December 22: The Radical Words of Jesus Concerning Relatives
♫ Music:
Day 21 - Saturday, December 22
The Radical Words of Jesus Concerning Relatives
Scripture: Luke 14:26, Matthew 19:29
If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple.
And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or lands, for my name's sake, will receive a hundredfold and will inherit eternal life.
Poetry:
Pater Noster
By Catherine Imbriglio
I
Here is your eye. Here are the alleles which give color to your eye, the mixed routes of reference, the million times more than anybody could ever be missed. Flock. The idea of flock. Hundreds of agitated birds swooping over the bridge. Our blessèd moments. Shapes of soft parts, a quantifiable relation to objects, we turn now to your vitreous humor. Shut the lights off, turn the meat down, cover your head. I started doing my duty. Graphs of a dancer’s movements. Ten sections of a neural issue. As from air to the cornea. Who in the person is larval or asexual. Who in the person will sit in. Hachure. A parallel walk. From one density to a different density. I was you, once. Come, come, under your skin. In the body receiving itself or its analogies. The my. The bow down before you. White pine to white pine. White pine to redwing to lantern fish.
II
She was full.
She was full with it.
III
and then though
through though
and then through the loop just made
IV
Believe it or not I would swap his desire to see patterns gathering. Believe it or not we set off several long-haired bodies. Believe it or not that was the whole of our aestivation. Believe it or not stop talking about me as if I were not in the room. Pop open a new one. The developing figure was a monk bent over. Come allow us to see the sower sow. She contested the waters. Get thee behind. Something in her eye kept giving you the needle. Something in her eye kept falling out of line. Believe it or not three persons in one shadow. Believe it or not could you spare a mind. It clawed each thing as if a temporal sequence. It clawed each thing as if a temporal w/hole. Believe it or not six or eight ways of counting on your reticence. Believe it or not these long thin rods and the wider cones.
THE RADICAL WORDS OF JESUS CONCERNING RELATIVES
When we were newly married, over 40 years ago now, we struggled like many do to put food on the table. Going to a movie required a month of financial planning. Several years later when we finished school, had children and two steady jobs, we had the added expenses associated with meeting the children's needs. Eventually, as with many young families, we began to have enough money to buy some things that seemed extravagant to us. We enjoyed camping, and at one point we bought a tent trailer. Later in our marriage, Donell bought a big motorcycle for Clark. Those "toys" were fun, but we remember several conversations we had about owning things. We decided that we never wanted to own anything that we wouldn't be willing to loan to someone or live without. Our thinking was that if we were that committed to something, perhaps it owned us rather than us owning it. It would indicate that our priorities were off. So, we still remember the time when some friends of ours asked to borrow our tent trailer for a camping trip with their family, and Clark remembers the tension he experienced when a colleague asked to borrow his prized motorcycle. Yet, we had an uncanny peace about giving up these items because of our commitments.
We think this is what it means when Christ says, “If anyone comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, even their own life—such a person cannot be my disciple." (Luke 14:26). What is it that stands between us and our commitment to Christ? Of course this is what Jesus alluded to in the Sermon on the Mount when he said, "For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also." (Matthew 6:21) Similarly, this cost of commitment is seen in Matthew 19 where Jesus asks the wealthy man to sell everything and give to the poor. Jesus asks us to have a strong attitude of commitment to him.
There are some important interpretive principles to keep in mind when considering the meaning of this verse. The first is the broader teaching of Scripture; the second is context of the passage itself; the third is understanding the literary device of hyperbole - exaggeration to make an important point.
God is pro-family, as seen in the creation narrative and throughout Scripture. Family is the structure that God uses to bring children into the world and to nurture them to maturity. Jesus was born into a family and was nurtured as a child. We celebrate that in this Christmas season. Children need a significant amount of care in order to develop and thrive…can you imagine not tending and training your children over their growing up years? Such an important work is part of God’s intent for family. As we have tended and nurtured our own three children we too have grown and matured….at times even more than our “littles.” Thus, the broader context of Scripture supports loving and caring family relationships as desirable although definitely hard work. ‘Dad’ Campbell, a wise father would often remind us that, “we are created for relationship; relationship is hard work; hard work builds character; and character draws us into relationship.”
The context of Luke 14 is that of commitment. Jesus describes the cost of commitment as a calling to carry the burden of the cross (Luke 14:27) and to give up everything (Luke 14:33). This is followed in the next chapter by Jesus describing God's commitment to us in the parables of the lost sheep, lost coin, and lost son. Jesus used “story” to draw us into the message of the moment – just as we tell our grandchildren stories today. Whether stories of our own growing up, stories read from a book or even stories borne out of imagination – each is designed to connect others with the main message…in this case, a message that calls for complete commitment to a loving God.
Following Christ is a costly commitment that requires trust, and it is through this trusting commitment that we find intimacy with God. Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote in The Cost of Discipleship about costly grace: "Above all, it is grace because God did not reckon his Son too dear a price to pay for our life, but delivered him up for us. Costly grace is the Incarnation of God.” His grace, celebrated in this Advent season, compels us to recommit to him and the grace he offers.
