When infant mortality was high, people in the countryside usually presented their babies, especially male ones to be adopted by the local deities, be it an ancient tree or a mythical rock at the entrance of the village. The parents even called their babies piggies, doggies or calves, wishing that these babies would survive and be able to grow up healthily and strongly. We do not have any systematic studies on how widespread such practices have been and how successful they have been. We do not know how those parents, whose babies were presented to be adopted and yet eventually died prematurely, would react. Most likely, they had only themselves to blame. Anyway, I suspect that such practices were rather universal since parental love is universal. When it was beyond their power to guarantee the lives of their babies, parents would resort to the supernatural.
The Israelites had similar practices for a variety of reasons. They also presented their firstborn male to the Lord. On the eighth day after birth, the baby would be circumcised and given a name. Without a name, you are nothing in front of all! On the fortieth day, the baby boy would be presented/dedicated to the Lord. It seemed that parents did not have to present the other sons and the daughters. Once they had secured the safety of their firstborns, they might think that the rest would follow.
We may take it for granted that all the Israelites did this without exception. However, the Bible does not mention what happened to those who did not present their firstborn males to the Lord for whatever reasons. No calamities or "punishments" have been recorded for someone failing to do this. Therefore, it is legitimate for us to accept other hygienic, social-medical reasons side by side with religious reasons for the Israelites to adopt such a practice.
The official, religious reason for the presentation of the firstborn males to the Lord dated back to the Exodus story. In order to force Pharaoh to release the Israelites, the Lord killed all the firstborn males, human as well as cattle. Firstborns were signs of fertility. By killing the firstborns, the Lord claimed once more that He is the author of life in case the Egyptians had forgotten that. Moreover, the Lord taught the Israelites to celebrate the feast of Passover to prevent their firstborns from being killed in this tenth plague. In the end, the Lord claimed the possession of all the firstborn males of human and cattle of the Israelites because it was He who spared their firstborns while releasing them from slavery (Exodus 13:2, 15). So, the Israelites went beyond the simple survival reason on the individual level and raised it to a tribal/national level. Similarly, circumcision was given more than a hygienic reason. Circumcision becomes God's blanding on the flesh, marking the Israelites out among all peoples on earth. All such customs and practices reminded the Israelites of their identity and reinforced their relationship with the Lord.
The Second Person of the Blessed Trinity "downgraded" himself to become human. He became vulnerable and constrained within time and space. Through this custom, the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity reunited again with the Godhead. In this process, the humanity He carries is raised and transformed. When the Church celebrates this feast 40 days after Christmas, she reminds her children that through baptism, we presented ourselves totally to God. Since Christ, the presentation has not been limited to firstborn males. All of us, men and women, firstborns and all the siblings can be dedicated to the Lord, to partake in his divinity. Therefore, let our lives be worthy of such a grace.
Dear Lord, You uplift our humanity. There is nothing better than singing praises to You, saying thank you to You. Amen.
No comments:
Post a Comment