What's in a Name? - Circumcision of Our Lord

Circumcision of Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ

The Gospel according to Luke 2:20-21

At that time, the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them. And at the end of eight days, when he was circumcised, he was called Jesus, the name given by the angel before he was conceived in the womb.

Reflections

There are two major points in the above Gospel passage; those of Circumcision and Naming. Both of these are inextricably linked in the history of God's covenant with His people, but for the sake of this post I shall focus mainly on the latter, the naming.

Should you wish to read a recent blog post centred on the Circumcision, I would have no hesitancy in directing you toward Dimitris Salapatas' excellent blog Londinoupolis, where he engages with the Pauline exhortation that we are circumcised in the Spirit.

The Eighth Day

As Orthodox Christians the eighth day holds particular significance. The week as represented on earth is seven days, the eighth day is representative of the day of completion, the eschatalogical day. It is for this reason the Divine Liturgy is considered to take place on the 'eighth day', which is to say, outside of time as we perceive it.

It is on the eighth day that the Lord is circumcised and given the name Jesus.

It is on the eighth day that we will be given a new name as foretold in Rev. 2:17.

Purpose of Name

A name is a means by which to identify an individual.
It is what differentiates a pet from livestock, a loved one from the crowd.
By granting a name one is granting identity to the bestower of the name. The named one is called out and made recognisable.
The identity of that person is bound to the name so that when the name is called, so too is the remembrance of that person to whom it relates.
The name 'Jesus' gives us a means to identify the incarnate Son of God. 

Furthermore the name gives us the ability to call upon Jesus.

How sweet the name of Jesus sounds in a believer's ear!... 

On the Soul and Love.

Glory to you O Lord, glory to you.

And God created man in his own image. In the image of God created he him.
Male and female created he them. He breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living soul. - Creation of man according to Genesis, words from the libretto to Haydn's Oration 'The Creation'.

The human person is a glorious thing. No simple construction, phenomenally intricate in its formation and harmony with itself. Such complexity magnifies the continuing pursuit of understanding. Reason being a divinely inspired gift granted, nay, imbued in us as essential to our entity. The human person is a glorious thing. 

Remarkable the human person is, unceasing inquiry is a lifetime's ambition, and yet, to know one's self is a difficult task. If it weren't for mirrors we would seldom see a clear reflection of ourselves, and yet even this reflection is not objective in itself for it must be seen not only with the eyes but with the mind. A man of meagre build may wake one day and quite reasonably look at himself in the mirror and behold a hideous mess, monstrous proportions, and wish not to look any longer out of disgust. Yet that which he looks on is not 'true', it is perceived. Even still, the perception is true for it cannot be measured against any other if it were not for the co-operation of other minds.

What is it that serves as a mirror to our souls? 

I would suggest that theology would be a good place to start. (Theology being the act of prayer and contemplation upon the divine, the all embracing splendour of bounteous God.)

It is an all too common sentiment to consider one's self in comparison, as apart from, below from God. To use the majesty of God to punish one's self for one's own failings. To resolve to follow a self-prepared ascetic path in the hope of purification and attainment of divine favour made manifest in a safe assurance of salvation.

It may not surprise you reader, that I do not hold firm to such thought patterns within the Christian mind. We find in God our source of strength, hope, beauty, and all virtues. How can this bounty of blessings combined with the loving will of the Father to dispense all these treasures, be cause for deprecation of the self?

Receive with joy, return with thanksgiving.

If the eye of the soul does not see clearly for fault of sin (the definition of sin will require another post), it would be unhelpful to punish the eye with force till it resolves to see clearly. How can something as delicate as the eye undergo harsh 'therapy' and yet have hope of restoring its clarity?

The soul is, as the eye, a most beautiful and delicate thing, marvellous in its complexity, beauteous in its operation, harmonious in its proportion. It is a wondrous thing. And yet there are many who suggest that a good means of aiding the soul in recovering its sight of God is to punish it, to fast harshly, to enter into penance and recant of any luxury or vain delight.

Let us never lose sight of the loving kindness of God in such things. Love forms the soul, love restores and sustains it. Sin is not a condemnable thing which attaches itself as would a parasite (though what the ancient fathers would call ‘passions’ would fit this description), sin is that which draws one's mind away from the contemplation of the divine, it causes the mind to lose sight of wonder and to interpret things as mundane or even evil. Glory be to God for all things. There are yet certain things and actions which lead one into such sin/distraction, and out of the wisdom of spiritual direction, one can be faithfully directed against the 'unhelpful'.

§25. Divine knowledge, once it is awakened in us, teaches us that the perceptive faculty natural to our soul is single, but that it is split into two distinct modes of operation as a result of Adam's disobedience. This single and simple perceptive faculty is implanted in the soul by the Holy Spirit ; but no one can realize this singleness of perception except those who have willingly abandoned the delights of this corruptible life in the hope of enjoying those of eternity, and who have caused every appetite of the bodily senses to wither away through self-control. Only in such men does the intellect, because of its freedom from worldly care, act with its full vigour so that it is capable of perceiving ineffably the goodness of God. Then, according to the measure of its own progress, the intellect communicates its joy to the body too, rejoicing endlessly in the song of love and praise: 'My heart has trusted in Him and I am helped; my flesh flowers again, and with all my being I will sing His praise' (Ps. 28:7. LXX). The joy which then fills both soul and body is a true recalling of the life without corruption.- Diadochos of Photiki (5th Cent.), 'On Spiritual Knowledge'.

C. S. Matthew, MMXIII