Prayer:
Gracious Father. Thank you for your commitment to us, seen so clearly in the gift of your son Jesus. We celebrate his birth today. Help us to have the faith we need to accept this gift and to be committed to you.
Amen.
Clark D. Campbell, PhD
Senior Associate Provost
Donell L. Campbell, MS, RN
Associate Director of Nursing
About the Art:
Follower (blue colored background)
Happy Reunion (rose colored background)
Since 2013
Chun Ye He
Ink on paper
These two paintings belong to a series begun by the artist in 2013 when he began to teach himself the traditional medium of Chinese ink painting, exploring the possibilities of thin washes of color on thin translucent paper in combination with Chinese and Christian symbolism. Since becoming a Christian, Chun Ye He has strategically placed a red seal stamp, a symbol of authority in Chinese tradition, with the Chinese character for the earth in his works because the original Chinese character represents a plant which looks like a cross growing up from the flat plane of the land. In Chinese tradition the dragonfly represents prosperity and harmony and serves as a good luck charm. It is associated with joy because the dragonfly flies around happily despite its short life. In these paintings they recall the transience of life that is nevertheless joyful if one is a follower of Christ. The red cross appears in an empty space in Follower signifying the divide between those who know Christ and those who do not. The swirl of dragonflies of different colors under the sign of the cross in Happy Reunion indicate the joyful gathering we anticipate as members of a new family, the family of God.
About the Artist:
Chun Ye He (b. 1968) was born in Shandong Yantai, China, and currently lives in Beijing. His work represents a sophisticated integration of traditional Chinese media and technique and contemporary style and abstraction infused with Christian themes and perspective. He graduated with a specialization in lacquer painting from Central Academy of Craft and Design in Beijing in 1992 and taught at the School of Fine Arts of University of Harbin from 1992 to 1996. Since then he has operated an independent studio, working in lacquer, sculpture, and most recently, ink painting. He has received significant commissions for his mural and lacquer work, including China’s consulate offices in New York, Korea, India, Guyana, Saudi Arabia, and the Visa Processing Hall of Hong Kong’s Immigration Department. His work has been acquired by corporate and private collectors in China, Germany, France, Italy, America, India, Japan, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, and Austria.
About the Music #1 and Music #2:
“Music for Piano: II. Changes” and “Music for Piano: III. Distant Memories” both from the album Echoes of China
About the Composer:
Alexina Diane Louie (b. 1949) is a Chinese-Canadian composer of contemporary art music. She studied in Vancouver, B.C. and Southern California, where she also taught at Pasadena City College and Los Angeles City College. Her evocative and wide-ranging works have been performed internationally and earned her a number of awards, including the Order of Canada and multiple Juno Awards.
About the Performer:
The Hong Kong-born pianist, Susan Chan, holds a Doctor of Music degree in piano from Indiana University and M.Phil. and B.A. degrees from the University of Hong Kong. She also pursued postgraduate studies at Yale University and holds the Fellowship and Licentiate Performance Diplomas from Trinity College of Music, London, UK. Chan performs extensively as soloist and chamber musician, and, in addition to traditional repertoire, actively promotes music from Asia and music composed by women. She has performed in recitals and music festivals in the USA and Canada, Europe, Australia and Asia. In Echoes of China, the recording showcases both the rich variety and the sonic surprises heard in contemporary Chinese piano music.
About the Poet:
Catherine Imbriglio is an American poet who received an MA in creative writing in 1988 and a PhD in English and American literature in 1995 from Brown University. Her collection of poems Parts of the Mass (2007) won the 2008 Norma Farber First Book Award from the Poetry Society of America. A second volume, Intimacy (2013), was awarded the Colorado Prize for Poetry. Her poems have been published in The Iowa Anthology of New American Poetries (2004) as well as the journals Conjunctions, Denver Quarterly, and American Letters & Commentary. The poems in Parts of Mass combine the language of the Roman Catholic mass with personal inquiry and linguistic exploration. Currently Imbriglio teaches at Brown University.
About the Devotional Writers:
Clark Campbell
Dean, Rosemead School Of Psychology
Biola University
Clark Campbell is currently the Dean of Rosemead School of Psychology at Biola University. He holds degrees from Wheaton College (BA) and Western Seminary (MA, PhD). He is a widely respected psychologist with more than 25 years of clinical experience. In addition to his role as Dean and Professor, he oversees the operations of the Biola Counseling Center, a university and community-based counseling center that serves the clinical training needs of the doctoral programs. He and his wife, Donell, co-authored this devotion.
Donell Campbell
Associate Professor of Nursing
Associate Director of Nursing
Biola University
Donell Campbell is an Associate Professor in the Nursing Department as an Associate Professor. Her professional career includes over 35 years nursing experience in various settings including, Intensive Care, Medical, Surgical, Home Health and Community Services with more than 15 years in management of Medical, Surgical, Social Service, Cardiopulmonary Service, and Education departments. Donell has three adult children, and one grandchild; she and her husband Clark attend Whittier Area Community Church.