The Naming and Circumcision of Jesus

Photo by Ryan McGinty. Distributed freely under Pexels license.

Opening response

Lord, open our lips.
Our mouth will declare your praise.

Of old, you laid the foundation of the earth.
The heavens are the work of your hands.

Prayer of thanksgiving

Blessed are you, sovereign God,
creator of heaven and earth,
to you be praise and glory forever.
As your living Word, eternal in heaven,
assumed the frailty of our mortal flesh,
may the light of your love be born in us
to fill our hearts with joy as we sing:
Blessed be God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
Blessed be God forever.

The night has passed, and the day lies open before us;
let us pray with one heart and mind.

Silence is kept.

As we rejoice in the gift of this new day,
so may the light of your presence, O God,
set our hearts on fire with love for you;
now and forever.
Amen.

Hymn

Come, Let Us Anew Our Journey Pursue

Charles Wesley

Come, let us anew our journey pursue,
Roll round with the year,
And never stand still till the Master appear.
His adorable will let us gladly fulfill,
And our talents improve,
By the patience of hope, and the labor of love.

Our life is a dream; our time as a stream
Glides swiftly away,
And the fugitive moment refuses to stay.
The arrow is flown, the moment is gone;
The millennial year
Rushes on to our view, and eternity's here.

O that each in the day of his coming may say,
"I have fought my way through,
I have finished the work thou didst give me to do!"
O that each from his Lord may receive the glad word,
"Well and faithfully done!
Enter into my joy, and sit down on my throne."

Confession of sin

Seek the LORD while he may be found.
Call on him while he is near.
Let the wicked forsake their ways,
and the unrighteous their thoughts.
Let them return to the LORD, and he will have mercy on them,
to our God, for he will freely pardon.

cf Isaiah 55

A time of silence and self-examination may be kept.

Lord God,
we have sinned against you;
we have committed evil in your sight.
We are sorry and repent.
Have mercy on us according to your loving kindness.
Wash us thoroughly from our iniquity; cleanse us from our sin.
Renew a right spirit within us,
and restore to us the joy of your salvation
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.

cf Psalm 51

May the Father of all mercies
cleanse us from our sins,
and restore us in his image
to the praise and glory of his name,
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.

Bless the LORD,
because he has listened to our request for mercy.
Therefore our hearts will rejoice
and we will thank him with our song.

cf Psalm 28:7,9

Psalm 103

Refrain:
The LORD is merciful and gracious.

Praise the LORD, my soul!
All that is within me, praise his holy name!
Praise the LORD, my soul,
and don’t forget all his benefits,
who forgives all your sins,
who heals all your diseases,
who redeems your life from destruction,
who crowns you with loving kindness and tender mercies,
who satisfies your desire with good things,
so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.
The LORD executes righteous acts,
and justice for all who are oppressed.
He made known his ways to Moses,
his deeds to the children of Israel.
The LORD is merciful and gracious,
slow to anger, and abundant in loving kindness.
He will not always accuse;
neither will he stay angry forever.
He has not dealt with us according to our sins,
nor repaid us for our iniquities.
For as the heavens are high above the earth,
so great is his loving kindness towards those who fear him.
As far as the east is from the west,
so far has he removed our transgressions from us.
Like a father has compassion on his children,
so the LORD has compassion on those who fear him.
For he knows how we are made.
He remembers that we are dust.
As for man, his days are like grass.
As a flower of the field, so he flourishes.
For the wind passes over it, and it is gone.
Its place remembers it no more.
But the LORD’s loving kindness is from everlasting to everlasting with those who fear him,
his righteousness to children’s children,
to those who keep his covenant,
to those who remember to obey his precepts.
The LORD has established his throne in the heavens.
His kingdom rules over all.
Praise the LORD, you angels of his,
who are mighty in strength, who fulfil his word,
obeying the voice of his word.
Praise the LORD, all you armies of his,
you servants of his, who do his pleasure.
Praise the LORD, all you works of his,
in all places of his dominion.
Praise the LORD, my soul!

Glory to the Father and to the Son
and to the Holy Spirit;
as it was in the beginning is now
and will be forever. Amen.

Refrain:
The LORD is merciful and gracious.

Psalm prayer

Merciful Lord,
as we come from dust and return to dust,
show us the face of our Redeemer,
that in our frailty we may bless your name
and praise you all our days;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Psalm 150

Refrain:
Let everything that has breath praise the LORD!

Praise the LORD!
Praise God in his sanctuary!
Praise him in his heavens for his acts of power!
Praise him for his mighty acts!
Praise him according to his excellent greatness!
Praise him with the sounding of the trumpet!
Praise him with harp and lyre!
Praise him with tambourine and dancing!
Praise him with stringed instruments and flute!
Praise him with loud cymbals!
Praise him with resounding cymbals!
Let everything that has breath praise the LORD!
Praise the LORD!

Glory to the Father and to the Son
and to the Holy Spirit;
as it was in the beginning is now
and will be forever. Amen.

Refrain:
Let everything that has breath praise the LORD!

