December 14: Faithful and Ready
♫ Music:
Therefore be on the alert, for you do not know which day your Lord is coming. But be sure of this, that if the head of the house had known at what time of the night the thief was coming, he would have been on the alert and would not have allowed his house to be broken into. For this reason you also must be ready; for the Son of Man is coming at an hour when you do not think He will.
Matthew 24: 42-44
FAITHFUL AND READY
As you think upon the story of Christ’s birth, reflect on the word anticipation. Advent is all about anticipation. There is a sense that many people in the Christmas story are leaning in, listening carefully, anticipating something significant about to happen. There is, of course, a young woman great with child, miserable with the ache of carrying her baby full-term, but whose soul magnifies the Lord at the chance to play her part. There is a nervous father-to-be wondering why God chose him, and how he’ll make this all work out. There are Eastern Magi loaded down with expensive gifts and equally heavy prophecy, Anna and Simeon moving about the temple in anticipation of God’s redemptive work, a paranoid king feigning interest but harboring murderous intentions . . . a whole cast of characters with varying emotions of hope, longing and even fear.
After a long period of silence, God was breaking into history in a way unforeseen and unprecedented. Those who were leaning in—the anticipators—had eyes to see and ears to hear, as Jesus would later describe them.
I suppose there were plenty of folks in Bethlehem who didn’t notice a thing. Babies are born every day, aren’t they? Poor people without a place to stay were hovering out back in the stable—well, that’s what you get for not making reservations. Not much to see, at least for those who didn’t have eyes to see and ears to hear. The Savior of the world was born in a barn, while Caesar Augustus, Quirinius and Herod all went about their seemingly important business. They weren’t anticipating any of the right things.
Which crowd would we fall into? Are we leaning in or tuned out? This is a time of longing that calls for vigilant hearts and clear minds. Prepare ye the way of the Lord. Be alert and sober—this isn’t something to miss. Come Lord Jesus, come.
Jesus told the parable of the ten virgins, waiting in anticipation of the coming bridegroom. Five were leaning-in, while five were tuned-out. Reflect upon the two paintings as you listen to the choral anthem. Those five foolish virgins are in the dark. There is a silly, carefree frivolity about them, not knowing the door would soon close and they would be shut out. You want to shout, “Wake up, girls!”, even as they fly down the street with oil in hand. Not so the wise virgins. Nothing about their sleepy posture, huddled against the cold, would suggest they wait in expectation. But look at those burning lamps— wicks carefully trimmed and oil topped-off. Don’t be fooled by appearances: they are ready and waiting.
Lean-in and listen carefully. Prepare your hearts in expectation of the Bridegoom.
Murray Decker, Associate Professor in Intercultural Studies, & Deann Decker, Coordinator, Residence Life
LORD, find us faithful and ready. Amen
The Wise and Foolish Virgins
James Tissot (1836-1902)
Brooklyn Museum of Fine Art, Brooklyn, New York
About the Art and Artist:
James Tissot was a French Impressionist painter and graphic artist who was friends with fellow artists Edgar Degas, Édouard Manet and the American painter, James McNeil Whistler. Known for his bourgeois lifestyle, in 1888 he underwent a religious conversion when he entered a church to `catch the atmosphere for a picture', and thereafter devoted himself to religious subjects. He visited the Holy Land in 1886-87 and in 1889. His many biblical works were enormously popular, both in book form and when the original drawings and paintings were exhibited. For this devotional, paintings of both the wise and foolish virgins have been paired to show the stark contrast between them. In the upper panel the foolish virgins frivolously carry on while in the lower panel the wise virgins huddle together in somber silence, prepared and waiting in expectation for the coming bridegroom. Looking at these paintings another way an opposite reading might be appropriate. Once the groom arrives and the celebration gets underway the upper panel could represent the wise virgins in joyous response at the presence of their beloved. Likewise, the lower panel could graphically be depicting the foolish virgins, dejected and forever locked out of the wedding feast.
About the Music
In 1597 the Westphalian (German) village where pastor Philipp Nicolai lived experienced a terrible pestilence, which claimed some thirteen hundred lives in his parish alone. Nicolai turned from the constant tragedies and frequent funerals (at times he buried thirty people in one day) to meditate on "the noble, sublime doctrine of eternal life obtained through the blood of Christ." As he said, “This I allowed to dwell in my heart day and night and searched the Scriptures as to what they revealed on this matter.” Nicolai also read Augustine's City of God before he wrote this great Advent text and arranged its tune. The parable of the ten virgins (Matt. 25:1-13) was the inspiration for stanzas 1 and 2, and John's visions of the glory of Christ and the new Jerusalem (Rev. 19, 21, and 22) provide the basis for stanza 3. Wake, Awake, for Night is Flying Is a great hymn about the joyful anticipation of Christ's coming again, and one that brings comfort and hope to Christians in all situations.
About the Performers
The Concordia Choir, under the direction of Dr. Rene Clausen, is widely considered one of the world’s premier undergraduate vocal ensembles. The 72-voice choir is a leader in interpreting and advancing the Lutheran choral tradition. The choir’s long and distinguished history dates back to its beginning in 1920. The group has performed in nearly every major concert hall in the United States including Carnegie Hall and the Kennedy Center.
Website: http://www.concordiacollege.edu/music/ensembles/choirs/the-concordia-choir/
Wake, Awake, for Night is Flying Lyrics
“Wake, awake, for night is flying,
”The watchmen on the heights are crying:
“Awake, Jerusalem, arise!”
Midnight’s solemn hour is tolling,
His chariot wheels are nearer rolling;
He comes; prepare ye virgins wise.
Rise up with willing feet,
Go forth the bridegroom meet,
Hallelujah!
Bear through the night your well-trimmed light,
Speed forth to join the marriage right.
Hear thy praise, O Lord, ascending
From tongues of men and angels blending with harp and lute and psaltery.
By thy pearly gates in wonder,
We stand and swell the voice of thunder in bursts of choral melody.
No vision ever brought, no ear hath ever caught,
Such bliss and joy:
We raise the song,
we swell the throng,
To praise Thee ages all along.