December 12: The Christ Child is Blessed
♫ Music:
Day 11 - Wednesday, December 12
The Christ Child is Blessed
Scripture: Luke 2:27-33
And Simeon came in the Spirit into the temple, and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him according to the custom of the Law, he took him up in his arms and blessed God and said, “Lord, now you are letting your servant depart in peace, according to your word; for my eyes have seen your salvation that you have prepared in the presence of all peoples, a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and for glory to your people Israel.” And his father and his mother marveled at what was said about him.
Poetry:
Form
by Brianna Flavin
Form
for the art therapist
Then, only my mother knew
the gold dripping from me
what was light in the darkness of her belly
what swirled into lightness,
curve of a small back
brimming with elasticity
even then—
strokes of sadness were mine
the color of dawn huing dark water
in my form you could see
how I needed the pain of being
how I curled around it, like a seed
how I made myself water
to hold every color, be atmosphere
how I find this pose on the floor
this is what I believed in
a reversal
the elemental body teaching its soul
how to bend, how to blend
find a portal,
be a door.
I look for it now
the lightning
inside
always been a sucker
for anything that glows
I go alone in winter
to the lake, ice luminous when the sky is right
my God—it’s like looking through death
to the afterlife
I walk over it, ochreing, ambering,
blush rosing in the cold
without the lake
I’m a streak of shadow against sky
lie down,
woman of water freezing over
feel this brimming light.
ADVENT WONDER
St. Luke records Simeon seeing the Christ child and praying, ““Lord, now you are letting your servant depart in peace, According to your word” (Luke 2:29). The Latin version of this verse is sung in the evenings by members of the Taizé Community in Southern France. With the young people who come to Taizé from around the world, the monks sing, “Nunc dimittis servum tuum, Domine, Domine, secundum, verbuum tuum, in pace.” The crowds of diverse worshippers at Taizé sing in harmony as they together ask God to close their day “in pace,” “in peace.” For Simeon, as for the singers of Taizé, this peace arises from Christ. We can find the same peace of Christ in moments of stillness and wonder as we pause in expectation to focus on the mystery of the incarnation.
In the scriptural account of Christ’s presentation at the temple, there is another elderly figure who recognizes his significance. Her name is Anna; and she is a devout and faithful Jewish widow who has given her life sacrificially to daily service in the temple. She is a model of faithful commitment to Yahweh, and St. Luke refers to her as a prophet who continually worships in the temple with fasting and prayer. When Anna glimpses Jesus as a child, she responds in a slightly different way than Simeon. She first praises God and then enthusiastically spreads the good news of Christ’s birth with zeal, “to all who were looking for the redemption of Israel” (Luke 2:38). Her prophetic calling is clear.
Within his fifteenth-century illuminated manuscript, Italian artist and engraver Giovanni Pietro Birago represents the patient devotion of Anna. In the foreground of the image, Simeon holds up the Christ child and foretells his role, while Mary protectively positions her hands behind and below her son as she listens to Simeon. Himself a devout Jew, Joseph stands by with doves for temple sacrifice. Anna’s figure is slightly obscured, but her face is discernible behind Christ’s lifted right hand. Her own hands are folded in a reverent gesture, indicating a certain awe, as she quietly observes Christ.
Simeon and Anna had both waited expectantly for years, hoping to see the Messiah. When the Christ child arrived, Simeon responded with deep peace, and Anna responded with an evangelical joy. Both were struck, in ways that changed their lives, by the sublime love of Yahweh paradoxically embodied in a small child. As we move through the weeks of Advent, may we likewise be struck anew by the truth of Christ’s incarnation. May we pause and silently reflect on the hope, peace, joy, and love, which Christ continually offers, and may we extend the wonder of Advent to others.
Prayer:
Lord,
Help us grow still enough to hear the splintering of starlight in the winter sky and the roar at earth’s fiery core. Help us grow still enough to hear the stir of a single snowflake in the air, so that our inner silence may be turned into hushed expectation.
We ask this in the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Saviour,
Amen
(Adapted from a blessing written by Brother David Steindl-Rast).
Dr. Natasha Duquette
Professor of English
Tyndale University College.
Toronto, Canada
About the Artwork
Initial "S" with the Presentation in the Temple,
ca. 1470
Giovanni Petro Birago (Italian, active 1470 - 1513)
Former Attr.: Francesco del Cossa (1435/1436-ca. 1477)
Tempera and gold leaf on vellum
6 5/8 in x 6 ½ in
The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, MO
Purchase: Nelson Trust [33-1363]
This elaborate, intricately gilded initial "S" has been cut from a page of text from a choir book produced for the Old Cathedral in Brescia, Italy, near Milan. A choir book is a large format manuscript used by choirs in churches in the Middle Ages and Renaissance, with notation large enough for the entire choir to read from a single hand-made book. While many choir books were simple utilitarian manuscripts, some included lavish ornamentation as seen in this historiated (illustrated) capital at the opening of a page. In keeping with the Renaissance’s renewed interest in the implications of Christ’s humanity, Simeon holds up the infant Jesus so one can see that he is a human boy in every way. His mother Mary and Joseph, carrying the pair of doves required for sacrifice in a basket, observe with rapt attention. The rampant lion of Brescia’s coat of arms appears on the shield held by the little angel at the lower left. The compact scene has the spatial clarity, depth, architectural framing and sculptural qualities, and palpable intimacy and human feeling of the Italian Renaissance style.
