December 1: In the Likeness of Sinful Flesh
♫ Music:
Tuesday, December 1
Scripture: Romans 8:3
For what the Law could not do, weak as it was through the flesh, God did: sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and as an offering for sin.
IN THE LIKENESS OF SINFUL FLESH
It never ceases to amaze me that, as a rule, life almost never turns out the way I had imagined it would. To clarify, I’m not thinking about the uneventful experiences like my drive to work or my nightly bedtime routine. I find these monotonous and mundane events usually unfold just fine on their own. Rather, it’s the more momentous events that seem, with some regularity, to turn out differently than I had hoped. These experiences show up when I’ve truly longed for something that eludes me. And when this reality inevitably repeats itself, I almost always manage to feel shocked, bewildered, and—if I can muster the honesty—disappointed.
Consider the hope we put into our family vacations or our holiday get-togethers. By the time these experiences arrive, they have virtually no chance of fulfilling our great expectations. It is hard to admit, but I noticed this phenomenon as a freshman in college, when I was away from home. I sensed it as a newlywed, a first-time home owner, a brand new father, and as an employee who finally landed his dream job. I even experience it as a follower of Christ. I’m frequently in the position to whisper to myself: life almost never turns out the way I had imagined it would.
But as I nurse my sadness about this disillusionment, I realize that my focus on what might have been often cripples my ability to receive what God has given.
In Mere Christianity, C.S. Lewis reminds us of our tendency to cling to the illusion of our lofty expectations while being taught how to adjust to God’s way, receiving Him on His own terms. He writes, “It comes the very moment you wake up each morning. All your wishes and hopes for the day rush at you like wild animals. And the first job each morning consists simply in shoving them all back; in listening to that other voice, taking that other point of view, letting that other larger, stronger, quieter life come flowing in.”
God Incarnate, arriving as a humble and vulnerable baby; this is not what God’s people expected, and so many of them missed Him. As Paul reminds us in Romans 8:3, many persisted in their expectation that Law keeping would eventually deliver them. They didn’t anticipate God's intervention in the form of a child. They didn’t recognize Jesus as the “larger, stronger, quieter life” of God flowing into creation.
The selected song, “O Savior of Our Fallen Race,” along with Carol Bomer and Mark Frederick’s images, invite us to contemplate our hopes and expectations for the embodied Christ, and to consider receiving Him as He is. He arrived as a baby in the flesh. If we would have seen Him, He might not have seemed particularly exceptional. His humble birth, along with his brutal execution as a common criminal, would have indeed highlighted His presence with us, but the limitations of His body would have been seen as well. Do we receive Him as He comes to us? Or do we conjure a vision of Him to fit our desire? In this season of Advent, we prepare our hearts to receive Him as He is, not as we imagine Him to be.
PRAYER
Lord, have mercy on us as we confess our lofty expectations for You and for our lives. This Christmas, prepare our hearts to receive You as You are, not as we imagine You. As our hopes come rushing at us each day, teach us to listen for Your larger, stronger, quieter life.
Amen.
Chad Miller, Director of Spiritual Formation
About the Artists and Art
Artwork #1
The Presentation
Carol Bomer
Oil and Charcoal on Canvas
Artwork #2
Take This Body
Mark Fredricks
Drawing on paper
Carol Bomer was born in Alberta, Canada and pursued a career in teaching before she became a professional painter. Bomer studied art at the University of North Carolina at Asheville, where she established the Soli Deo Gloria Studio. As an abstract expressionist, Bomer seeks to explore themes that center around “the human condition surprised by the grace of God.” The Presentation is part of Bomer’s Word/Image series. She writes that this piece “points to the truth and mystery of Christ who is “the Word made flesh.” He is the creator of things seen and unseen. He is Spirit & flesh and Word & Image. He speaks daily in creation to the ‘fullness of His glory.’ This Master of layered meanings, allegory, metaphor, and the ‘revealer of secrets,’ brings beauty and grace to a broken world.”
Website: www.gracecarolbomer.com/home.html
Mark Fredricks is a alumnus of the Biola University Department of Art. Shortly after graduating, Fredricks created Take This Body as part of a series on early church symbolism and sacramental Christianity. His exploration of ancient Christian imagery eventually led him to the Eastern Orthodox faith. Today he is known as Father Moses, a monk at Saint Gregory of Sinai Monastery located in the mountains of Northern California. The icon workshop at St. Gregory’s specializes in egg tempera portable icons, large fresco panels, and mosaics. Father Moses works and studies with master iconographer, Father Patrick Doolan—one of the leading iconographers living today.
Website: www.gsinai.com
About the Music
“O Savior of Our Fallen Race”
Lyrics
O Savior of our fallen race,
O Brightness of the Father’s face,
O Son who shared the Father’s might,
Before the world knew day or night.
O Jesus, very light of light,
Our constant star in sin’s deep night:
Now hear the prayers your people pray,
Throughout the world this holy day.
Remind us Lord of life and grace,
How once to save our fallen race,
You put our human vesture on,
And came to us as Mary’s son.
Today, as year by year its light,
Brings to our world a promise bright,
One precious truth outshines the sun:
Salvation comes from You alone.
For from the Father’s throne you came,
His banished children to reclaim.
And earth and sea and sky revere,
The love of Him who sent You here.
And we are jubilant today,
For You have washed our guilt away.
O hear the glad new song we sing
On this, the birth of Christ our King!
O Savior of our fallen race,
The world will see your radiant face.
For you who came to us before,
Will come again and all restore.
Let songs of praise your name adorn,
O Christ, Redeemer, virgin-born,
Whom with the Father we adore,
And Holy Spirit evermore.
Alleluia! Alleluia! Amen!
Amen!
About the Composer/Performers
Keith and Kristyn Getty occupy a unique place in the world of music today as preeminent modern hymn writers. In re-inventing the traditional hymn form, they have created a distinguished catalogue of songs teaching Christian doctrine and crossing genres by connecting the world of traditional and classical composition with contemporary and globally-accessible melodies. These modern hymns are rooted in the traditions of Celtic and English hymnody, handed down to the Northern Ireland-born couple and their long-time writing partner, Stuart Townend. Their best known hymn, “In Christ Alone” (penned by Keith and Stuart, and recorded by Keith and Kristyn) echoes this heritage and has been voted one of the best-loved hymns of all time in the UK. Originally a 6th century Latin carol, Kristyn Getty has made alterations to “O Savior of Our Fallen Race” with the aim of turning the song into a missional prayer that emphasizes the return of Christ.
Website: www.gettymusic.com