Episode Transcript
Speaker 0 00:00 <inaudible> last Sunday we considered one very important aspect of our relationship with our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. We saw that Jeff is all, we all fell from grace and became children of Wrath because of our union with Adam, so also our union with the cry restores of Tigray and makes us adopted sons of God. We saw that we're naturally United to add them as our representative, whether we liked it or not, we can't help that, but since we're natural, not naturally, you know, into our Lord, he is not necessarily a representative before God. We have to be supernaturally United to our Lord to be restored to gray and become the adopted children of God because Jesus Christ and only Jesus Christ is the way, the truth and the lie. There is no other name under heaven given demand whereby we must be saved and just a few weeks ago we saw precisely how it is that we become supernaturally United with our Lord.
Speaker 0 01:18 We considered the exact method established by the Lord himself for uniting our souls to him. When we studied the sac, when the baptism, we studied the effect of that engine and we saw the side washing away original and actual sin, besides wash away all the punishment due to sin besides going the newly baptized. So sanctifying grade, besides marking that. So with a permanent spiritual character, besides opening the gates of heaven for the newly baptized man, ms sides, all that, we saw that supernatural virtues, these powers were poured into the soul of the newly baptized man. Precisely because he becomes United to cry. The soul and the baptized man becomes United to Christ by virtue of baptism. So over the past few weeks, we've considered the absolute necessity of our Lord's will is that representative before God as the mediator for, for God, man. And we've seen that by our baptism.
Speaker 0 02:23 We entered in to that relationship with him. So he becomes a representative before God. Now today we'll consider another way in which Christ represents us before God. And that's by a circumcision not to our way of thinking. That might seem like a funny thing to talk about, let alone to have a fish for, but to the degree that we think that way to that very degree, we're not thinking what the church did. She's made this one of the great feasts and traditionally it's been a holy day obligation, which we'll start again next year. So since this is usually an holy day of litigation since the does ask us to think about it, let's take a few minutes this morning to see why it's so important to do that. We'll take a real quick look at three things. We've all stayed here before. The significance of blood circumcision in the old testament had lord circumcision and then we'll see how that all applies to our, okay.
Speaker 0 03:24 Part one, the significance of blood. We've asked ourselves this question before, what's the big deal with blood now, man from all, literally all over the world. Ancient Rome, ancient Greece, Norway, dramatic tribe Australia, the Pacific Islands, South America, Mexico, Africa, the Middle East right here, and the Indians to the great plain men from literally all over the world have share a common view. They've seen blood as life until they've seen the offering of blood as the offering of lie and also all over the world, men have had the customer becoming blood brothers. That means they performed ceremony in which they share each other's blood. I've seen it myself. What's the underlying idea here? Since blooded lie and since they've shared each other's blood? Well then the idea is that they have a share in each other's lives. They have a common life. So men have traditionally seen their bread, butter and being literally, literally more closely related to them than their own birth brothers.
Speaker 0 04:34 Not only of men had the same basic idea of becoming blood brothers with other men from different families or nations. They've also had the idea that they could up stablish a blood covenant relationship with their God by offering them blood. That's why when a Satan worshiper sells his soul to the devil, he signed the compact in his own blood. He's putting his life by means for this bloody signature to be bound forever to demonic life of safe in exchange for certain worldly things that to dramatic k, but that's an example. These ideas are found in every nation and culture, but Tim, our beliefs about the significance of blood and about these blood covenant are also fond, literally scattered from the end of the beginning of the Bible to the end. Now that rate is a question Jeff. How to man scattered all over the world from every tribe and nation get the same general belief about blood and fill as taught by scripture.
Speaker 0 05:37 The fathers of the church teach that when we find men everywhere have similar beliefs or customs or teachings, customs that are similar to those found in the holy scriptures. The reason for this similarity is that after men were scattered all over the world from the Tower of Babel, they didn't forget all the teaching that had been handed down from that. In other words, the basic idea of blood of life. Nikolay basic idea of blood. Covenanting came down with men from Adam and they wasn't completely go off after men were scattered, falling the incident at the Tower of Babel that explained the similarities, but what about the differences the fathers teach should the differences are a result of corruption by both man and devil, except of course in one k the case and the people of Israel who are preserved for teaching or by special grace of God, all the, as part of God's providential plan, that man would find it easier later on to understand the true faith when they became evangelized.
