David Bahn – Reflections

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Anna, a prophet, was also there in the Temple. She was the daughter of Phanuel from the tribe of Asher, and she was very old. Her husband died when they had been married only seven years. ³⁷ Then she lived as a widow to the age of eighty-four. She never left the Temple but stayed there day and night, worshiping God with fasting and prayer. ³⁸ She came along just as Simeon was talking with Mary and Joseph, and she began praising God. She talked about the child to everyone who had been waiting expectantly for God to rescue Jerusalem.

³⁹ When Jesus’ parents had fulfilled all the requirements of the law of the Lord, they returned home to Nazareth in Galilee. ⁴⁰ There the child grew up healthy and strong. He was filled with wisdom, and God’s favor was on him. – Luke 2:36-40

James Dobson tells the story of Ryan, his son when he was a toddler. Seems he had wanted to get up onto the back of a pickup truck and he didn’t quite make it. His center of gravity was tugging him one way as he fought to get up. His feet were dangling a foot above the ground and he was calling, “Help the boy! Will someone please help the boy!”

I love that image. We can relate, can’t we? Half way to a goal, dangling over the edge. Not wanting to let go of our progress, but unable to make it all the way by ourselves. Help the boy! Help the girl! Would someone please help me? 

Lose those last 10 pounds. Gain control of our spending. Finish the home improvement project. Clean out the closet. Clean out the computer files(!). So close. But so much in need of help. Sad the person who cannot admit to his need. Sad the one who just gives up. Sad the person who is chronically stuck in the mire of their half-way efforts.

We don’t often think of Jesus as needing help. He is the Son of God after all. He is the Word who was in the beginning with God; who was God. He is the one to whom every knee will bow. He is the alpha and the omega.

But Jesus does need help. He cannot do the things required of in the Law of Moses. He had to rely on his parents to bring him to the temple. He had to rely on the priests to perform their duties. He had to live from his earliest age in dependance and obedience to his parents. He would need to learn and grow and become a man in the truest and fullest sense. Why would he choose to put himself in that situation? 

Jesus did all this in order to redeem and save us. He took on human flesh, not just as a skin coat, but as a real baby, infant, toddler, adolescent, and man. In every way tempted as we are, yet without sin. But even more than that, subject to the same limitations as all people. And he would do it perfectly.

Jesus submitted to needing help so that he could help us eternally and retain a heart for us in the midst of a world in which we all need help. So I rejoice today in this, that “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble” (Psalm 46:1). 

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Anna, a prophet, was also there in the Temple. She was the daughter of Phanuel from the tribe of Asher, and she was very old. Her husband died when they had been married only seven years. ³⁷ Then she lived as a widow to the age of eighty-four. She never left the Temple but stayed there day and night, worshiping God with fasting and prayer. ³⁸ She came along just as Simeon was talking with Mary and Joseph, and she began praising God. She talked about the child to everyone who had been waiting expectantly for God to rescue Jerusalem.

³⁹ When Jesus’ parents had fulfilled all the requirements of the law of the Lord, they returned home to Nazareth in Galilee. ⁴⁰ There the child grew up healthy and strong. He was filled with wisdom, and God’s favor was on him. – Luke 2:36-40

Our youngest son played on a soccer team called, Relentless Pursuit. Diane and I both marveled, wondering where he got his speed. He was one of the fastest players on the team. Justin, one of his teammates was faster, but Steve was no slouch. He definitely lived up to the name of their team. 

Anna is noted for her relentless pursuit: She never left the Temple but stayed there day and night, worshiping God with fasting and prayer. She pursued God. Day and night. In the temple. Worshiping and praying. And because of her habitual presence there, she was present when the baby Jesus was brought for his dedication and circumcision. She pursued God, and God showed up.

People today have other relentless pursuits. A quick search of Youtube reveals a host of those who pursue everything from the latest restoration project, to airplanes. I have to confess in that regard…I can all too easily fall down a Youtube wormhole. I’ve graduated from men sawing down large trees, to guys playing with various sized guns, to restorations of toys and other assorted items. Then I discovered the Wristwatch Revival, and Jimmy’s World, a guy who rolls a message at the first of all his videos: “Caution! I am an idiot. Do not take any airplane or financial advice from me. This is to show you how to go bankrupt with airplanes…” In that same spirit: Caution! Do not click on those links above. Youtube will suck you in and you’ll spend half your day watching kids unwrap toys or cats doing silly things. But I digress…

Not all that is totally wasted time. We need a break now and then from the weighty issues of the world: Russian threats to Ukraine. The latest COVID variant. Political posturing and division. These press in on us with relentless tenacity. Once in a while it’s good to be able to take a break. Of course if the break becomes a relentless pursuit all its own, you have a problem. Thankfully I’m not there. 

