IT'S STILL CHRISTMAS - DAY 8 - FEAST OF THE CIRCUMCISION

ANGELICO, Fra
Circumcision
Museo di San Marco, Florence

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.

(Luke 2:15-21)

Collect

Eternal Father, who gave to your incarnate Son the holy name of Jesus to be the sign of our salvation: Plant in every heart, we pray, the love of him who is the Savior of the world, our Lord Jesus Christ; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, in glory everlasting. Amen.

Fra Angelico's painting depicts quite clearly the circumcision of Jesus.  When I was growing up in the Roman Catholic Church, the church celebrated The Feast of the Circumcision, which was a holy day of obligation, meaning that we were required to attend mass.  As a child, I had no idea what circumcision meant, and, when I asked, I was told it meant Jesus' name day, which I suppose was less embarrassing for adults to explain to a child than the true meaning.  The feast is is now commemorated as the Holy Name of Jesus, at least in the Episcopal Church.  As the passage from Luke shows both names for the feast are correct.  In the title of the post, I used the old name from the Roman Catholic Church, because I believe the feast is better named for the circumcision of Jesus, which emphasizes his Jewishness, which seems to be played down in parts of the Christian Testament.  In fact, certain passages in the Gospels, especially John's Gospel, seem to be downright antisemitic, which puzzles me, since Jesus was a good Jew throughout his entire life.  Yes, I know: Context, context, context, but still...

Note: I missed Day 7 yesterday.

Image from the Web Gallery of Art.