Circumcision

On Wednesday, we were scheduled to attend Liturgy prior to our New Years Celebration. Unfortunately, the snow-storm which ended earlier than anticipated, caused us to cancel. The church did not have enough time to clear the parking area in time for the service.

The reading would have been on the Circumcision of our Lord and Savior, Jesus, in the temple. It was a requirement.

I can still hear the sound of screaming babies being circumcised in the hospital. It had to be hard for the Mother of our Lord to hear, as it is for all mothers.

Circumcision is not a requirement it is a choice. Statistics show that between 60 - 80 percent of all males born in this country are circumcised. There is a risk, but ultimately it is agreed that it is beneficial in preventing disease. Web Md has more information here where the risks vs. the benefits are discussed.

We are talking of a religious rite. In the Bible, it was to purify from sin; to cleanse spiritually. It is the initiatory rite of Judaism also practiced by Muslims. We know that Jesus did not require purification. On January 1, the festival of the Circumcision of Christ is observed. While I was sitting outside on my swing today, in the quiet of the wood, on a beautiful day, I pondered it.

Circumcision raised a lot of questions in Antioch. (Acts 15:1) And certain men came down from Judea and taught the brethren, "Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved." This question ended up going to Jerusalem, to the apostles and elders, as there was conversion of the uncircumcised Gentiles. Many said, (Acts:15:5) "It is necessary to circumcise them, and to command them to keep the law of Moses."
Can you imagine that? No wonder they were in need of clarification.

The verdict was, (Acts:15:24) "Since we have heard that some who went out from us have troubled you with words, unsettling your soul, saying, "You must be circumcised and keep the law"-to whom we have no such commandment.

While circumcision is not condemned; it is valued. The message is: externals must be accompanied by internal conversion. Scripture says in (Romans 2:29) "but he is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, not in the letter; whose praise is not from men but from God."

In the end the spiritual man, Jew or Gentile, has the goal of pleasing God. True circumcision, and true baptism, is of the heart, in the spirit, leading from repentance to obedience.

It caused me to think a little bit about my family. My mother's generation did not believe in circumcision. It was not as far as I know necessary, from a Roman Catholics viewpoint. There were a lot of uncircumcised male babies in our family.

In our culture, woman do not undergo a circumcision of the inner labia, before marriage, (a religious rite). I was shocked to hear of this practice, which is so brutal in my mind.

Now it became personal. I thought back on how unprepared I was to answer the question in the hospital, as to whether or not my baby, should it be a boy, as we did not know at that time, be circumcised.

Frankly, it was never discussed or thought about. I recall asking a few questions, and arrived at an answer based on my awareness that Jesus was. The hospital staff suggested that it was thought a matter of ease in keeping the baby clean. I went along with the plan but, since the baby was "naturally circumcised," no decision needed to be made on my part.

There are times when parents are required to make decisions for the infants in their care. There are times when parents pray that they are making the right decision, hopefully one that will not come back to haunt them later on when their children are in a position to ask, why did you?

Some parents wait until their child is old enough to make the decision to be baptized and I'm sure they would not choose to be circumcised in a like manner.

People have asked me if I thought it infringed on their child's rights to make the choice for them. Our church as a matter of tradition, Baptizes and Chrismates infants. They become a full christian joined to the church, and are able to receive the Eucharist.

Baptism is of the heart. (Conversion). A person can reject Christ in their lifetime. The answer to the question is, you do the best you can according to your belief and conscious but ultimately, it's their choice.

I wonder how today's mothers arrive at so important a question as: Do I choose circumcision or not? Are they more educated than I was? It is very important to the male adult and, a decision which cannot be undone.

I sometimes wonder if I made the right decision. I can only hope so.