I recently decided to memorize larger sections of Scripture. I have John 1:1-18 down. I know Luke 2:1-20 by heart. I have several psalms memorized. But I’m challenging myself to memorize large sections of the Bible as a means of personal spiritual discipline. One thing I’ve noticed in that pursuit is how God opens up new insights to his word as I hide it in my heart.

I’m not sure my efforts can qualify as relentless pursuit. But I am  thankful for any influence of the Holy Spirit to be more like Anna, and less like my newest YouTuber hero.

I need not caution you in regard to pursuing God through meditating and memorizing his word. I’m thinking about memorizing a few chapters from the book of Romans…

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And there was a prophetess, Anna, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was advanced in years, having lived with her husband seven years from when she was a virgin, ³⁷ and then as a widow until she was eighty-four. She did not depart from the temple, worshiping with fasting and prayer night and day. ³⁸ And coming up at that very hour she began to give thanks to God and to speak of him to all who were waiting for the redemption of Jerusalem.

³⁹ And when they had performed everything according to the Law of the Lord, they returned into Galilee, to their own town of Nazareth. ⁴⁰ And the child grew and became strong, filled with wisdom. And the favor of God was upon him. – Luke 2:36-40

People identify in many different ways today. Just the other day I was filling out a form which asked: How do identify? The options were “male, female, or other.” The server at a church conference made it known as soon as she found out we were a bunch of pastors that she was in a lesbian relationship. In fact it may have been even before she found out who we were that she self-identified in that way. 

We don’t know much about Anna. We know she was a prophetess. But we don’t fully know what that means, and how that would compare to John the Baptizer. We know she was devoted, and regularly and often in the temple. But we know little of in what capacity she was there; though we might surmise that she was there to worship and pray and prophesy. We know she saw the baby Jesus and immediately began to tell everyone about him. So Luke tells us that Anna was a prophetess, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher, and completely devoted to worship by fasting and prayer. 

One commentator (David Guzik) says, “Anna was a remarkable woman. As a widow she knew pain and loss but had not become bitter. As an elderly woman she had not lost hope. Perhaps it was because she was a woman of worship and a woman of prayer.”

Diane has a beautiful way in which she self-identifies, “I am a follower of Jesus who worships in a Lutheran community.” I like to make the point – whenever it is true – that I am the oldest one in the room. That was true recently at a pastoral installation I attended. Better I should take a clue from Diane, and say, “I am a servant of Jesus, and I serve in the context of Lutheran congregations.” Better, however, might I be known as a sinner, redeemed by God and, a faithful servant of Jesus, and one who rejoices in the grace of God in Jesus. 

How would you be known? 

For your personal meditation and reflection on this Lord’s Day.

Psalm 9:1-2

I will give thanks to the Lord with my whole heart;
    I will recount all of your wonderful deeds.
I will be glad and exult in you;
    I will sing praise to your name, O Most High.

Psalm 39:7-8

“And now, O Lord, for what do I wait?
    My hope is in you.
Deliver me from all my transgressions.
    Do not make me the scorn of the fool!

Psalm 69:30-31

I will praise the name of God with a song;
    I will magnify him with thanksgiving.
³¹ This will please the Lord more than an ox
    or a bull with horns and hoofs.

Psalm 99:1-3

The Lord reigns; let the peoples tremble!
    He sits enthroned upon the cherubim; let the earth quake!
² The Lord is great in Zion;
    he is exalted over all the peoples.
³ Let them praise your great and awesome name!
    Holy is he!

Psalm 129:4

The Lord is righteous;
    he has cut the cords of the wicked.

