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January 01, 2006

Fred Heard - Jan 1, 2006

New Year�s Day 2006
Father Fred Heard

Holy Trinity Menlo Park

Luke 2:15-21

(Audio Recording available here)

The first Sunday after Christmas. The first Sunday in the New Year. The eighth day of Christmas. New Year's Day then is happening and in the eyes of most of the world Christmas is over. Many Christmas trees have come down. Gifts have been returned and exchanged. There are after Christmas sales and even January white sales. Commercialism continues at full force. But as you can see in our worship this morning, Christmas is not over. It is time for us to look beyond December 25. On both Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, I said in my sermon that December 26 would also come, and it has.

We are not surprised by the thought that birth from a Jewish mother makes one a Jew. But a male is not truly a Jew until he has become a son of the covenant God made with Abraham through the rite called circumcision. This was a joyous occasion which was celebrated with blessings and feasting by the parents with their family and friends. By this rite, a son of Abraham's tribe enters into the special relationship which God established between Himself and Abraham.
Circumcision was and is a big deal in Judaism and this makes it all the more striking that three of the Gospels make no mention of the circumcision of Jesus, and that the one which does, the Gospel according to Luke this morning, does so only in passing. Circumcision is not only just mentioned in one verse; it is only a dependent clause of that one verse, as the occasion of something else, the naming of the baby, Jesus.



According to Jewish custom then, a birth really isn't complete until the rite of circumcision and naming on the eighth day. Most of the stories of Christmas leave out the naming ceremony. According to Hebrew custom, names weren't just names, they meant something and they told who the person was. Benjamin, for example, means 'son of my right hand' Because of this, the 8th day naming and circumcision is more than a ritual. Baptism to us is more than symbolic and the naming ceremony is the individual's connection with the covenant, and to God himself. Just like Baptism, the 8th day is a time of new birth and the taking on of identity and vocation in relationship to God. That is why Abram's name was changed to Abraham, why Jacob's was changed to Israel, why Saul's was changed to Paul and why we name children during baptism. Names, and the act of naming, were and are important. "Jesus" came from the Hebrew "Joshua"or Aramaic "Yeshua" and means "the one who saves", thus showing what the one who is also called "Emmanuel, God with us" was to do.

This morning's gospel which reveals the name of Jesus is paired with one of the rare occasions that the Old Testament reveals the name of God. The name of God was used very rarely in Biblical texts. In order to avoid blasphemy, God was usually represented instead by four dots, one for each of the consonants, and derivations of the word "Lord" were used instead. The four consonants Y-H-W-H (pronounced "Yahweh" or "Jehovah") are usually translated in English as "L-O-R-D" or "G-O-D." The use of God's name was so powerful that it was to be avoided. In today's passage, the name of God is used to solidify the covenant made with Moses through the Ten Commandments. God's name, it seems, was important to make this, the second set of tablets cut to replace the originals, valid.

As shown in the condemnation of the guilty and in Moses' action of falling on his knees, the use of the name of God brought up feelings of incredible fear. Notice how the reverse is true with the name of Jesus. Jesus' name is equally powerful. It is in Jesus' name that we are taught to pray, that healings and exorcisms occur, that life is given. It is in Jesus' that the old covenant is replaced with the new, that sins are forgiven, and that we are saved from the fate implied and implicit in the Old Testament. That is why Jesus' name means in Hebrew, 'the one who saves.' That is why Christmas is not just a day but also a season and not just a season but also a way of life.

Today with the naming and the covenant dedication of Jesus we know for sure that the Christmas story does not end with the shepherds and the angels and sheep. For all of us who were and are made a part of the covenant of faith, the story goes on, we are made part of the covenant of faith. We are Christians. We have been called to be apostles worthy of that name, set apart for the gospel of God.

It is customary on this day to plan New Year's resolutions. How many times have we made those resolutions only to break them by sun down on New Year's Day? As Christians how about a new one? How about truly connecting with God? Why not make living the covenant as you understand it your own? How about reclaiming the identity and vocation that connects us with God? We know that God knows each hair on our heads. We also know that God has something special in mind for each of us. So..if God has a given name and identity and vocation for us, why not take some time during 2006 and find out what those are for you?

Merry Christmas-----------Happy New Year.