The New Year celebration holds threefold importance in the Maronite Liturgical Calendar. It marks the celebration of the Circumcision of the Lord, the Feast of Sts Basil and Gregory of Nazianzus, and the Day of Peace. Three feast days, all observed at the beginning of the year. At first glance, they may seem unrelated, but a deeper reflection reveals their intrinsic connection.
The Old Testament reading from Micah 4:1-4 introduces a prophecy of a peace yet to come. It is a peace where weapons are dismantled and repurposed into tools for humanity’s benefit. This peace is taught by the Lord from his house on Mount Zion, setting the path for all to follow.
The Letter to the Ephesians (2:11-22) further expounds on this notion of peace. It speaks of the reconciliation between Gentiles and believers, no longer divided by circumcision and uncircumcision of the flesh. Under Hebrew law, every male child was circumcised on the eighth day as a sign of the Old Covenant between God and Abraham, receiving a name by which he would be known.
All are called to be one in Christ. Through his circumcision, he completed and fulfilled the Law. He is Jesus, meaning “Yahweh is Saviour.” This reminds us that salvation does not come through the hostility created by laws and commandments. It is Yahweh, God who saves. Christ did not abolish the Law; he perfected it. The circumcision of the flesh is no longer required to be a child of Israel, the Chosen People; instead, all are called to a circumcision of the heart, one that brings union where hostility once prevailed.
On the Cross, Christ, the Chosen One, united humanity to God in the New Covenant. This covenant is one of the Spirit, born of blood and water from the pierced side of Christ. This is baptism, for through the Spirit all are made children of the Father, united as one Body in Christ. No longer differentiated by laws or commandments, we are united by the Spirit’s work.
This peace that unites is not of this world. We are no longer called to be circumcised in the flesh, for Christ took upon himself all the requirements of the flesh, of the Law, and fulfilled all that was commanded on the Cross. As stated in the Gospel of John (14:27-31), this peace is specifically the peace of the Lord. It does not trouble hearts or cause fear. It is a peace that builds faith in the face of all that is evil; it is a peace that opposes the “ruler of this world.” It is a peace that calls each and every single one of us to rise and be on our way, walking the path of the Lord guided by the Spirit.
Sts Basil and Gregory embody these ideals of unity in Christ and the pursuit of peace through the Spirit. Born in the tumultuous times of the early church in the 4th century, they worked tirelessly to oppose the Arian heresy.
St Basil, the founder of Cappadocian monasticism, which greatly influenced Syriac monasticism, found the peace of the Lord through a life of prayer. Elevated to Bishop of Caesarea, he was called a defender of the faith, not through military might but through words and actions. St Basil planted the seeds of peace in the early church, where hostility once reigned, calling for unity in the Body of Christ.
St Gregory, like his childhood friend Basil, also worked to sow peace instead of hostility in his struggle against Arianism. As Bishop of Constantinople, he presided over the Second Ecumenical Council of Constantinople, which defined the Nicene creed and defended the Trinity.
These great pillars of the early church fought to defend the teachings of the faith. They overcame heresy and hostility, assisting to bring the church back to peace and union in the Body of Christ. They are lighthouses of sound faith, lighting the path of truth at the beginning of the year for the faithful to walk in the New Covenant, not led by errors or misconceptions, but guided by the works of the Spirit. They teach us to come to Jesus, to Yahweh who saves. For it is Christ’s peace, given through the cross, that leads to salvation, not through circumcision of the flesh, but through the circumcision of the heart.