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And when the time came for their purification according to the Law of Moses, they brought Jesus up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord ²³ (as it is written in the Law of the Lord, “Every male who first opens the womb shall be called holy to the Lord”) ²⁴ and to offer a sacrifice according to what is said in the Law of the Lord, “a pair of turtledoves, or two young pigeons.” ²⁵ Now there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon, and this man was righteous and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. ²⁶ And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Christ. ²⁷ And he came in the Spirit into the temple, and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him according to the custom of the Law, ²⁸ he took him up in his arms and blessed God and said,

²⁹ “Lord, now you are letting your servant depart in peace,
according to your word;
³⁰ for my eyes have seen your salvation
³¹ that you have prepared in the presence of all peoples,
³² a light for revelation to the Gentiles,
and for glory to your people Israel.”

³³ And his father and his mother marveled at what was said about him. ³⁴ And Simeon blessed them and said to Mary his mother, “Behold, this child is appointed for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign that is opposed ³⁵ (and a sword will pierce through your own soul also), so that thoughts from many hearts may be revealed.” – Luke 2:22-35

It used to be said that the most segregated hour of the week was Sunday morning. White folks when to their churches. Black folks went to their churches. Hispanic, Asian, Indian, Native Americans: each went to their own worship services. And each had their own unique way of worshiping. There are exceptions to this today. Some churches have broken the ethnic/cultural barriers. Some have managed to gather a diverse group of people around the Word of God in worship of the One who came for Jew and Gentile alike. For slave and free, male and female, red and yellow, black and white as the song goes. 

But it’s easy to overlook just how radical this notion really is: Jesus came not just for this small and insignificant, beleaguered and oppressed nation of people. And that out of that nation came the Savior of the world. And the Savior of the world, coming from the Jewish people came for gentiles as well as Jews. 

So radical was this idea that there is an entire chapter devoted to the issue in Luke’s Acts of the Apostles. This was radical. That a nation would share its god with other nations! That the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob would be the God of Greeks and Jews alike, not to mention people from all over the world. Nearly unthinkable. 

Two things come to my mind in light of this. First of all, I need to remember that I have no claim on God, on the Christian faith, or a prominent or favored place in the warp and woof of the Church of God, the Communion of Saints, the one holy Christian [little c-catholic] church, the sum total of all true believers in Christ in heaven and on earth. I am one of many, and I need to be quite aware of the privilege of being part of that fellowship – more so than I need to be sitting in judgment on others’ place in the kingdom of God. 

Secondly, I need no other credential than faith in Jesus to have a place in the Church of God, the Communion of Saints, the one holy Christian [little c-catholic] church, the sum total of all true believers in Christ in heaven and on earth. Jesus is the light to lighten the gentiles and the glory of God’s people Israel. And I’m with him. He came for me and all sinners. 

Sometimes this truth is more precious than others. Right now, it is a precious bit of good news for me. I belong to Jesus. I’m part of his church. And I thank God for that and rejoice in the fellowship of all the redeemed – including you, dear reader. 

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[Simeon] came in the Spirit into the temple, and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him according to the custom of the Law, ²⁸ he took him up in his arms and blessed God and said,

²⁹ “Lord, now you are letting your servant depart in peace,
according to your word;
³⁰ for my eyes have seen your salvation
³¹ that you have prepared in the presence of all peoples,
³² a light for revelation to the Gentiles,
and for glory to your people Israel.”

³³ And his father and his mother marveled at what was said about him. ³⁴ And Simeon blessed them and said to Mary his mother, “Behold, this child is appointed for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign that is opposed ³⁵ (and a sword will pierce through your own soul also), so that thoughts from many hearts may be revealed.” – Luke 2:27-35

I find the movie Bruce Almighty to be irreverent and enlightening. When Bruce answers all the prayers, “Yes,” chaos ensues. So true. It’s a good thing that God does not always answer every prayer by saying yes. We too often don’t really know what’s best for us. Another scene in the movie is enlightening. Before Bruce becomes Bruce Almighty, he is praying, asking God for a sign. He passes a CAUTION DANGER AHEAD sign, and a truck pulls in front of him with all manner of “STOP, TURN AROUND, WRONG WAY” signs. And he passes it by. Looking and praying, he finally runs into a lamp post. He ignored the signs. Clear as they were.

The trouble with signs is most often the reader not the sign. I know there are some funny ones out there. Bulletin bloopers and silly sign memes are everywhere to be found on the Internet. But we too often make signs say what we want, and reject the challenging truths that God would have us believe when he sends signs our way.

