Who are you?

Circumcision is a topic that comes up over and over again in scripture, yet it’s one we as Christians don’t often think too much about. Paul, in the New Testament, has made it abundantly clear that followers of Jesus do not need to circumcised. Yet circumcision language comes back up again and again, not in relation to actual circumcision, but in relation to Christian baptism. For followers of Jesus, baptism is just as important as circumcision was for Abraham. In fact, Paul and other New Testament authors typically speak of baptism as a new kind of circumcision!

So, for us, baptism takes the place of circumcision, and baptism seems to be just as important to Christians as circumcision is for the Israelites. But why? Why are these two rituals emphasized so much in scripture? In the great commandment, in almost every letter from Paul, in the gospel of John, and even at the very beginning of Jesus’s ministry, we see this ritual of baptism being made prominent. Perhaps, then, baptism is something we should pay a little more attention to, something we should think a little more deeply on. And we can begin first by looking at circumcision in this passage, the precursor to baptism.

The Expansive Promises of God

This story begins like many others with Abraham: God comes down and once again reiterates his covenant promise. Only this time, things seem a bit different than before. Firstly, God introduces himself in a new way, with a name we’ve not yet heard before, “I am God Almighty, El Shaddai.” Why the sudden change in names? What gives? The text doesn’t tell us just yet, but I think we’ll begin to understand as we move on. God, God Almighty, then begins to tell Abraham once again about the covenant he is making between them. But, much like the new name, this covenant seems a bit different. Up until this point, God has given Abraham only a very general and vague understanding of his plans. “I’ll give you lots of children and lots of land,” has been the general idea. But now God begins to dive into some specifics.

Firstly, God links this promise back to creation. “I will make you exceedingly fruitful,” says God, “and your offspring will spread out over this land and live in it.” We can hear in this passage, if we listen closely, an echo of that first blessing in the garden,“Be fruitful, multiply, fill the earth and subdue it.”

Secondly, this is not just any promise, but a royal promise. God has now specified that Abram will not only have children, but his children will be nations and kings. This, once again, may echo back to the garden, when man and woman were charged to “rule” over creation.

Thirdly, this is an eternal promise. It’s not a promise that God will make to Abraham and then take it all back a month or two later. It’s not even a promise that God will make only to Abraham, and then go back on later with Abraham’s descendants. No, this promise is everlasting, it will affect humanity for the rest of time.

Lastly, this is a promise of relationship. “I will establish this covenant between me and you,” says the Lord, “…I will give you offspring…and I will be their God.” This is a promise not only of land and fertility, but of relationship between God and Man, Mortals and the Divine, Heaven and Earth.

All of these things are new to Abraham. He had heard God’s promise of land and descendants. He had even heard that he will have many descendants. This, however, had to have been so much more than he could have ever imagined. Not just many descendants, but royal descendants. Not just land, but nations. Not just a promise for here and now, but a promise for all eternity.

Covenant and Identity Formation

There is a catch to all of this, however. Isn’t there always! This is the part of the covenant God agrees to uphold, but covenants are always a two-way street. Abraham’s responsibilities in this covenant, however, seem a bit odd. “Abraham, I’m going to give you children that outnumber the stars in the sky, and they’ll go on to be kings and queens and rulers, they’ll form nations, and the kingdom of you children will last forever, but I need you to be circumcised first.” What??? What does that have to do with this promise? Why is that the requirement? It seems so odd, so bizarre.

But this “catch” so to speak, is really a reciprocation of the last part of God’s covenant promise: God says, “I will be their God,” and in response, God wants them to respond “And we will be your people.” Circumcision was about as intimate and personal a statement as could be made. It was a mark that couldn’t be washed away or removed, a symbol that would forever remind the Jewish people of their identity as God’s people. And that is, primarily, the purpose of this covenant commitment. It is a very vivid statement of identity formation. In fact, this concept of identity formation runs throughout this passage. In light of the great and expansive promise God has made, Abram’s very name must be changed. Abraham’s identity is reformed, taking the shape of one blessed by God. So too, is Sarai, who’s name now becomes Sarah, which means princess. Abraham and Sarah’s very names reflect the promises of God, and Abraham’s very body will be forever marked as a reminder that “I am your God, and you are my people.”

Laughter: Bipolar Identities

But, as God finishes up his divine speech, laying out the many ways he intends to bless Abraham and his descendants. Abraham can’t help but laugh. When God first arrived, Abram fell on his face in reverence, and yet now Abraham falls on his face in disbelief and laughter. “You can’t be serious! You’re going to give me a child through Sarah?! No, just use Ishmael!”.

