All In

9 God said to Abraham, “As for you, you shall keep my covenant, you and your offspring after you throughout their generations. 10 This is my covenant, which you shall keep, between me and you and your offspring after you: Every male among you shall be circumcised. 11 You shall circumcise the flesh of your foreskins, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and you. 12 Throughout your generations every male among you shall be circumcised when he is eight days old, including the slave born in your house and the one bought with your money from any foreigner who is not of your offspring. 13 Both the slave born in your house and the one bought with your money must be circumcised. So shall my covenant be in your flesh an everlasting covenant. 14 Any uncircumcised male who is not circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin shall be cut off from his people; he has broken my covenant.”  Genesis 17:9-14

Okay...circumcision is not exactly the easiest topic to discuss today.  First, it makes me squirm a little... okay a lot...just thinking about.  Second, I really have to question why showing Abram the stars and renaming him was not enough.  What exactly does cutting off flesh prove?

Well, perhaps circumcision shows you are all in...making a commitment.  And to be honest, commitment makes us squirm today.  I will give someone my email...but not my address.  It is easier to delete an email than to make awkward conversation on the phone.  And if you text me...even better. 

But part of faith needs skin in the game otherwise it feels like a theoretical and intellectual exercise.  And the Christian faith has always been about flesh...or incarnational...we worship God who puts flesh on in the form of Jesus our Christ.  God with flesh.  Of course that also means we need to re-examine our understanding of human flesh.  Over the course of Christianity, we have often regarded flesh as less than...especially in relationship to the spirit.

But why do we divide ourselves?  Our bodies are interconnected and interwoven.  Our souls are not separate from our flesh, the two are intimately and integrally twisted as one.  The two cannot be pulled apart; nor should we say one is good (soul) and the other bad (flesh)...both matter to God.  We experience the world through our bodies and our bodies were created by God.  God stirs our souls through music and prayer and conversations...all of which are incarnational too!

Of course, that really does not satisfactorily explain why God would ask for circumcision?  In Paul's letters he would eventually say, if it is meaningful to you, get circumcised. But if it is a stumbling block...then don't do it!  I think we need to help people think about rituals that connect to God and ones that distract from God.  And sometimes what is meaningful at one point or in one season of life will eventually become a rut where we are spinning our wheels.  This is a process, not a destination.  But then so is living life in this flesh.  Then so is living life with our spirits open.  

I invite you think...prayerfully ponder your understanding of circumcision.  Is there something that is still meaningful?  Is it a ritual that could be left behind?  And before you are quick to draw lines and claim one way is clearly better...perhaps there is a way that both can be true for us and for God.

May there be traces of God's grace for you as you ponder!

Blessings ~