Circumcision and the Bible: A Commentaryby Darrell G. YardleyIn this scripture Paul is ranting and raving about circumcision to the church in Rome (54-58 C.E.). Paul is very much into justice and sin in this passage. So my reflection here is on the cultural practice of circumcision. In response to Paul, here is my own ranting and ravings, a.k.a. meditation on the subject. As a caveat, let me point out I have a great deal of problems with much of Paul's teachings. I am probably going to make some people unhappy here. Second, I have a great deal of trouble with the whole concept of circumcision. As a male and as a circumcised male myself, it makes me squirm with discomfort. I was handed this scripture because in our EFM class I have been a vocal critic of circumcision when it came up in our scriptural readings. As one example of the stupidity of this practice, imagine an army of soldiers getting "re-circumscribed" just before going into battle (Joshua 5:2-8)). Gees—give me a break. First, how do you re-circumcise someone anyway? There is nothing left to circumcise. Second, this has got to be really painful process, especially with the medical surgical and anesthetic procedures of the day, which equals a dull flint knife (not even copper though it was of the Copper Age) and a little ethanol. The affected appendage would be really tender (an understatement). What kind of insane military strategy is it to cripple your army and then send them into battle? From where did the idea of circumcision come? I mean, who comes up with ideas like this anyway? Circumcision may have originated as an ancient rite of passage for males into adulthood. It was practiced in ancient Egypt. It was also practiced by a number of different cultures in the area of the ancient Jewish people (actually before they were Jewish people). Back then the Israelites were just a collection of nomadic tribes running around looking for a home—trying to steal it from the Canaanites. They were grouped together not so much by genetics (i.e. because they were related), but by their belief in Yahwehism—a monotheistic belief in a single God above all. Later circumcision evolved as a marriage rite. The groom was circumcised just before his wedding. Talk about messing up your wedding night! In the Jewish culture, the practice came into vogue during the Babylonian Exile (587-538 B.C.E.) to help distinguish the Yahwehist from the predominant Babylonian culture. OK, back to Paul-- Paul was a lawyer at heart and by training. He was very much into the legal aspects of Christ's teachings, the very legalizations Christ worked to avoid, and the one's who put him to death. I find it ironic that so much of what we call the New Testament was contributed by a lawyer. (Nothing personal to lawyers in our congregation.) Next, this is the man who was an accomplice earlier in stoning for breakers of the law—talk about love and forgiveness. So why was Paul so hot on circumcision? First, to give Paul a break here, he does say the circumcision he is really talking about is not so much physical as it is spiritual. Then he goes on to make a complicated, confusing, and convoluted argument as to why the physical practice should be continued, and why it is important. His argument hinges around sin: sin and sinners are the reason we as males should be circumcised. Spoken like a true lawyer, his reasoning is about as clear as credit card legalese. I'm sorry. This all makes no sense to me. Ahem...so how do I extract some good news out of this passage relevant to the Easter season and Lent? Lent is a time of reflection about the things we want to change in our lives to be truer and closer to God. Spiritual circumcision marks us as one of God's people, a child of God. We can think of spiritual circumcision as cutting away those parts of our selves that keep us from living into our sacred relationship with God. What do you need to circumcise from your life? Peace |
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