First and foremost of the false-beliefs is hinted at here. When Simeon tells Mary that Jesus is destined for the falling and rising of many in Israel, he is delivering a hard truth. Then he adds that Jesus will be a sign that is opposed and tells her that her heart will be broken by what transpires around and through her son.

We’d like to think that if we are aligned with God’s will, all will go well for us. Life will be good. Success will give way to further success. We’d like to believe that if people just got to know Jesus better, they would more easily believe in him. 

Alas, that’s not true. Jesus came to his own and his own did not receive him. He was rejected by the most religious people of his day. And the ungodly and impenitent immoral folks wanted nothing to do with him. He was a sign spoken against. He brought down the high and mighty.

A well-loved and ordered life is not a sign of God’s favor. It may be a gift of his kindness and grace. It may be a hint of a better and even more full goodness to be experienced in the life of the world to come. But it is not a sign. 

Debbie Boone was not right when she sang, “It can’t be wrong when it feels so right.” Wrong. Why else would temptation work? Why would sin be so appealing? Why would we want to hang on to things that are not good for us? 

Martin Luther said, “A theologian of glory calls evil good and good evil. A theologian of the cross calls the thing what it actually is. This is clear: He who does not know Christ does not know God hidden in suffering.”

Something very good is happening here. Jesus has come to redeem and save us. But it will not be happy all the time. There are moments. There are foretastes of pure joy and delightful bliss this side of heaven. But these are mud puddles of distractions compared to oceans of joy that awaits the redeemed of God. 

I realize this seems heavy today. So let me end by saying, also, that Jesus will cause the rising of many. In fact the broken-hearted are especially precious to God. He binds them up and holds them in love.

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Now there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon, and this man was righteous and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. ²⁶ And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Christ. ²⁷ And he came in the Spirit into the temple, and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him according to the custom of the Law, ²⁸ he took him up in his arms and blessed God and said,

²⁹ “Lord, now you are letting your servant depart in peace,
according to your word;
³⁰ for my eyes have seen your salvation
³¹ that you have prepared in the presence of all peoples,
³² a light for revelation to the Gentiles,
and for glory to your people Israel.” – Luke 2:25-32

Wait. Hope. Trust. These make up the trinity of faith. I’m not speaking of the Holy Trinity, the three-in-one nature of God here. I am speaking of a beautifully-woven working of the Holy Spirit in the heart of a believer. The three are truly inseparable. If we trust, we will wait. As we wait we will hope. We hope because we trust God’s promises, goodness, and power to be at work for our good. 

And when it comes to consolation, oh my do we need that these days! There are the obvious ways in which the consolation of God is so needed. A loved-one dies. A job opportunity evaporates. A friend catches COVID. A dream must be discarded. Loss is all around. 

But there are other ways in which our hearts ache. We yearn for a good thing we cannot have. We long for a relief to the stress of life in a fallen world. We wish for an end to a painful illness. We see loved ones making shipwreck of their faith. We watch as people ignore God and believe the lies of the devil. Our flesh beguiles us toward unhealthy and even ungodly pursuits. 

Even if these do not intrude in your life, Blaise Pascal said it well: “There is a God-shaped vacuum in the heart of each man which cannot be satisfied by any created thing but only by God the Creator, made know through Jesus Christ.”

Simeon knew that need. And he waited, hoped, and trusted in God to fill that void. He recognized, also, that this was not his need alone. He looked for the consolation of Israel. His people. His countrymen. His kith and kin needed this consolation. And now it is before his eyes. 

We live in the afterglow of that vision. Jesus has appeared. And we are the richer for it. We can look back on what God has done in Jesus to save us. Yet we, too, must wait, hope, and trust. For although we have been saved by Jesus, we are yet being saved day-by-day through the ongoing work of the Holy Spirit. And yet we look forward to the time when we will be saved on the Great Last Day. Then all of God’s promises will be fully fulfilled. Then we will be fully consoled. Then our hearts will have no rival god to woo us from the True God and his salvation.

Powered by the Holy Spirit, we wait. Secured in Jesus we hope. Emboldened by God’s promises we trust. That’s the trinity of faith we must all embrace until we see it ourselves, and we see Him face to face.  

