’s message to us in Galatians is the same message proclaimed by all true Christian preachers today: “The just shall live by faith.” Faith in what? Faith in Whom? The just shall live by faith in Jesus Christ and His saving work.

If Jesus keeps the Law perfectly on our behalf, and yet we must keep the Law in thanksgiving, then why did He even do what He did? That is the bottom line of Paul’s Epistle to the Galatians. We cannot make the Law into the Gospel, and we cannot make the Gospel into the Law. And yet, many Christians try their hardest every day to do just that: they confuse Law and Gospel with alarming frequency. Have you ever heard someone say that you can be a Christian only after you have made the decision to be a Christian, only after you have “chosen” Jesus Christ to be your Savior and Lord? To be sure, there is moral right and wrong in our Lord’s preaching and teaching. But making the right moral choice is not the chief substance of what Jesus does for us or what He wants from us. Much more important are the choices Jesus made for us. Eight days ago we saw one choice: He was born for us. And today we saw another: He shed His blood for us. And that is what His name is all about. The name Jesus means “God saves.” That is exactly what He does. The blood He shed covers all our sins.

When God puts His name on us in Holy Baptism, He puts us right there with Jesus when He is circumcised. There Jesus submits to the Law for us. By faith we believe His circumcision was ours. And Paul explains it all in this way: “For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female. For you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to promise.” When the Lord puts His name on us, everything attached to that name belongs to us. The priestly blessing we will hear tonight bestows the Lord’s blessing on us. He indeed blesses and keeps us from all sin, from death, and from the power of the devil. The Lord’s face shines on us and brings light into the darkness of our lives. The Lord’s countenance is lifted upon us, giving us gladness and joy and peace. Where the Lord’s name is, there is His blessing. Our Lord’s name is ours through Holy Baptism. His circumcision is ours through faith. All of this is ours because of what happened eight days after His birth. His blood shed, even as an infant, is our righteousness that frees us from the shackles of the Law and gives us freedom in Christ now and forever. Believe this for Jesus’ sake and for yours. In the name of the Father and of the (+) Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

The peace of God which passes all understanding will keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus always. Amen.