Speaker 0 06:42 Now let's turn to the Bible right from the beginning, which the blood is offered up to God and reparation percent. We stay this when we talked about the precious, but today the basic idea we want to take from the inspired word of God is that fond in Hebrews nine 22 there is no forgiveness of sin without the shedding of blood. There's no forgiveness of sins without the shedding of blood. So what's the significance of blood? We've seen from both the traditions and mankind as well as the inerrant word of God, that blood stands for life. That blood can be offered up as a substitution for life. The sharing of blood. It's a sharing of life, whether with man or even with the God they've seen that and there is no forgiveness of sins without the shedding of blood. Part two circumcision in the Old Testament. We know that when God gave the commandment of circumcision to Abraham, he told Abraham he would make of him a great nation and then in Abraham, all the nations of the earth will be blessed.
Speaker 0 07:46 It that the covenant of Abraham, when he enters into a blood covenant with God, the sign of this blood covenant was circumcision. Well was the point of circumcision. The point was that Abraham gives his god his personal blood from the very source of his father. What Abraham is doing at God's command is pledging himself and seed the tribal hall, those who will be descended from him into this blood covenant with God. In other words, Abraham stands for the descending. He's a representative and this one man entered into this blood covenant with God on behalf of himself and all his descendants, Adam represented man before God, all mankind in his descent and all had a chance before God. Now, Abraham is representing all his descendants before God. Obviously God can exchange blood with Abraham. At that time. He didn't have any blood. Dick's change, but except Abraham's blood check, flight and rewards it by freeing all those in this covenant from original sin.
Speaker 0 08:51 So in the Old Testament circumcision on the eighth day would the baby from original sin, circumcision foreshadows infant baptism. At that great Saint Doctrine, the church, the venerable bake rope says crawled. You ought to know that circumstances under the law rot the same healing against the wound of original sin as does baptism in this time of real great, except that under circumcision they were not able to enter the gate of the heavenly kingdom. Close quote, the venerable be bumped benefit. The third makes the same point, very clear quote, although original sin was committed by the Ministry of circumcision and the danger of damnation was avoided. Nevertheless, there was no arriving at the Kingdom of Heaven, which up to the death of Christ was Barr to all but to the sacrament of baptism. The guilt of one made read by the blood of cry is remitted into the Kingdom of Heaven. When also arrived, whose gate?
Speaker 0 09:59 The blood of Christ test mercifully opened for his faithful call. Close quote, hope innocent. That there we might wonder why circumcision of all things of fitting away the free men from original sin. That's easy. As we know, there's no forgiveness of sin without the shedding of blood. Now Abraham is shedding blood from the source by which original sin is passed onto his descent. They Saint Thomas says, quote, original sin is contracted to the act of generation, close quote, and since original sin comes from Adam, we all inherit original sin from our father. As Saint Thomas says, quote, original sin is contracted from the father, not from the mother. Close quote Chanel. We can see why this is a fitting way to premed from original sin. We'd see whether it's only pertained to man in the Old Testament. Girls would be forgiven over original sin by merely offering them up to the lower part, three circumcision of our Lord, all the commandments or the law perfectly fulfilled in Christ.
Speaker 0 11:05 Therefore, 88 after his birth Saint Joseph in our lady to cannot be circumcised. Now because you use was circumcised according to the law, he entered into that blood covenant between God and the seed of Abraham. Of course, our Lord did not have original sin. He couldn't have original sin and not only because he's got, we contracted original sin from our father and he doesn't have a human father. So absolutely speaking, we can see that it isn't absolutely necessary that the blessed Virgin BMX Mac, but Christ did not have a human father, but God got to make his own mother and there's no way he would led a single fall ever sustained her in any regard. Okay, so why did Christ get circumcised then? Saint Thomas Aquinas says, among other things that it prevented the Jews rejecting Christ for being uncircumcised. Did showed his willingness to accept the burdens of the law in order to obtain our freedom, and it demonstrated Christ membership among the children of Abraham.