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And when the time came for their purification according to the Law of Moses, they brought Jesus up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord ²³ (as it is written in the Law of the Lord, “Every male who first opens the womb shall be called holy to the Lord”) ²⁴ and to offer a sacrifice according to what is said in the Law of the Lord, “a pair of turtledoves, or two young pigeons.” ²⁵ Now there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon, and this man was righteous and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. ²⁶ And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Christ. ²⁷ And he came in the Spirit into the temple, and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him according to the custom of the Law, ²⁸ he took him up in his arms and blessed God and said,

²⁹ “Lord, now you are letting your servant depart in peace,
according to your word;
³⁰ for my eyes have seen your salvation
³¹ that you have prepared in the presence of all peoples,
³² a light for revelation to the Gentiles,
and for glory to your people Israel.”

³³ And his father and his mother marveled at what was said about him. ³⁴ And Simeon blessed them and said to Mary his mother, “Behold, this child is appointed for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign that is opposed ³⁵ (and a sword will pierce through your own soul also), so that thoughts from many hearts may be revealed.” – Luke 2:22-35

Luke includes some seemingly inconsequential facts in this portion of his account of Jesus’ presentation and circumcision. For some reason he needs us to know that this was done in obedience to the Law of Moses, including the need to offer a sacrifice of two turtledoves or two young pigeons. I suppose those details are there in order to give us some context for what is about to happen.

It seems more significant that Simeon is a righteous man who was waiting for the consolation of Israel. These are more obviously important. Three times Luke mentions the presence and work of the Holy Spirit. That’s important to be sure. All this is coming together as a ballet of God’s grace. 

God is not aloof, nor is he content to act and leave it at that. He desires that we know him. He desires that we perceive his work. He desires that we believe in him. He desires that we find joy in his grace. All that comes together here.

God has acted. He has taken on human flesh. He has revealed this to shepherds in the fields. He has announced it with the praise of angels. The shepherds have told everyone they met of the message of the angels and birth of the Savior. Now he is letting Simeon know that he can depart in peace. He has fulfilled his promise. Jesus is God’s salvation, and Simeon has seen it with his own eyes. 

But what about that Law of Moses and Law of the Lord comments? Here is something to learn. God often sets the table for extraordinary things with ordinary tableware. Shepherds and stables. Turtledoves and temple visits. Daily devotions and an afternoon walk. Morning coffee and a phone call or text with a friend. Add the Holy Spirit and you have the makings of God at work. 

Our response may not be as significant as Simeon’s. For his was truly a once-in-all-of-history event. But whenever the Holy Spirit opens our eyes to see his ballet of grace in our lives, we surely must also sing his praise.

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And when the time came for their purification according to the Law of Moses, they brought Jesus up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord ²³ (as it is written in the Law of the Lord, “Every male who first opens the womb shall be called holy to the Lord”) ²⁴ and to offer a sacrifice according to what is said in the Law of the Lord, “a pair of turtledoves, or two young pigeons.” ²⁵ Now there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon, and this man was righteous and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. ²⁶ And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Christ. ²⁷ And he came in the Spirit into the temple, and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him according to the custom of the Law, ²⁸ he took him up in his arms and blessed God and said,

²⁹ “Lord, now you are letting your servant depart in peace,
according to your word;
³⁰ for my eyes have seen your salvation
³¹ that you have prepared in the presence of all peoples,
³² a light for revelation to the Gentiles,
and for glory to your people Israel.”

³³ And his father and his mother marveled at what was said about him. ³⁴ And Simeon blessed them and said to Mary his mother, “Behold, this child is appointed for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign that is opposed ³⁵ (and a sword will pierce through your own soul also), so that thoughts from many hearts may be revealed.” – Luke 2:22-35

My dad died after a seven month battle with lung cancer. It was a difficult time for us all. And I vividly remember the day of his death. We were able to gather at his home and the whole family gathered around his bed as he took his last breath. I prayed Simeon’s prayer, “Lord, now let your servant depart in peace…” And at the end, I felt that the dying had ended. He had been dying for the previous 7 months. That was now ended. We commended my dad to God’s grace and rejoiced in God’s grace and the fact that we had seen God’s salvation through Jesus. It remains a great comfort to me.

We’re not told specifically how old Simeon was. But it seems likely that he was advanced in years. The promise that he would not die before seeing the Lord’s salvation certainly hints at that. Luke makes the point clearly a few verses later in the case of Anna. She was advanced in years. Both waited. Both were rewarded in their waiting. 

