December 30: His Own Received Him Not
♫ Music:
Wednesday, December 30
Scripture: Isaiah 53:3 and John 1:11-13
He was despised and rejected by men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief. He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him.
But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.
HIS OWN RECEIVED HIM NOT
What a wonderful and truly warm welcome the prodigal son received when he returned home! Yet what rejection the Lord received from His own people, while they refused to accept His message and the gifts He brought with Him—gifts of salvation, inner peace, and heart-felt joy.
Charles Spurgeon writes of the negative reception the Lord received: "When our Lord was on earth, what was the treatment He received? Were His claims acknowledged, His instructions followed, His perfection worshipped by those whom He came to bless? No. 'He was despised and rejected by men.'" He suffered the pain of loneliness while in the desert and the separation from all those who didn't know who He was. The grief of this separation and the sorrow was His, but it is also the experience of many men and woman today.
This reality of shared suffering is noted in Nicholas Wolterstorff's Lament for a Son. "God is not only the God of the sufferers but the God who suffers. The pain and fallenness of humanity have entered into his heart… to redeem our brokenness and lovelessness the God who suffers with us did not strike some mighty blow of power but sent his beloved son to suffer like us… Instead of explaining our suffering God shares it."
When my own son and daughter rejected me, I was devastated for several years. My comfort came from the awareness of His presence and the knowledge that the suffering savior knew much greater rejection. His own people turned their backs on Him. They looked the other way and failed to seek Him. That's a reminder of the story a friend told me recently. As a young boy, he was playing hide-and-seek with his friends. He stayed hidden as the sky grew darker only to realize he needed to be home before dark. So he came out of hiding. But no one was there. His friends were no longer looking for him. They had turned their backs on him and gone to their own homes. My friend felt lonely and rejected.
The other side of the coin for Christ was the reception from those who did receive Him, believed His message of good news, and were adopted as children of God. God became their father and Christ their friend and brother. All of the adopted are now members of God's family whose names, along with the names of Isaiah and John, are all in the same family register.
In my own experience, the "adoption" of sons, daughters, brothers, nephews, and grandchildren has brought me great joy. So then may you and I bring joy to God by becoming obedient, loving, and faithful adopted children of God.
PRAYER
Lord, I give You thanks for Your coming to earth, for Your message of hope, and Your gifts of salvation, peace, and joy. By your Spirit, may I more fully come to know the depths of Your love to myself, Your adopted one, and all of my brothers and sisters in Christ. And may my thanks become praise to your glory.
Amen.
William Lock, Professor Emeriti, Conservatory of Music
Christ in the Wilderness
Ivan Kramskoy
Oil on Canvas
Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow, Russia
About the Artist and Art
Ivan Nikolaevich Kramskoy (1837-1887), a Russian painter and art critic, was an intellectual leader of the Russian Democratic Art Movement from 1860-1880. Influenced by the ideas of revolutionary democrats, Kramskoi asserted the public responsibility of the artist, principles of realism, and the moral substance of art. Christ in the Wilderness reflects Jesus’ forty day fast in the wilderness. It is one in a series of paintings the artist completed on the life of Christ. In it, Kramskoy used cool colors to create a feeling of isolation and rejection. The painting also endeavors to emphasize Christ’s hypostatic (divine and human) union.
About the Music
Sweet Little Jesus Boy
Lyrics
Sweet little Jesus Boy,
They made You be born in a manger.
Sweet little Holy Child,
Didn't know who You was.
Didn't know You'd come to save us, Lord;
To take our sins away.
Our eyes was blind, we couldn't see,
We didn't know who You was.
Long time ago, You was born-
Born in a manger low, sweet little Jesus boy.
The world treat You mean Lord,
Treat me mean too; but that's how things is down here —
We don't know who You is.
You done told us how we is a tryin',
Master you done show'd us how,
Even when You was dyin'.
Just seem like we can't do right, look how we treated You.
But please, sir, forgive us, Lord —
We didn't know 'twas You.
Sweet little Jesus Boy, born long time ago.
Sweet little Holy Child,
And we didn't know who You was.
About the Spiritual
Sweet Little Jesus Boy was composed by Robert MacGimsey and published in 1934. Written in the style of an African-American spiritual, it has been recorded by many choirs and solo artists like Mahalia Jackson, Kenny Rogers, Natalie Cole, Casting Crowns, and many others.
About the Performer
Jessye Norman (b. 1945) is one of the most celebrated artists of our time. She regularly performs with the world’s most prestigious orchestras, opera companies, and in recitals with the major music centres across the globe. A dramatic soprano, Norman was born in Augusta, Georgia. In 1969, she debuted as an opera singer in Tannhaeuser at the Deutsche Opera Berlin. Norman’s speciality is Wagnerian repertoire in the roles of Sieglinde, Ariadne, Alceste, and Leonore. In 1990, Javier Perez de Cuellar named Norman honorary ambassador to the United Nations. Among other honors, Norman has been inducted into the Georgia Music Hall of Fame and is a Spingarn Medalist.
Website: www.jessyenormanschool.org