Psalm prayer

God of life and love,
whose Son was victorious over sin and death,
make us alive with his life,
that the whole world may resound with your praise;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Old Testament reading

Genesis 17:1-13

When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the LORD appeared to Abram and said to him, “I am God Almighty. Walk before me and be blameless. I will make my covenant between me and you, and will multiply you exceedingly.”

Abram fell on his face. God talked with him, saying, “As for me, behold, my covenant is with you. You will be the father of a multitude of nations. Your name will no more be called Abram, but your name will be Abraham; for I have made you the father of a multitude of nations. I will make you exceedingly fruitful, and I will make nations of you. Kings will come out of you. I will establish my covenant between me and you and your offspring after you throughout their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be a God to you and to your offspring after you. I will give to you, and to your offspring after you, the land where you are travelling, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession. I will be their God.”

God said to Abraham, “As for you, you shall keep my covenant, you and your offspring after you throughout their generations. This is my covenant, which you shall keep, between me and you and your offspring after you. Every male amongst you shall be circumcised. You shall be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskin. It will be a token of the covenant between me and you. He who is eight days old shall be circumcised amongst you, every male throughout your generations, he who is born in the house, or bought with money from any foreigner who is not of your offspring. He who is born in your house, and he who is bought with your money, must be circumcised. My covenant shall be in your flesh for an everlasting covenant.

Silence may be kept.

New Testament reading

Romans 2:17-29

Indeed you bear the name of a Jew, rest on the law, glory in God, know his will, and approve the things that are excellent, being instructed out of the law, and are confident that you yourself are a guide of the blind, a light to those who are in darkness, a corrector of the foolish, a teacher of babies, having in the law the form of knowledge and of the truth. You therefore who teach another, don’t you teach yourself? You who preach that a man shouldn’t steal, do you steal? You who say a man shouldn’t commit adultery, do you commit adultery? You who abhor idols, do you rob temples? You who glory in the law, do you dishonour God by disobeying the law? For “the name of God is blasphemed amongst the Gentiles because of you,” just as it is written. For circumcision indeed profits, if you are a doer of the law, but if you are a transgressor of the law, your circumcision has become uncircumcision. If therefore the uncircumcised keep the ordinances of the law, won’t his uncircumcision be accounted as circumcision? Won’t those who are physically uncircumcised, but fulfil the law, judge you, who with the letter and circumcision are a transgressor of the law? For he is not a Jew who is one outwardly, neither is that circumcision which is outward in the flesh; 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.

Silence may be kept.

The Benedictus (The Song of Zechariah)

Luke 1:68-79

Refrain:
You shall name him Jesus, for it is he who shall save his people from their sins.

Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel,
for he has visited and redeemed his people;
and has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David
(as he spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets who have been from of old),
salvation from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us;
to show mercy toward our fathers,
to remember his holy covenant,
the oath which he swore to Abraham our father,
to grant to us that we, being delivered out of the hand of our enemies,
should serve him without fear,
in holiness and righteousness before him all the days of our life.
And you, child, will be called a prophet of the Most High;
for you will go before the face of the Lord to prepare his ways,
to give knowledge of salvation to his people by the remission of their sins,
because of the tender mercy of our God,
by which the dawn from on high will visit us,
to shine on those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death;
to guide our feet into the way of peace.

Glory to the Father and to the Son
and to the Holy Spirit;
as it was in the beginning is now
and will be forever. Amen.

Refrain:
You shall name him Jesus, for it is he who shall save his people from their sins.

Brief silence.

The Apostle’s Creed

Let us unite in this historic confession of the Christian faith:

I believe in God, the Father Almighty,
creator of heaven and earth.

I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord,
who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,
born of the Virgin Mary,
suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died, and was buried;
he descended to the dead.
On the third day he rose again;
he ascended into heaven,
is seated at the right hand of the Father,
and will come again to judge the living and the dead.

I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the holy catholic church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and the life everlasting. Amen.

Intercession and thanksgiving

Prayers may be offered for:

the day and its tasks
the world and its needs
the church and her life

Prayers may include the following concerns:

The church, especially in places of conflict
The Holy Land, for peace with justice, and reconciliation
Refugees and asylum seekers
Homeless people
Families with young children

Other intercessions and supplications may be offered as the Holy Spirit leads.

Response

Father, hear our prayer,
through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Silence may be kept.

Collect of the day

Almighty God,
whose blessed Son was circumcised
in obedience to the law for our sake
and given the name that is above every name:
give us grace faithfully to bear his name,
to worship him in the freedom of the Spirit,
and to proclaim him as the Savior of the world;
who is alive and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and forever.
Amen.

The Lord’s Prayer

Rejoicing in the presence of God here among us, as our Savior taught us, so we pray

Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
Forgive us our sins
as we forgive those who sin against us.
Lead us not into temptation
but deliver us from evil.
For the kingdom, the power,
and the glory are yours
now and forever.
Amen.

Conclusion

May God, who has called us out of darkness into his marvelous light, bless us and fill us with peace.
Amen.