The timing of God is inscrutable to me. That became clear to me when I watched The Chosen Christmas special. One of the reflections highlighted the fact that God had been silent for 400 years prior to John the Baptizer’s appearing. Moses records the first promise of the Savior (given at the dawn of time) 1500 years before Jesus is born. Over the centuries, God spoke to his people through the prophets. [And] in these last days He has spoken to us by His Son” (cf. Hebrews 1:1). But when Malachi died, so did the voice of the prophets. For 400 years God was silent. Why was he silent for those 400 years? 

I have trouble waiting for next summer’s family vacation. Sometimes I have trouble waiting for dinner! But when it comes to waiting for the promises of God, we must embrace a whole new chronology. We must also engage a different means of recognizing God’s promises. For God’s salvation looks like a just-circumcised baby! Something profound is happening here. Not only is God making good on his promise of a Savior, he is also opening people’s eyes to just who this baby is, and what his birth portends. 

I need these two gifts of God. I need to recalibrate my spiritual chronometer. God does not work on my schedule. I need to align myself with his timing. I also need to be open to seeing just how he is working today through people who may seem inconsequential. There is only one Savior, our Lord Jesus Christ, born 2000 years ago. But there are many people who God uses each day to further the cause of his kingdom. I wonder who I might see today? Those two perspectives go far to a life of peaceful joy. 

When the angels went away from them into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let us go over to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us.” And they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in a manger. And when they saw it, they made known the saying that had been told them concerning this child. And all who heard it wondered at what the shepherds told them. But Mary treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart. And 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.

Luke 2:15-21

I’m a big picture guy. Details are useful to me only if they’re really useful. Give me the executive summary. I can fill in the blanks. It’s called being intuitive. I put things together quite well. Except when I don’t. And then it’s not pretty. People can get misunderstood. Misinterpreted. Short-cycled. Left hanging. I try to keep this in mind. And most often I do. But sometimes those pesky details are forgotten. I don’t read every word. I assume. And you know that that does…

The Circumcision and Naming of Jesus is a church holiday that is more often overlooked than observed. Most people observe it as New Year’s Day. It falls on January 1. But Jesus’ name and his circumcision have far-reaching consequences.

For the OT people of God, circumcision was all about becoming an heir of the promise God made to Abraham. This ritual brought the child into the covenant promise God had made to Abraham. Circumcision was also a representation of sin being removed. It offered forgiveness, and God’s righteousness, along with membership in the family of God. The promise was that Abraham’s descendants through faith would be many nations. The everlasting covenant God made with Abraham was that he would bring a Savior into the world. – Rev. John Wackler, Zion Lutheran Church

Jesus now more fully identifies with his covenant people. He has taken on flesh. He has been born of a virgin. Laid in a manger. Announced by angels. Worshiped by shepherds. Now becomes the next step in taking on the fullness of our human experience. As he becomes part of God’s covenant people, he begins also more fully to live in perfect faith to God and love toward others. He is all we could never be. He is our righteousness.

Jesus’ name connects him with us as well, for the name Jesus means the Lord saves. It amazes me when people use Jesus’ name as an expletive. Why take that beautiful name, rich in meaning, and sully it by turning it into an expression of anger, dramatic dismissal, or despair? The Bible says that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow in heaven and on earth, and under the earth. Sounds like there will be no exceptions. I’m happy to bow at Jesus’ name today, for he is my Savior.

If Jesus identifies with us in his circumcision, and as our Savior in his naming, we identify with Jesus’s circumcision in our baptism, and with his name in our confession of faith.

“In him also you were circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ, having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the powerful working of God, who raised him from the dead.”

Colossians 2:11-12

“Every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”

Philippians 2:11

Jesus’ circumcision and naming is a big deal. It is essential to the story of God’s love for the world written in the blood, sweat, and tears of his Son. It’s already happening here: blood and tears at his circumcision. And it won’t stop until 33 years later when Jesus rises from the dead. And it will go on for us until the Great Last Day when Jesus returns and wipes the tears from our eyes. And our sins, washed away in the blood of the lamb will trouble us no more. There will be no more sweat of our brow. There will be eternal joy as we fully identify with Jesus, the one who did it all for us – from the greatest acts of sacrificial obedience to the tiniest detail of faithful obedience.

I believe in Jesus Christ, God’s Son, our Savior. I’ve been baptized into the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. He has done for us what we could never do for ourselves. Thanks be to God!