December: Day 31: Teaching 4: On the Eve of the Feast of the Circumcision of the Lord

 

December: Day 31: Teaching 4:
On the Eve of the Feast of the Circumcision of the Lord
 
(The Old Testament Circumcision Was Replaced in the New Testament by the Mystery of Baptism)

By Archpriest Grigory Dyachenko

I. Circumcision was the most important mystery of the Old Testament Church. It was established from above, before all the mysteries. The circumcised entered into a covenant with God, became members of the Church and had the right to receive earthly and heavenly blessings. On the contrary, the uncircumcised were threatened with disaster and destruction. "The soul of the uncircumcised," said God, "shall be cut off from his people, for he has broken My covenant" (Gen. 17:14).

In establishing this great mystery, God confirmed that Abraham's children should be circumcised forever, as long as it pleased God. "And my covenant," said God, "shall be in your flesh for an everlasting covenant" (Gen. 7:13).

Who are the children of Abraham, who are obliged to perform circumcision upon themselves? The children of Abraham are of two kinds: some according to the flesh, and others according to the likeness of the spirit and the unity of faith. The first kind of children are the Jewish tribe, scattered over the face of the earth; the children of the second kind, that is, according to faith, are we, the hearers, who believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. The Apostle Paul revealed this mysterious lineage. He says that Abraham is “the father of all who believe” (Rom. 4:11) in the gospel.

If we are Abraham's children, why do we not perform circumcision, which is commanded to his descendants forever? Are we not thereby exposed to the danger of becoming violators of the covenant of God, of angering the Supreme Lawgiver and of losing salvation? No, we do not violate the covenant established by God. The will of the Lord, declared to the father of the faithful, is truly at work in us. Over us, as over the new Israel, a mysterious and God-pleasing circumcision is truly performed.

II. What kind of circumcision is this? Let us now discuss this, recalling the circumcision of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Man, by nature, is like a wild tree. Trees of this kind have bitter sap and bad fruit. Such is man by nature. He, in the words of Holy Scripture, "is conceived in iniquities, and born in sins" (Psalm 50:7). With age, man's evil inclinations also increase. Neither years of courage, nor education, nor experience destroy the evil that exists in the heart. The best people have complained and complain about the ferocity of their own passions. The history of the human race is the history of the power of evil, which rules over humanity. "The whole world lies in wickedness" (1 John 5:19), says one of those to whom God showed the human race without a mask, in its true form. Thus, man, by nature, is evil - a wild tree. What do they do with a wild tree when they want to straighten it and make it capable of bearing good fruit? Usually they cut it down and graft branches of a sweet and fruitful tree onto the root. Likewise, in order to straighten a person who is naturally inclined to evil and make him a friend of virtue, it is necessary to destroy his evil inclinations and graft good inclinations onto the person in their place.

Who can do this, who can exterminate evil in man and establish good? Reason is very useful in this matter, but it is insufficient. It is weak in curbing its own will and bad habits. Its victories over the strong impulses of the soul are as rare as flowers under a gloomy sky in winter fields. In a storm the torch goes out, in passion the mind is darkened. In the hour of temptation the philosopher is for others, but for himself he is a baby. True, there is a strong medicine against evil; this is the essence of laws. But laws only constrain evil, they do not exterminate it by the roots.

In vain shall we seek in human powers alone a means of salvation which will cut off evil in natural man and graft goodness upon him. As a wild tree cannot be regenerated by itself; as an Arabian cannot make his black face white: so a natural man, left to himself, cannot eradicate evil from himself. "Can the Ethiopian change his skin or the leopard its spots? Then may you also do good who are accustomed to do evil" (Jeremiah 13:23), said the Lord God to some of the sons of Adam, with whom, without a doubt, all people have a greater or lesser resemblance.

O man! how strong you seem to be for others, and how weak you are for yourself! On the path of vanity you soar like an eagle, but on the path of virtue you are motionless like a dead corpse. You control thunder, level mountains, make rivers change their course, but in changing your own nature you are weak, without success.

