1
January 2012
St. Athanasius Lutheran Church
The
Circumcision and Name of Jesus Vienna, VA
“His Resolution For You”
Text: Luke 2:21; Numbers 6:22-27; Galatians 3:23-29
[This
sermon is one that I preached a couple of years ago in an evening service for
New Year’s
Eve. As those services as generally usually not greatly attended, I decided to
preach it again for a Sunday service, with some modifications and adjustments.]
Grace,
mercy, and peace to you from God our Father, and from our Lord and Saviour
Jesus Christ. Amen.
It is
customary at the end of an old year and the start of a new year to look back
over the past year and remember all that has happened. The joys and the
sorrows, the victories and the challenges, those things that have remained
constant and those things that are new. There are always so many things that
have changed. . . .
But in
thinking back, one thing that was the same for us all is our sin. All the “shouldas, wouldas, and couldas.” How we have fallen short and in how
many ways. How we have sinned against and failed our spouses, friends, and
neighbors. The many and various ways we have not done all that we should. The
thoughts, words, deeds, and desires that have been soiled with sins of anger,
hate, lust, greed, and envy. And how we have failed our Lord, and perhaps even
taken our relationship with Him for granted.
And
maybe those things are sticking in your mind, as you’ve been thinking about the year now
past. It’s an
amazing thing, how our minds work. How easily we forget about the good things
that we want to remember, and how easily we remember the bad things we want
only to forget! But you see, that’s exactly how satan wants it, and so he keeps reminding us
of our failures, our shortcomings, our unworthiness. He wants us to remember
them all, and so drive us to despair and shame.
In
response, many will make resolutions. To improve this year. To do better and
not fail so much. That’s not
bad; admirable even. But it doesn’t work. Oh, you may do some things better, but some things
worse. Maybe you’ll start
some new good habits, but old bad habits reappear too. And then we’ll have new failures that we cannot
even imagine yet! Because no matter how hard you try, no matter what you
resolve, your sinful nature will do what sinful nature does: sin.
And so
it is a great fortune for us that on this first day of a New Year, the Word of
God directs our eyes not back to how we have lived this past
year, but back to how our Saviour lived for us. And specifically today, back to
His work for us in His circumcision. For on this day when most people are
thinking about and focusing on their own promises, commitments, and
resolutions, the circumcision of our Lord proclaims to us the great promise,
commitment, and resolution of our Lord for us. That He would not leave us in
our sin, and that we do not have to deal with our sin ourselves, but that we
have a Saviour.
For that
is what circumcision was all about. Back in the Old Testament, when God made a
promise to Abraham and told him that the Saviour would be one of his
descendants, the Lord gave Abraham a sign of this covenant, this promise:
circumcision. Not for them to do something for God, but to remember that God
was doing something for them; to remember that God was with them and saving
them; and to keep their faith focused not on themselves, but on God. So that
every time a male child was born and circumcised on the eighth day, they would
remember and celebrate God’s work and God’s promise.
And so
today, in remembering and celebrating Jesus’ circumcision, we do the same - we remember and
celebrate God’s word
and promise fulfilled for us.
For in
Jesus, Abraham’s Seed,
our Saviour, has come. And with His circumcision, He is already beginning the
work His name proclaims: to save His people from their sins (Matthew
1:21). For not only is Jesus one with us
in our flesh (as we celebrated last week), today He becomes one with us under
the Law, to fulfill it all perfectly in our place. That what we are unable to
do, He will do as our substitute. And the first requirement was His
circumcision on the eighth day.
This is
why the early church fathers would say that with His circumcision, Jesus gives
us the downpayment of His blood, and that this is the beginning of His giving
of His flesh for us; the beginning of His suffering for us. For the fathers saw
what we often neglect to see: that all that Jesus did, He did for us.
That His saving work was not limited to the cross and resurrection, but that He
took our place in every stage of life - from the moment of conception, through
His perfect life, to His innocent death, to being laid in the tomb, to His
resurrection and ascension. All He did He did for you, in your place, as
your substitute, for your salvation. For the forgiveness of all of your sins
and failures - past, present, and future; to give you life and a future of
hope; and to set you free.
For you
see, sin is captivity. Sin is the captivity of satan trying to shape and direct
our lives instead of Christ. Sin is satan trying to keep us captive to the past
instead of free to look forward to the future Christ has planned for us. Sin is
the captivity of fear and doubt instead of the peace of Christ. Sin is the
captivity of selfishness instead of the freedom of love.
But
today, we hear a truth that sets us free. That our Lord, in freedom, made
Himself captive, that we who are captive, might be set free. For our Lord
has come to set captives free, beginning with His circumcision. And in
fulfilling the Law in His perfect life, atoning for sin in His death on the
cross, and bursting the bonds of death in His resurrection, we are free and
captives no more. And joined to Him, we are defined no longer by the things of
this earth, the opinions of others, or the accusations of satan - but defined
by our union with Christ. So that, as St. Paul told us today, “there is neither Jew
nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male or female, for you
are all one in Christ Jesus.”
And that
is the wonderful reality that is ours in Holy Baptism. For baptism is where you
have been united with Christ in His death and resurrection and all that He has
done for you. Baptism is where our Lord has put His name upon you, and so
blessed you in ways greater than you could ever imagine. It is where He gives
you His love, so that you may, in freedom, love others. It is where He gives
you His forgiveness, so that you may, in freedom, forgive others. It is where
He gives you His life, so that you may, in freedom, live for others.
Now will
we, therefore, love, forgive, and live for others perfectly this new year that
lay before us? No, you know better than that! But better than last year? Maybe.
But the freedom that Christ gives you is not only the freedom from sin past,
but the freedom from sin future. Or in other words, the freedom to fail.
Now, I know, that sounds funny, but it’s true. Jesus has set you free not for sin but from sin,
from its captivity, to live boldly in love. Not fearing failure, but confident
in His forgiveness, to live boldly, knowing that when you do fail, when you do
sin, when you do fall short, when you do mess up - fear not! For you are in
Christ. You have forgiveness in Christ. You are still His child. He is still
using you as His blessing to others. He is still working through you, and is
with you, doing what we are unable to do. For remember, today is about His
promise and work, not yours.
And
knowing that, the turn of a new year brings not dread or the burden of new
resolutions and obligations, but the freedom of Christ and the excitement to
see what He is going to work in you and through you this coming year. And He is
able to do far more than we ask, think, or imagine (Ephesians
3:20-21).
So as we
stand on the threshold of a new year, give thanks to your Saviour for His work
and for His never-ending forgiveness. For as He kept His promise and came at
Christmas, as He kept His promise and came to you in Holy Baptism, so He now
keeps His promise and comes to you in His Body and Blood. The same body and
blood born for you, circumcised for you, crucified for you, and resurrected for
you, He now gives to you, for your forgiveness, life, and salvation, that He
live in you and you in Him. And so still He is keeping His promise, [to] bless
you and keep you . . . [to] make his face shine upon you and be gracious
to you . . . [to] lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.
Now I
don’t know
if this new year will be a “happy” one for you or not.
But I do know this: it will be a blessed one. For you are His. This year, next year,
and forever.
In the
Name of the Father and of the (+) Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Now the peace of God which passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds through faith in Christ Jesus, our Lord. Amen.