Festival of the Circumcision of our Lord
Posted on January 1, 2022 by under
Scripture: Ephesians 1:3-6 (NKJV)
1:3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, 4 just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, 5 having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, 6 to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved.
Devotion
The power and wisdom of God is beyond us creatures. He reveals to us what He wants us to know. And He wants us to know that we are saved by His grace, through faith in the work of the eternal Son! The careful work of faithful theologians is not to “figure out” things that God hasn’t told us. It is to teach us and remind us to be careful about what we do and do not say about God’s holy revelation.
St. Paul’s words in Ephesians can be difficult for people to understand, and others may be tempted to over-explain them at the risk of teaching falsely. But regardless of one’s level of understanding, the Gospel of Christ is clear. The truth of our salvation through faith in His holy death and resurrection is clear. God’s promises about His blessings and eternal life for us in Jesus is clear. “There is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12).
In the name of Jesus Christ we are sons and daughters of God’s kingdom. We are adopted by the eternal Lord. We didn’t earn it with our powers, nor did we figure it out by our reasoning. We were brought into the kingdom like eight-day-old sons were brought into the Church of the Old Testament at circumcision, and like young children of any age are brought into the New Testament Church through Baptism!
Prayer: O Lord God, who for our sakes, hast made Thy blessed Son our Savior subject to the Law, and caused Him to endure the circumcision of the flesh: Grant us the true circumcision of the spirit, that our hearts may be pure from all sinful desires and lusts; through the same, Thy Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, ever One God, world without end. Amen.
Collect for the Feast of the Nativity of our Lord: Grant, we beseech Thee, Almighty God, that the new Birth of Thine Only-Begotten Son in the flesh may set us free who are held in the old bondage under the yoke of sin; through the same Jesus Christ, Thy Son, our Lord, Who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, ever One God, world without end.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
