On the eighth day the boy is to be circumcised. – Leviticus 12:3

Today’s Scripture Reading (October 1, 2018): Leviticus 12

In six days, God created the heavens and the earth, and on the seventh day, he rested from his labor. Okay, admittedly I am not convinced of the literal truth of the words. I am old, but not that old. I wasn’t there. Much of what we have learned over the past century indicates that the earth is a lot older than a literal interpretation of the Bible might allow us to believe. And yet, I believe the words. I do not doubt that God created the universe. And, to me, the words of Genesis indicating a seven-day creation and rest cycle are incredibly important. We seem to be created with a need for a day of rest out of every seven. Nations have tried different ways of organizing the cycle of rest and work but, psychologically at least, the seven-day week works. And in that seven-day cycle, we echo the cycle of God described in Genesis, working for six and then taking a break.

I have admitted that I am curious as to what it looks like when God takes a rest, but I also have an infatuation with Day eight. With us, the cycle simply continues. The weekend comes to a close, and we get ready to start the cycle all over again.

I have never been convinced that the identification of the seventh day has been all that important. Some insist that the seventh day must be the traditional Saturday Sabbath, which according to our calendars is the seventh day. The majority of Christians have opted for the Lord’s Day, Sunday, but technically the first day of the week. My personal practice for the past several years has been to take my Sabbath on Friday, technically the sixth day, but I have also used Wednesday as my Sabbath, the fourth day. And to add to the Sabbath confusion, I also have some pastoral friends who use Monday as their Sabbath rest, the second day. But no matter what day you use, on the eighth day, the cycle simply begins all over again.

Is that the way it is with God? I have a suspicion that the answer is yes, and that the clue is held in the circumcision ritual. On the eighth day, a male child was to be circumcised. On the eighth day, we consecrate new life; the child represents the continuing creational power of God. On the eighth day, we give the child a name and recognize him as a child of God. On the eighth day, creation starts all over again.

And I don’t think that it was an accident that Jesus rose from the grave on Sunday – not the first day, but the eighth day. In this act, creation started all over again in a totally new and different way. Just as Jesus incarnational experience began as he was circumcised and given a name in the Temple on the eighth day of his life, all of creation was renewed when Jesus rose from the dead on the eighth day. On the eighth day, God was boldly doing something new.

The eighth day has dawned, and everything is new and different, because Jesus has come and touched us, died in our place becoming our sacrifice for sin, and now he has risen to a new and more powerful life.

We live in the eighth day.

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Leviticus 13