Traditional Catholic Teaching - THE SUNDAY AFTER THE CIRCUMCISION

THE SUNDAY AFTER THE CIRCUMCISION

He shall be called a Nazarite.
Matt. ii, 23.

Three days' journey from Jerusalem, at the foot of a mountain, lies the little town of Nazareth, dear to every Christian heart. It was here that the archangel greeted Mary and the greatest miracle of Divine love was wrought, the miracle that we honour daily with the words of St. John: "The Word was made Flesh." After Herod's death, faithful St. Joseph directed his steps hither, bringing the Blessed Virgin and the Divine Child, entrusted by God to his care, back to his poor dwelling, where he led with them a life of poverty indeed, but of a poverty far surpassing in happiness all the riches of the world; for surely happiness must have prevailed in that humble house, where God Himself had taken up His abode.

The little town, which was our Lord's dwelling place in His childhood, was immortalized by the fact that He was known by its name, and in a lesser degree we may say of it what is still more true of the Cross. The Cross, the mark of the deepest shame, was sanctified by Jesus, and in the same way He made the name of Nazarene honourable and holy. All Galileans were despised by the Jews, but the inhabitants of Nazareth were considered more despicable than any others, and to call a man a Nazarene was an insult. Yet the early Christians often gave themselves this name, for it expressed to them the fact that our highest glory is to be found in the deepest humility. Jesus desired to be called a Nazarene, it was His will to be despised, and our sake he descended into the lowest depths of humiliation, but while He seems to be scorned by men, He is revealing Himself to us in all the glory of His incomprehensible humility, for He stooped thus low in order to raise us to the dignity of being God's children. Therefore, it ought to be our delight to humble ourselves for love of Him.

When, therefore, the Jews intended to insult our Lord by calling Him a Nazarene, they were really, without knowing it, proclaiming His majesty and love, and honouring Him. The same is the case with those who ridicule Christ and His Church, and flatter themselves that they are doing right and are amusing. The foolish speeches which such people utter only serve to reveal more clearly the glory of Christianity, which they assail with their paltry, conceited words.

It is a remarkable result of the perversity produced by sin in the human heart, that a man is far more apt to be ashamed of what is good than of what is bad, of justice and truth rather than of injustice and falsehood. Hence the foolish language, to which I have referred, may easily tempt us to be ashamed of Christ, or at least to behave as if we did not care much for His doctrines or the commandments of His Church, etc.

We are afraid of boldly contradicting false statements and confessing our faith, lest we should be regarded as wanting in intellect or uneducated.

In short, figuratively, if not literally, we shrink from being called Nazarenes. Let us banish such fear of men from our hearts by thinking that our Divine Lord was willing to have the contemptuous name of Nazarene given also to Him.

How can we be His followers, if we always want to receive praise and applause even from those who are in error and who have no faith at all? If those who do not respect Christ, scorn and despise us; if they ridicule us because we love Him, let us regard it as an honour to be called Nazarenes, as He was. Let us not be satisfied merely to bear the name, but let us follow His example and be indeed also true Nazarenes.

Apart from its connection with the name of Nazareth, the word Nazarite is used in a sense derived from the Hebrew, and means solitary, dedicated to God, holy. Thus Samson speaks of himself as a Nazarite, consecrated to God (Judges 16: 17), and in every generation under the old dispensation there were men who cut themselves off from the world, making God their sole aim, and dedicating their whole life to virtue and the service of the Lord. Scripture describes Nazarites of this sort as "whiter than snow, purer than milk, fairer than the sapphire."*

The whiteness and purity of snow and milk symbolize the purity and innocence distinguishing these men, and the blue sapphire denotes the intention that animated them. It is easy to see how applicable in this sense the sacred name of Nazarite was to our Lord, and we ought to follow His example and be Nazarites of this kind. May innocence dwell in your hearts, and may your whole lives be characterized by perfect purity. Pray often to Jesus and ask Him to be your guide, so that you may avoid everything that would make you unlike Him. In every word and thought show yourselves worthy to bear His holy name. His mind was always set on heaven; strive to direct all your thoughts thither. Make it your habit in early life to seek the things of eternity, not those of this world. Let not the joys and amusements of this life be of great importance in your sight, but make it your aim day by day to become more worthy of the delights of heaven.

Let it not be your chief object to please your fellow-creatures, but let the thought that influences you in all your occupations be to avoid incurring God's displeasure; yes, strive to become more pleasing to Him every day, and let this be the chief care of your hearts. The world is always trying to entangle us with the numberless fancies and cravings of earth, and to make us forget God, but may it never reign supreme over you, but rather may the good resolution to attain to holiness, and by way of holiness to heaven, motive all your actions. May heaven be far more real and far more desirable to you than earth, may eternal happiness far outweigh all the happiness of this life, and may God be far more precious to you than men. May your efforts to love and serve Him be like a brilliant sapphire adorning the crown of everlasting glory, which from childhood on you have been doing your best to earn. In this way you may be Nazarites indeed, holy, loyal to God, pure and heavenly-minded, like Jesus Christ, our great Example.

Jesus will help us, if we want to be Nazarites in this sense; the name itself assures us of His readiness to assist us, for, according to another interpretation, it means branch, offshot or blossom. This name was well suited to Him, for the prophet Isaias calls Him the rod or shoot coming out of the root of Jesse, and the flower rising up out of it, i. e., out of David's family (Is. 11: 1). Jeremias, too, speaks of the bud of justice which is to spring forth from David (Jer. 23: 15). This interpretation of the word Nazarite as meaning flower, branch or shoot suggests that in and through Christ alone we shall all find salvation; for our true welfare consists in our being most closely united with Him. If we are branches of the Nazarite, branches of the true vine (which is Christ), the sap of Divine grace will flow from Him into our hearts, and enable us to bring forth the good fruit of holiness of life.

* They consecrated themselves to God by vows, or, like Samuel and Samson were dedicated to His service by their parents. It was not usual for this dedication to be lifelong. The Nazarite law is given in Numbers 6.

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