But "the things which are impossible with men are possible with God" (Luke 18:27). God, in His omnipotence, wisdom and goodness, can correct, improve, sanctify and make, in the words of Scripture, “a new creation” the disordered, bad, defiled nature of man (2 Cor. 5:17).

When is this sacred work of circumcision not made by hands accomplished, when is evil cut out of a man and good is grafted in, when is sin exterminated in him and holiness of will established? This is accomplished through the Mystery of Holy Baptism. For in this mystery moral evil gives way to good. Here Divine grace, having descended into the depths of the soul, destroys and builds up, uproots and plants, blots out and seals, mortifies and makes alive, strips and clothes: it destroys the dwelling of Satan and builds up the temple, destroys Adam's condemnation and plants Christ's justification, blots out original sin and seals the promised sanctification, mortifies the carnal man and quickens the spiritual, strips him of lusts and clothes him in Christ, and thus makes a man dead to sin and alive to virtue. “If Christ is in you, the flesh is dead because of sin, but the Spirit lives because of righteousness” (Rom. 8:10), says the Apostle.

O venerable mystery, the renewal of the universe, the re-creation of men, how beneficial and comforting it is for our race! It is the seed from which all the Christian virtues grow. It conquers passions, triumphs over the temptations of the world, inflames with love for God, inspires with patience on the difficult path of salvation, strengthens in exhaustion under the weight of the cross, heals the wounds of the soul inflicted by the enemies of salvation, encourages, revives with joy in the Holy Spirit. It guides, it attracts, it brings man closer to God, to receive the crown of victory - blessed immortality.

Do you want, listen, to see the beneficial influence of rebirth on human morality, proven by the action itself? Look to heaven with the eyes of faith. There you will see multitudes of people servile to us, but now blessed at the throne of God for their victory over their passions. These are the beautiful fruits that have grown and ripened under the life-giving rain and the grace-filled warmth of Holy Baptism. Do not say that one enters heaven without the Mystery of Baptism. Hear what Jesus Christ says: “Unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the Kingdom of God” (John 3:5).

However, in order for the power of rebirth to be a constant cure for evil, one must be faithful and submissive to the grace acquired in Holy Baptism. But without this, grace leaves, passions flare up again, and destruction is inevitable. "If you live according to the flesh," wrote the Apostle Paul to the Roman Christians, "you will die" (Rom. 8:13), i.e. you will be deprived of the grace of rebirth, you will be possessed by the mind, your heart will be corrupted, and you will be cast into the abyss of destruction.

But who, listen, can boast of keeping the gifts of the Holy Spirit received in the font of renewal? Who has not removed grace from himself through wicked deeds, sinful desires, impure thoughts?

Let us arise, sleeping in sins, let us seek the grace we have lost in the darkness of negligence, passions and vanity! The lamp for finding the treasure of grace is still in our hands. Repentance and other Holy Mysteries of the Church, tears, sighs, prayers, self-restraint - these are the means given to us by the merciful Lord to return the lost gifts of heaven. From warmth, from rain, the cut root of the tree revives and grows branches: from tender prayer, from tears of repentance, the root of lost grace gives shoots and bears fruit.

But we, due to the limitations of our nature, cannot suddenly become saints. We must ascend to perfection gradually, satisfactorily and in time. Consequently, time is needed for our salvation. And it is sent down for this very reason, so that we, in the midst of innocent earthly labors, may be perfected in spirit, grow in virtue, and be strengthened in grace. Whoever lives for this really lives and uses time for good; but whoever indulges in vices, is chained to the earth, does not sigh for heaven, kills time, and kills himself.

III. Oh, may the Lord preserve us from the dead life of the senses, a life deprived of the consolation of a calm conscience and purity of heart. May the Lord grant us, according to the riches of His goodness, to be reborn in the new year by repentance and become a new creature in Christ! That year in which we become a new creature on earth will be forever memorable for us in heaven. Amen. 

Source: A Complete Annual Cycle of Short Teachings, Composed for Each Day of the Year. Translated by John Sanidopoulos.