Exciting Holiness. Brother Tristram

      January

      1 January

      The Naming and Circumcision of Jesus

      White

      England, Ireland: Festival – Scotland, Wales: I

      The celebration of this scriptural festival marks three events: firstly, the naming of the infant Christ as Jesus; secondly, the circumcision as the sign of the covenant between God and Abraham ‘and his children for ever’, thus Christ’s keeping of the Law; and thirdly, traditionally the first shedding of the Christ’s blood. The most significant of these in the gospels is the name itself, which means ‘Yahweh saves’ and so is linked to the question asked by Moses of God: ‘What is your name?’ ‘I am who I am,’ was the reply, hence the significance of Jesus’s words: ‘Before Abraham was, I am.’ This feast has been observed in the Church since at least the sixth century.

      Collect

      Almighty God,

      whose blessed Son was circumcised

      in obedience to the law for our sake

      and given the Name that is above every name:

      give us grace faithfully to bear his Name,

      to worship him in the freedom of the Spirit,

      and to proclaim him as the Saviour of the world;

      who is alive and reigns with you,

      in the unity of the Holy Spirit,

      one God, now and for ever.

      A reading from the book Numbers.

      The Lord spoke to Moses, saying: Speak to Aaron and his sons, saying,

      Thus you shall bless the Israelites: You shall say to them,

      The Lord bless you and keep you;

      the Lord make his face to shine upon you, and be gracious to you;

      the Lord lift up his countenance upon you, and give you peace.

      So they shall put my name on the Israelites, and I will bless them.

      This is the word of the Lord.

      Numbers 6.22–end

      Responsorial Psalm

      R: O Lord our governor,

      how glorious is your name in all the world!

      Your majesty above the heavens is praised

      out of the mouths of babes at the breast.

      You have founded a stronghold against your foes,

      that you might still the enemy and the avenger. R

      When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers,

      the moon and the stars that you have ordained,

      What is man, that you should be mindful of him;

      the son of man, that you should seek him out?

      You have made him little lower than the angels

      and crown him with glory and honour. R

      You have given him dominion over the works of your hands

      and put all things under his feet,

      All sheep and oxen, even the wild beasts of the field,

      The birds of the air, the fish of the sea

      and whatsoever moves in the paths of the sea. R

      Psalm 8

      A reading from the Letter of Paul to the Galatians.

      When the fullness of time had come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, in order to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as children. And because you are children, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, ‘Abba! Father!’ So you are no longer a slave but a child, and if a child then also an heir, through God.

      This is the word of the Lord.

      Galatians 4.4–7

      Hear the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to Luke.

      When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, ‘Let us go now to Bethlehem and see this thing that has taken place, which the Lord has made known to us.’ So they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the child lying in the manger. When they saw this, they made known what had been told them about this child; and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds told them. But Mary treasured all these words and pondered them in her heart. The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them. After eight days had passed, it was time to circumcise the child; and he was called Jesus, the name given by the angel before he was conceived in the womb.

      This is the Gospel of the Lord.

      Luke 2.15–21

      Post Communion

      Eternal God,

      whose incarnate Son was given the Name of Saviour:

      grant that we who have shared

      in this sacrament of our salvation