This is yet another reminder that even Abraham had a very long journey in his faith. He’s not yet mature in faith, he hasn’t reached the level of trust in God that is needed of him.

It’s interesting that this passage is the very first time Abraham is directly referred to by his new name, and yet that new identity is first seen in a moment of a lack of faith. It’s as if Abraham has bipolar disorder, he can’t quite figure out who he is. Is he the Abram, “high father”, or Abraham, “father of multitudes”? Is he one who has faith in God or not? Here, we see Abraham struggling with the identity of both himself and of God. Is this God really El Shaddai, God Almighty, capable of great and extraordinary things? Does he have the power to not only make a promise with Abram, but also fulfill through whatever means he chooses?

And is this God just like all the other gods of Canaan, who may or may not be able to uphold their promises, or is this El Shaddai, God Almighty, who can and will do as he has promised?

As Abraham wrestles with God’s identity, with his own identity in God, it seems he’s asking God for the easy way out. If Ishmael could be the child of promise, you see, Abraham still has some control over things. He doesn’t have to have quite as much faith in God, things don’t have to get uncomfortable. If God will work through Ishmael, there’s a sense in which Abraham can keep hold of his old identity, and he can make a claim about who he is apart from God. Ishmael came about through the plotting of Abram and Sarai, through human means. By clinging to Ishmael, Abraham is attempting to cling to his own power, his own ability to bring about the promise. And by clinging to his own power and ability, Abram would not have to cling to the power of El Shaddai, God almighty.

To this half-hearted acceptance, God replies with emphatic No. In fact, God says, because you laughed (which, in Hebrew is yishaq), your son’s name will be Isaac (yishaq). In a way, God is saying, “When you finally do receive my promise, when you see it fulfilled with your own eyes, you’ll have to look back at this doubt, this laughter of yours, and you’ll realize how silly you were for not trusting in me.”

To this solution, however, God responds with an emphatic “NO”. The promise can only be accomplished through God’s power. It is an expansive, impossible promise that requires an immeasurable, omnipotent God. If this man is to receive this promise, his identity must be Abraham, one who relies solely on the promises and power of God Almighty, and not Abram, who still tries to lay hold of his own destiny and make a way in the world for himself.

At the heart of this identity question, and really at the heart of the circumcision ritual, is a question about who you belong to. Will you belong to God? Will you hear, “I am your God” and respond without hesitation, “and we are your people”? Or will you rely on your own strength? And when God says “I am your God” answer back, “But I am my own person.”

Baptism and Promise

Abraham, after this great struggle of identity, chose to be circumcised. He decided to be not Abram, but Abraham. He decided not to be his own person, but God’s person. If this is what circumcision meant for Abraham, then how much more does Baptism mean for us?

From birth, the church recognizes that our hope should not be placed in our own hands, but in the hands of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. In Baptism, we act out the narrative of death and resurrection. Not only the future death and resurrection we have hope in, the promise made to us by El Shaddai, but also a very real and present death and resurrection. A death to our old selves, a death to selfishness, to complete self-autonomy, but a life to God.

Yet, day by day, so often we find ourselves in the place of Abram-Abraham. Not sure who we really are. Not sure if we want to place our whole selves in the hands of God. Hoping that God will allow us to hold out some small part of ourselves to call our own. This happens when we say, “Yes, El Shaddai, God is Almighty, but I’d still like have a backup plan just in case. Yes, Jehovah Jireh, The Lord Provides, but I’d feel safer if I kept a little more money back this week instead of giving to the poor. Yes, Jehovah Shalom, The Lord is my Peace, but I’d really feel safer if those people were kept away.” Our baptism calls us to ask these hard questions of ourselves. Is God Almighty, is he capable of keeping his promises, or do I have to plot and scheme to get what I want? Is God my Peace, or do I need to rely on government military policies, guns, locks, and security systems to provide my peace? Does the Lord Provide, or do I need to be tight and miserly with my money and resources to ensure I’ll have enough? And, really, are we God’s People, or am I my Own Person who has to look out for myself?

If you find yourself wrestling with these questions, then know that you’re in good company. Even Abraham was haunted by these things. But know that there is no middle ground with God. Either God is Almighty, he is the source of our strength and hope, or not. Either God is our Shalom, he is our peace and security, or not. Either God is Provider for us, he will strengthen and sustain us, or not. Either we are God’s people, wholly, fully committed to God, not holding anything back, or not.

To trust in God in this way is difficult. To embrace the identity in Christ we have recieved through baptism is hard. And if you’re struggling with any of these things, I hope you understand God is not impatient or angry with you. But he is calling you to let go of yourself and embrace him. Because the promise of hope, life, eternal joy in salvation that we have been given by God can only be accomplished by God, and no one else.

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