Reflection on Titus 2:11–15 and Luke 2:21
In the Light of the Church Fathers and the Traditional Liturgy
“For the grace of God our Saviour hath appeared to all men, instructing us, that, denying ungodliness and worldly desires, we should live soberly, justly, and godly in this world…”
— Titus 2:11–12
“And after eight days were accomplished, that the child should be circumcised: his name was called JESUS, which was called by the angel before he was conceived in the womb.”
— Luke 2:21
On this octave day of the Nativity, the Church invites us to contemplate the Circumcision of the Lord, the first shedding of His Precious Blood, and the beginning of His visible submission to the Law. It is a feast rich in theological depth and practical application for the Christian soul, standing at the very threshold of the new civil year—a sign that all time belongs to Christ, and that our salvation unfolds through the mystery of His obedience.
In today’s Epistle, taken from St. Paul’s letter to Titus, we are told that the grace of God has appeared. The Church reads this on the feast of the Circumcision because here, on the eighth day after Christ’s birth, grace indeed becomes visible in a new way. St. Ambrose writes:
“He who was without sin, submitted to a rite of purification, not for His sake, but for ours, that He might teach us humility and obedience.”
(Commentary on Luke, Bk. II)
The Incarnate Word, born of the Virgin, already perfect in His divine nature and sinless in His human nature, submits to a Law that He Himself gave. In this, the economy of our redemption begins not with mighty works, but with a hidden act of suffering and submission—a circumcision of the heart, prefiguring the total self-offering that will be consummated on Calvary.
The Mystery of the Eighth Day
The eighth day is not arbitrary. In the theology of the Fathers, the eighth day is the symbol of the new creation, the day beyond the seven of the old order—a token of eternity. Thus, the Circumcision of Christ is already a foreshadowing of Baptism, as the rite that prefigured it is brought to fulfillment. St. Augustine writes:
“What the circumcision of the flesh accomplished in the old law, the circumcision of the heart accomplishes in the new.”
(Sermon 293, In Octava Domini)
In being circumcised, Christ takes upon Himself the burden of the Law, so that He may one day lift it from us. This is what St. Paul means when he says, “not by works of justice which we have done, but according to His mercy, He saved us” (Titus 3:5). Yet this mercy is not without demand: the Epistle exhorts us to live “soberly, justly, and godly.” The appearance of grace is not only a comfort—it is a school of sanctity. St. Jerome puts it succinctly:
“Grace does not destroy discipline; it teaches it.”
The Name of JESUS
Luke 2:21 tells us not only of the Lord’s circumcision, but of His naming—“His name was called JESUS”. This is the Name above all names, the Name that means Saviour (cf. Matt. 1:21). The Church Fathers dwell deeply on the power and mystery of the Holy Name. St. Bernard of Clairvaux, whose devotion to the Holy Name is well known, writes:
“The Name of Jesus is light, food, and medicine. It is light when it is preached to us; it is food when we think upon it; it is the medicine that soothes our pain when we invoke it.”
(Sermon 15 on the Song of Songs)
The traditional liturgy, especially in the Mass of the Circumcision (II classis), reflects this reverence. The Collect petitions God that “we who by the circumcision of Thy Son, our Lord, are delivered from the yoke of the Law, may receive the virtue of spiritual circumcision.” Here the moral application is made plain: the physical act prefigures an inward transformation—the cutting away of sin, the surrender of our will, the shaping of a Christian heart.
The Blood of Redemption Begins to Flow
It is easy to pass over the detail, but the Circumcision is the first time Christ sheds His Blood for us. Already, at eight days old, He begins the Passion. St. Bede the Venerable says:
“The Lord of the universe was content to be bound by the narrowest of laws, to bear pain, and to shed His Blood, that He might redeem those under the Law.”
(Homiliae Evangelii)
In this mystery, we see the unity of the Incarnation and Redemption. The Child lying in the manger is already the Man of Sorrows. The Crib and the Cross are made of the same wood. And we who follow Him are likewise called to be circumcised in heart, to “renounce ungodliness and worldly desires,” and to live in the grace that has appeared—not merely in idea, but in the Flesh and Blood of a newborn God.
A Final Meditation
As the new year dawns, the liturgy places before us a divine paradox: the Infinite made finite, the Sinless made subject to the Law, the Lord made a servant. In His humility, we find our exaltation. Let us then take to heart the words of the Epistle:
“Looking for the blessed hope and coming of the glory of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ: Who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from all iniquity, and might cleanse to Himself a people acceptable, pursuing good works.”
(Titus 2:13–14)
Here is our purpose: not only to believe, but to become what we behold. The grace that has appeared must now transform our lives. As the Holy Name of Jesus is spoken over us anew this day, may it be our light, our strength, and our joy in the year ahead.