About the Artist:
Giovanni Pietro Birago (active 1470–1513) was an Italian Renaissance miniaturist and engraver. He was known for a long time as the Master of the Sforza Book of Hours until his actual identity was confirmed after the discovery of new documents in the 19th century. He was a priest and chaplain in the service of Bona Sforza (1449-1503), widow of Galeazzo Sforza, for whom he illustrated the famous Book of Hours ca. 1490. The eighteen volumes of choirbooks for the Old Cathedral of Brescia are early works. He also worked for Lodovico il Moro, Duke of Milan and for Louis XII of France, later in his career. His miniatures are characterized by bodily corporeality, elaborate yet constrained ornamentation, and gorgeous color relationships that give his illuminations impact that defies their small size.
About the Music:
“Ich habe genug, BWV 82: I. Aria. Ich habe genug” from the album Bach: Cantatas for Bass
Lyrics
Ich habe genug,
Ich habe den Heiland, das Hoffen der Frommen,
Auf meine begierigen Arme genommen;
Ich habe genug!
Ich hab ihn erblickt,
Mein Glaube hat Jesum ans Herze gedrückt;
Nun wünsch ich, noch heute mit Freuden
Von hinnen zu scheiden.
[Translation]:
I have enough,
I have taken the Savior, the hope of the righteous,
Into my eager arms;
I have enough!
I have beheld Him,
My faith has pressed Jesus to my heart;
Now I wish, even today with joy
To depart from here.
About the Composer:
Johannes Sebastian Bach (1685-1750) was a German composer, organist, harpsichordist, violist, and violinist of the Baroque period. He established German styles through his skill in counterpoint, harmonic and motivic organization, and the adaptation of rhythms, forms, and textures from abroad, particularly from Italy and France. Bach's compositions include the Brandenburg Concertos, the Mass in B minor, The Well-Tempered Clavier, two Passions, keyboard works, and more than 300 cantatas, of which nearly 100 cantatas have been lost to posterity. His music is revered for its intellectual depth, technical command, and artistic beauty.
About the Performers:
Matthias Goerne, Freiburger Barockorchester, and Gottfried von der Goltz
Matthias Goerne (b. 1967 is a German baritone. Since his opera début at the Salzburg Festival in 1997, Goerne has appeared on opera stages worldwide, including the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden; Teatro Real, Madrid; Paris National Opera; Vienna State Opera; and the Metropolitan Opera, New York. From 2001 through 2005, Matthias Goerne taught as an honorary professor of song interpretation at the Robert Schumann Academy of Music in Düsseldorf. In 2001, he was appointed an Honorary Member of the Royal Academy of Music in London. His carefully chosen roles range from Wolfram (Tannhäuser), Amfortas (Parsifal), Kurwenal (Tristan), and Orest (Electra) right up to the title roles in Alban Berg's Wozzeck, Bartók's Bluebeard's Castle, Hindemith's Mathis der Maler and Reimann's Lear.
Freiburger Barockorchester (Freiburg Baroque Orchestra) is a German orchestra founded in 1987 with the mission statement "to enliven the world of Baroque music with new sounds." The orchestra is based in Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany. In addition to Baroque music, it has performed works by composers such as Beethoven, Schubert, and Weber, and as well as some contemporary composers. The orchestra gave its first concert in 1987 and began touring abroad with a performance in Amsterdam in 1989. Violinists Gottfried von der Goltz and Petra Müllejans are among their regular musical directors. The orchestra performs a quarter of its concerts with guest conductors such as Ivor Bolton, René Jacobs, Philippe Herreweghe, Pablo Heras-Casado, and Trevor Pinnock.
Gottfried (Graf) von der Goltz (b. 1964) is a German-Norwegian violinist, and conductor specializing in the Baroque repertoire. He is now the musical leader of the Freiburger Barockorchester. From 1997 to 2004 he held a professorship with the Hochschule für Musik Würzburg in Würzburg, Germany. In October 2004, he was a professor in violin and Baroque violin at the Hochschule für Musik Freiburg. Since January 2007, von der Goltz has also been artistic director of the Oslo-based Norwegian Baroque Orchestra. His extensive discography and DVD production include recordings as soloist, chamber musician, and conductor.
About the Poet:
Brianna Flavin's poems have appeared in numerous venues including Quiddity, Nashville Review, and Rock & Sling. Originally from Saint Paul, she received her MFA from the University of Virginia and currently teaches composition and literature at North Central University.
About the Devotional Writer:
Dr. Natasha Duquette
Professor of English
Tyndale University College.
Toronto, Canada
Dr. Natasha Duquette is a professor of English at Tyndale University College in Toronto. She has edited two essay collections: Sublimer Aspects: Interfaces between Literature, Aesthetics, and Theology (Cambridge Scholars, 2007) and Jane Austen and the Arts: Elegance, Propriety, and Harmony (Lehigh University Press, 2013). Her monograph Veiled Intent: Dissenting Women’s Aesthetic Approach to Biblical Interpretation was published by Pickwick in 2016. In 2019, Fortress Press will release Duquette’s series of Austenian meditations titled A 30-Day Journey with Jane Austen.