Thursday 01 January 2009

Background

Today is the holy day on which we recall Jesus' circumcision andnaming. It is the 8th day of Christmas. Verse 21 is clearly theverse to read. It is beautifully honed and typical of a three-part,ABB' styled, presentation. Literally translated, the original Greekreads:

A
And when were completed eight days he was circumcised
B
and was called the name of him Jesus,
B'
the one called by the angel before he was conceived in thewomb.

Once the Church (in the 4th century AD) fixed the date ofChristmas, other holy days were fixed to commemorate other events.These included today's date - the telling of Luke 2:21, thepresentation of Jesus in the Temple (2:22-38) on 2February, the earlier visits of the angel Gabriel (to Zechariah andto Mary - 1:5-38) on 25 Marchand the birth of John the Baptist (1:57-66) on 24June.

Matthew's Gospel, likewise, provided the Church with further feastdays and holy days. On Monday, thanks to Matthew, we were celebrating Holy Innocents'Day. So the Church put together some of the Gospel events into akind of historical sequence for observance through the year.

The differences in the Christmas stories (between Matthew and Luke)are many: the dating, the places, the happenings, the journeys, thecharacters. The differences in the Gospels between the four Gospelwriters are many too. Even the date of the Crucifixion differsbetween the synoptists (Matthew, Mark and Luke) and John.

For the Gospel writers, it was more important that their audiencesknew what they were getting at - what they were meaning - than whatwas the precise history of every episode, or sequence. They toldtheir stories to establish for their audiences 'the eternalsignificance' of Jesus. They told what they thought their audienceswould need to know if they were going to be persuaded to followhim.

So on this day, according to Luke and the Church calendar, wecelebrate Jesus' circumcision and naming. In verse 21 we note inparticular his parents' obedience to the will of God and the JewishLaw (as also in Luke 2:22-38). Suchis matched (later) in Jesus' own obedience to the Law. It was thisobedience which eventually took him to his death.

Luke shows interest in historical details. But he is no historian.He writes as a literary artist as well as a theologian andevangelist.

To Ponder

Given that Christmas (on 25 December) is unlikelyto be coincident with Jesus' actual birthday, it follows that ourChristian holy days are unlikely to be the actual dates ofcommemorated events. If they are not true anniversaries, what thenis the advantage to us of observing them?