The Sunday Sermon Archive

Dear Friends in Christ,

God commanded Abraham to circumcise all the male members of his nation as a physical sign of the covenant between him and God. The eighth day after birth is the day assigned for this surgery. Because Jesus was born under the Law, He submitted to this covenant. He came to this earth to fulfill the Law, and we see He began doing this even as a newborn infant.

This is the first shedding of Jesus' blood for us. We often think of His great Sacrifice on the Cross with the complete draining of all His Blood, and we seldom think of the many continual sacrifices that Jesus made for us the entire time He spent here on earth. Can we even imagine the sacrifice Jesus made in leaving the glory of Heaven to be with us here on earth? He set aside or hid His divinity to put on Human form for us. Every moment of His time here on earth was a tremendous sacrifice of His true honor and glory. He became one with us so we may obtain eternal life with Him in Heaven. He came to us on earth, so we may go to Him in Heaven.

With the covenant of circumcision is the giving of a name. God determined the Holy Name of Jesus, and the angel declared this to Mary from the moment Jesus was conceived in her womb at the Annunciation. Very often, when we enter into a covenant or vow with God, we receive a new name. Abram became Abraham, Jacob became Israel, etc. When men and women leave the world behind and enter Religious life, they receive a new name and a new patron. When they marry, it is also customary for women to take their husbands' familial names. Putting off the old name and taking up a new one is also a symbolic way of imitating St. Paul in putting off the old man and putting on the new man in Jesus.

This taking of a name is also a small sacrifice that we make to spiritually unite ourselves with Jesus and His Sacrifice. Many today look upon marriage vows as promises made by spouses to each other. This is far from the truth. Vows are made to God. Their promises to be loyal and faithful to each other to the exclusion of all others until death separates them are promises made to God. The bride's sacrifice of her familial name is not a sacrifice or concession to her husband but instead to God. The sacrifice of her body, her time, and her very life for the bearing and raising of children is not so much for her husband but rather for God.

The novice in Religious life obeys God more than he obeys a human superior. His superior is merely a human representative of God. Obedience is rendered to humans placed over us — not because they are worthy or deserving of this power or authority over us, but rather for the love of God. Obedience to human control is not always pleasant or convenient because they are not perfect. If our human superiors are always pleasant and agreeable towards us, then there is little merit in submitting to them. Our sacrifice is tried, tested, and proved when we humbly and patiently submit to harshness, difficulty, suffering, and even pain for the love of God. This is the lifelong example that Jesus gave us. He came not to do His own Will but to do the Will of His Father in Heaven.

The sacrifice of our blood, time, health, and even lives are all good things to seek. However, the true and acceptable sacrifice is the sacrifice of our wills. We pray with Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane, "Not my will, but Thy Will be done!"

When religious brothers and sisters daily strive to do God's Will while sacrificing their own wills, they genuinely make an offering that is pleasing to God. When husband and wife unite in the sacrifice of their wills in marriage for the love of God, they, too, make an offering that is pleasing to God. When children sacrifice their wills to obey their parents, teachers, or guardians for the love of God, their sacrifice is pleasing and acceptable to God.

Every moment of Jesus' life here on earth was a sacrifice. Today we celebrate His Circumcision and receiving the sacred Name of Jesus. Society is a witness to the Circumcision and receiving the Name — and, as such, to the covenant between the Infant and God.

In baptism, we see a public covenant vowed and proclaimed. The infant is entered into a vow that explicitly gives himself to God and renounces the devils. In marriage, a public covenant is witnessed where a man and a woman vow to God that they will work together to cooperate with Him in creating children for the Kingdom of Heaven. Religious vows are also public covenants that announce to society our promises and intentions to live a particular way of life with all its sacrifices for the love of God.

As we call to mind the beginning of Jesus' life here on earth with all the sacrifices His life entailed, let us also consider the vows that we have made to God and perhaps renew them on this special day and strive to live up to our promises to God more perfectly than before.

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