Speaker 0 12:11 Now, how does all this apply to? Well, if you're falling in your mess, so today you'll see in the Canon of the mass we talked about our patriarch Abraham. Now for Croatian or Slovenian or Irish or Italian or French or English or German or Spanish or whatever else, unless we're actually of Jewish descent, how can Abraham possibly be our father? How is it that he became our father? But see, we've seen the baptism has taken the place of circumstances. We've seen that now baptism. Washington's pretty preventional actual sin. We've seen it by virtue of that baptism, we become United to cry. We'd come, members of his mystical body were placed in a state of gray. Until we share, we have one in the same light, the divine lie of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Okay? We know all that. Show what we already know. We don't have to get circumcised, we just get baptized.
Speaker 0 13:12 What does this have to do with the Feast of circumcision? This is a ceremony they only apply to the tenants of Abraham and it's power to forgive original sin. And at 20 centuries ago, well, God promised Abraham that in him all nations would be blessed and the sign of that promise was circumcision. And now we're the recipients that promise because we're baptized. How does that work? When we're baptized, we entered into the life of Christ. We became members of his body and he was circumcised and by history concision in our incorporation into him by holy baptism, we become heirs to the promises to Abraham that took St Paul's dates in Galatians two three 27 and a collage to 11 for as many of you has been baptized, I put on Christ, whom I'll see you're circumcised with the circumcision, not made by hand, but in the circumcision of Christ showing the eighth day when the Lord is circumcised, he becomes an air cause the promises of Abraham.
Speaker 0 14:17 At that same time, he was a representative before God and by our union with him, we all become the only adopted sons of God, but adopted sons of Abraham. We can truly call Abraham, our father, our patriarch, our father in the face, and by celebrating the great feast of circumcision, we're celebrating the fact that already had only eight days of age, Christ or lower underwent this suffering on our behalf so that we could be heirs to the promises made to our father Abraham. Okay, let's review. We've seen it. Butterfly, we've seen it. The sharing of blood is seen as a sharing of light and let this step should the family relationship, a blood covenant, but there's no forgiveness of sins without the shedding of blood and that blood is offered up a substitute for lie. We've seen the God promised Abraham the promise land. All nations be blessed in him.
Speaker 0 15:11 Abraham entered into a blood covenant with God, a family relationship with God, and a sign of that confident with circumcision by that circumcision. On the eighth day, the descendants of Abraham became air. So his promise and that that shut in blood frees them from original sin. We've seen the Christ. The Lord became an error to the promises by his circumcision and now by our baptism. Wait, he come members of Christ and therefore heirs to the promises made to Abraham would become spiritual sons of Abraham and by our baptism we're also free from original sin and become capable of entering the heavenly promised plan. We enter into the life of Christ is the New Testament blood covenant by our baptism more profoundly by our communion and everyone whose blood covenant to Jesus shares in his nature. We share in his virtues, his divine virtues if we're in right relationship to him.
Speaker 0 16:09 If we let that precious blood wash over us and wash away our sins and the wickedness and snares, the devil, if we let that flow through us and strengthen us in virtues and the supernatural virtues, these power, the long from God, they hope charity, the life of grace power would make it possible for us to live the life of heaven. We share and we have one the same life, divine life of Jesus. And because Jesus is circumcised according to the law, he entered into that blood covenant with the Father and Abraham said, by living through him and in his life, we become heirs to Abraham and his promises, the promises rejected by the chews. So long ago, we become members of Christ's body, the mystical body. He's the head where the members sharing in the same supernatural life and live button, same precious blood. Now we're all incorporated to that covenant that you rejected.
Speaker 0 17:16 We're all members of one body who's had his cry, and today we're celebrating the entrance into that covenant and by anticipation our adoption as sons of Abraham as heirs to the promise, give it to father Abraham. Today we're celebrating the fact that we Catholics are heirs are those promises God gave to Abraham and then now that's a little bit baptized, maybe died. He can enter that heavenly promised land since the Lord has gone ahead and away with his precious blood, there's no salvation outside of Christ. He's the only ambassador that can lead us to that true promised land that was poor shadowed so long ago, and it was promises May to our father Abraham during this Christmas season, during this new year. Let's make it a season and year of thanks. Let's turn to our little Lord Jesus and thank him for the wonderful gift of baptism by which we become heirs to the promises by which we received the holy faith, the faith without which it is impossible to please God, God bless you and have a holy new year.
