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“And His Name Shall Be Called: The Alpha and Omega
Revelation 1:8

 

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Pastor Kevin Vogts
Trinity Lutheran Church
Paola, Kansas

Circumcision and Naming of Our Lord–New Year’s Day—January 1, 2018

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

The ongoing debate over whether to say “Merry Christmas” or “Happy Holidays” is really quite ironic.  Because, of course, the word “holiday” is a contraction of “holy day.”  So, when you say “Happy Holidays” you are actually saying “Happy Holy Days.”

You could say that today we are observing both a “holiday” and a “holy day.”  The secular “holiday” is, of course, New Year’s Day.  New Year’s Day has not traditionally been considered a “holy day” festival of the Church, mainly because for most of the Christian era there was disagreement about which date should be considered the first day of the year.  At various points during the Christian era, March 1st, December 25th, March 25th, and January 1st were all observed as New Year’s Day.  Up until 1752 most of Colonial America still celebrated New Year’s on March 25th, and it wasn’t until 1918 that January 1st became universally accepted as the beginning of the New Year according to the Christian calendar.

To complicate things more, with the ultimate selection of January 1st as New Year’s Day, the New Year’s “holiday” and an important, traditional Christian “holy day” coincidently collided.  For, the Gospel of Luke tells us, “On the eighth day, when it was time to circumcise him, he was named Jesus, the name the angel had given him before he had been conceived.”  Since the Church selected December 25th to observe Christmas, and the eighth day after December 25th happens to be January 1st, the Church traditionally observes today as the “holy day” of the Circumcision and Naming of Our Lord.

So, today we are coincidentally observing both a “holiday” and a “holy day.”   Not only the secular New Year’s “holiday” but also the Christian “holy day” of the Circumcision and Naming of Our Lord.

For this dual observance today we continue our sermon series for the Advent and Christmas seasons, “And His Name Shall Be Called.”  During the Advent and Christmas seasons, which will draw to a close next Sunday as we observe the Epiphany of Our Lord, we have meditated on the meanings of some of the hundreds of names and titles given in Scripture to the Babe of Bethlehem, whose birth we are celebrating:

“For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given . . .  and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, The Mighty God, The Everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.”

“This is the name by which he will be called: The Lord Our Righteousness.”

“The Lord himself will give you a sign: Behold, the Virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call his name Immanuel.”

“For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord.”

“You are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.”

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. . .  And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us.”

Today’s first and second Scripture readings relate to the New Year’s “holiday” we are observing today, and our meditation for the New Year is based on today’s First Reading from Revelation.  Jesus says, “I am the Alpha and the Omega, who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty.”  “And His Name Shall Be Called: The Alpha and Omega.”

The names of the months of the year pre-date Christianity and are derived from the Romans.  “July” is named in honor of Julius Caesar, who was born that month.  “August” is named in honor of Caesar Augustus, who plays a role in the Christmas story as the Emperor at the time of Christ’s birth: “There went out a decree from Caesar Augustus, that all the world should be taxed.”

In the old Roman calendar, September, October, November, and December were the seventh, eighth, ninth, and tenth months, so are simply named after the Latin numerals septem, octo, novem, decem; seven, eight, nine, ten; September, October, November, December.

But, most of the months were named in honor of pagan false gods and goddesses.  “February” comes from the Etruscan god Februus.  “March” comes from the Roman god of war, Mars.  “May” comes from the goddess Maiesta, “June” from the goddess Juno.  And “January”, the month we begin today, comes from the Roman god Janus.

Janus was depicted by the Romans as a head with two faces, one looking back and the other looking forward.  Paul says in Romans, “Since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made.”  Scripture tells us that non-Christians also have a Natural Knowledge of God, and although that knowledge is incomplete and defective and cannot lead to salvation, it does have some elements of truth. 

Paul says that one of “God’s invisible qualities” which even pagans “understood” are “his eternal power and divine nature.”  The ancient Romans understood the eternity and what we call the “omniscience” of God, that he knows all things.  And so they ascribed these qualities to their false god Janus.  He is said to be eternal and omniscient, a timeless god, who looks both backward over time and forward into the future.

In Athens, Paul said to those who worshipped such false gods, “Now what you worship as something unknown I am going to proclaim to you.”  Janus is only an imaginary being, who does not truly exist.  But, Jesus Christ really is eternal and omniscient, the only true God.  “I am the Alpha and the Omega, who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty.” 

For the ancient Romans, their belief in a god who knew all things was not a comfort but a curse.  Because that meant he knew all their sins.  You see, Janus looked back over their past sins and failures, and he looked forward to their future punishment, unless they would appease the gods with sacrifices and offerings.

The bad news is, the true Almighty God does indeed know your sins and failures.  But, the Good News is, he himself sent his own Son to be your Savior, to appease God’s wrath for you, by life, death and resurrection.  Today’s reading from Revelation puts it so beautifully: “[He] loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood.”

Like the false God Janus, Jesus, the one true God, really is eternal and omniscient, the true timeless God, who looks both backward over time and forward into the future.  But, unlike Janus, Jesus does not look backward with anger, or forward with threats of punishment. 

John writes, “If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.”  None of us can claim this past year, or throughout our lives, to have been without sins, failures, shortcomings.  But, the Good News is, Jesus looks backward with you today over this past year of your life, and over your entire life, not with anger but with FORGIVENESS.  “[He] loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood.” 

“If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.  But, if we confess our sins, God, who is faithful and just, will forgive our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. . .  The blood of Jesus, his Son, cleanses us from every sin.”  That is what the Church remembers on the traditional “holy day” observed today, the Circumcision and Naming of Our Lord: his first shedding of his blood, already as an infant, for our salvation.  As the angel announced to Joseph in today’s Gospel Reading: “You are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.”

As we begin a new year, Jesus looks backward with you today over the year now past, and over your entire life, not with anger, but with FORGIVENESS.  And Jesus looks forward with you today over the coming year of your life, and the rest of your life to come, not with threats of punishment, but with LOVE.  “Lo, I am with you always” Jesus says.  The Lord promises, in Isaiah, “Fear, I am with you; be not dismayed, I am your God. I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will hold you up with my mighty hand.”  Hebrews puts it this way: “God has said, ‘Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.’  So we say with confidence, ‘The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid.’”

Paul says in Romans, “If God is for us, who can be against us?”  Janus was thought to be against those who displeased the gods, but Jesus, the true eternal, omniscient God, is not against you, but for you, on your side, throughout the coming year of 2018 and beyond.  That is why Paul tells us in Romans, “And we know that God works all things together for the good of those who love him.”

Moses told Joshua as they were about to enter the promised land, “Do not be terrified; neither be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go.”  As you enter the New Year, have confidence that, unlike the imaginary god Janus, the true God Jesus really does know all things into the past and the future, and he is working all things together for your good.  “And we know that God works all things together for the good of those who love him. . . If God is for us, who can be against us?”

“I am the Alpha and the Omega, who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty.”  “And His Name Shall Be Called: The Alpha and Omega”

Amen.

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