December 21: The Righteous Shall Live by His Faith
♫ Music:
Day 19 - Thursday, December 21
Title: The Righteous Shall Live by His Faith
Scripture: Habakkuk 2:1-4
I will take my stand at my watchpost and station myself on the tower, and look out to see what he will say to me, and what I will answer concerning my complaint. And the Lord answered me: “Write the vision; make it plain on tablets, so he may run who reads it. For still the vision awaits its appointed time; it hastens to the end—it will not lie. If it seems slow, wait for it; it will surely come; it will not delay. “Behold, his soul is puffed up; it is not upright within him, but the righteous shall live by his faith.
Poetry:
Dear Millennium, Inadequate Witness
By Karen An-hwei Lee
Say we no longer bear witness to a body-politic of trauma
after revolution
by anesthesia or erasure. Say we cover our eyes
to crossed olive-wood beams on a hill. Modes of witness
expose our inadequacy, the human. Forgetting
is a sign—yes, a thing once existed. Say we are unworthy
of witness, internal or external—
our damaged wisdom, for instance,
our diminished capacity for empathy
and heightened apathy to torture
mingled with doves
of unfettered desire
or an eclipsed divine.
IN DIALOGUE THERE IS HOPE
I have always admired the prophet Habakkuk for his tenacity in seeking the Lord. When faced with a vision of the Babylonian captivity, the prophet’s response was to go before God to voice his complaint. But this was not a one-sided monologue of complaint to the Almighty. Habakkuk respectfully stood watch, waited, and listened for the Lord’s response to his concerns and fears.
I will stand on my guard post and station myself on the rampart; And I will keep watch to see what He will speak to me, and how I may reply when I am reproved. (NASB)
As the prophet focused his eyes upward to the Lord for his response, I believe he was also looking inward, examining himself. Habakkuk knew that he was a finite being and knew that the Infinite One who had spoken the oracle of the future of Judah would bring correction to his own soul. His eyes and spirit waited and watched for the Lord, but he was also very aware of his own response as he engaged in dialogue with his creator.
I have thought of Habakkuk several times this fall as I’ve read the news. I have to admit that it has been tempting to shut my eyes to the headlines and the major catastrophes that have beset so many. And yet I choose to lift my eyes up, posturing myself much like the individual in Barbara de Reus Kamma’s work of art. There may be afflictions and conflicts surrounding her, however, there is resolve in her upward gaze. I believe the melody in her heart is one of hope, much like the melody of “Bright Morning Stars are Rising.” There is an element of lament, and yet there is resolve of an unswerving hope, and commitment to a life of faith.
The author of Hebrews quoted Habakkuk as he encouraged believers to persevere, to remain in the faith. Therefore do not throw away your confidence, which has a great reward. For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God you may receive what is promised. For, “Yet a little while, and the coming one will come and will not delay; but my righteous one shall live by faith.”
Heb. 10:35-37 (ESV)
This Christmas season it is my hope to emulate what I have learned from my favorite prophet. As I bring the concerns of the day to the Almighty, I know that He will be faithful to answer and also to bring correction in order to renew and restore my soul. He may even compose a psalm of praise within me, much like the one recorded at the end of the book of Habakkuk.
Prayer:
Holy Father, We thank you that because of Christ we can draw near to you. Thank you that you choose to dialogue with us. When this world or dire circumstance tempt us to look down or grow discouraged, lift our face to You, O Lord, and help us to live by faith, to stand on our watchtower like Habakkuk and wait for You to answer.
Amen
Suzanne Welty
Associate Professor of Communication Sciences and Disorders.
About the Artwork:
Remember Me, 1992
Barbara de Reus Kamma
Collage of leather and found materials
140 x 75 cm
About the Artist and Artwork:
Barbara de Reus Kamma (1933-2014) grew up on the island of New Guinea. During her childhood World War II broke out and she spent years in a Japanese concentration camp. After the war, she moved to the Netherlands. Her traumatic past may be the key to her art. She preferred to use weather-beaten, discarded, used and worn materials in her work. About her work she stated, “The materials need to have gone through something. By including them in artworks I give them a second life, a form of survival. Human beings have a central place in most of my work: alone or together, in joy or sorrow, strong or powerless... and how one survives.” Her work after 1995 was filled with stillness and space. Remember Me recalls the words: “Jesus, remember me when You come in Your kingdom,” spoken by the repentant criminal crucified next to Christ.
About the Music:
“Bright Morning Stars are Rising” from the album City of Refuge
Lyrics:
Bright morning stars are rising,
Day is a’ breaking in my soul.
And where are our dear fathers?
They're down in the valley a’ praying.
Day is a’ breaking in my soul.
And where are our dear mothers?
They've gone up to heaven a’ shouting.
Day is a’ breaking in my soul.
About the Composer:
The final track on City of Refuge, “Bright Morning Stars,” is a traditional Appalachian folk song hailing from Kentucky and appearing in many old hymnals and anthologies, most notably in Ruth Crawford Seeger’s American Folk Songs for Christmas (published 1953). “Bright morning stars” are popularly thought to refer to angels.
About the Performer:
Innovative American folk artist Abigail Washburn (b. 1977) sings and plays clawhammer banjo as a soloist, band member, and in a duo with her husband Béla Fleck. In addition to her passion for music, Washburn has spent much of her life studying and living in China, and in 2013 became Vanderbilt University’s first US-China Center Fellow due to her work as an ambassador building relations through music. Her second solo album City of Refuge was completed as she launched “The Silk Road Tour,” collaborating and performing throughout China, Mongolia, and Tibet.
About the Poet:
Karen An-hwei Lee (b. 1973) is a Chinese American poet, translator, and critic. She earned an MFA in creative writing from Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island, and a PhD in literature from the University of California, Berkeley. Lee has received six Pushcart Prize nominations, the Poetry Society of America's Norma Farber First Book Award, the Kathryn A. Morton Prize for Poetry from Sarabande Books, and the July Open Award sponsored by Tupelo Press. Lee’s work appears in journals such as The American Poet, Poetry, Kenyon Review, Gulf Coast, Journal of Feminist Studies & Religion, Iowa Review, and IMAGE: Art, Faith, & Mystery. The recipient of an NEA Fellowship, Lee currently serves as a Professor of English at Vanguard University of Southern California in Costa Mesa, California.
About the Devotional Writers:
Suzanne Welty is an Associate Professor of Communication Sciences and Disorders who earned her EdD in Educational Leadership, Teaching and Learning from Azusa Pacific University. Welty specializes in diagnosing and remediating communication, behavioral and social challenges of individuals diagnosed with Autism, and other developmental disabilities. In addition, Welty has a passion for missions and has spent many summers in the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland, and Germany and finds joy in visiting, praying for, and encouraging those who are serving Christ world-wide.