December 5: God is Rich in Mercy and Grace
♫ Music:
Day 4 - Wednesday, December 5
God is Rich in Mercy and Grace
Scripture: Ephesians 2:4-9, Psalm 86:15
But God, being rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, even when we were dead through our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up with him, and made us to sit with him in the heavenly places, in Christ Jesus: that in the ages to come he might show the exceeding riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus: for by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not of works, that no man should glory.
You, O Lord, are a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness.
Poetry:
[God is already ahead and waiting: the future is full.]
by Fanny Howe
God is already ahead and waiting: the future is full.
One steps timidly over the world;
the other is companionable.
The house is there. The door is there . . . others . . .
But for you they make no sound when you’re so far.
I know the bench is by the pond tomorrow
when I can follow the streets to it by heart.
Yes, streets. Yes, heart.
Nightwalk of faith, chromosomes live in the past.
The land is an incarnation
like a hand on a hand on an arm asking do you know me?
THE FIRST WORD
The glory of Advent is summed up in the first word in our passage today: but. We were dead in sin, but God intervened. We followed the ways of this world, but God stepped in. We were disobedient and deserved wrath, but God sent His Son.
And this first word is amplified by God’s character throughout our passage today. God doesn’t simply have lots of mercy, but He is rich in mercy. God doesn’t offer just enough love for us to get by, but offers great love to provide for all our needs. God didn’t merely heal us from sickness or injury, but he brings us back from death to make us alive in Christ. And he doesn’t stop there – he offers a seat with Jesus in the heavenly places so that we can continue to experience the exceeding riches of his grace. God is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness – and even with that, we’re only scratching the surface.
The first Advent invites us to live out the first word each day. God became flesh, and now the most extravagant things are found in the familiar. God intentionally contained his infinite divinity in human flesh to pursue us where we are, and now the everlasting is located in the everyday. As the poem suggests: the Incarnation allows for a new experience of God in the land around us, if only we were to pay attention.
And so, each Advent invites us back to the wonder of the first word again. We are reminded that God works in the routine, that His activity is more often in the mundane than the miraculous. Advent bids us to see his exceeding riches in the fabric of our lives, to be more aware of how grace is nuanced each day. Advent calls us to open our eyes just a bit wider to be more aware of how He’s already moving in and around us.
Pause with the music today. Let the orchestra guide your meditation. There are no lyrics, and none are needed. And just as a good soundtrack provides animation to the routines of life, allow your prayers to enliven the way you might interact with the normal today.
Gaze at the dome and architectural brilliance of the Church of San Clemente. Soak in the beauty of the details that remind us that God is just as focused on the details of our lives. Focus on the cross, and notice how it infuses the other elements of the dome – that none of the other art is too monotonous or routine. Don’t miss the way that all the details of the dome also point back to the centrality of the cross.
What are some details in your life that you haven’t shared with God yet?
What miracles seem to be emerging in the monotony around you?
How might God be at work even if you might have missed him at first?
Prayer:
Holy, there is no one like you
There is none beside you
Open up my eyes in wonder
And show me who you are
And fill me with your heart
And lead me in love to those around me.
-Housefires
Mike Ahn
Director of Chapels & Worship
Host of The Biola Hour, Spiritual Development
Biola University
About the Artwork:
Tree of Life, 1130s
Apse mosaic
San Clemente, Rome, Italy
Situated above the high altar, the apse mosaic of the church of San Clemente presents a glorious vision of Christ on the Cross depicted as the Tree of Life from which flow the four rivers of paradise. Sprouting from an acanthus plant at its base are vines that that nourish an abundance of life—birds and animals, fruit, cherubs, a shepherd, and the Doctors of the Church—symbolizing the life-giving and sustaining power of the Cross and the perfect order that is God’s design. Directly below is Christ the Sacrificial Lamb flanked by twelve sheep representing the followers of Christ. The Tree of Life is framed by a triumphal arch presenting, on the right, the city of Jerusalem, the prophet Jeremiah, and Saints Peter and Clement. On the left are Bethlehem, the prophet Isaiah, and Saints Paul and Lawrence. At its apex is Christ Pantocrator, ruler of all, flanked by the four Living Creatures of the Book of Revelation. The inscription framing the Tree of Life reads, “Glory to God in heaven seated on His throne and on earth peace to men of good will.” Completed and consecrated in 1118-19, the present church replaced the Early Christian basilica dating from the fourth century, which was also dedicated to Pope St. Clement, the first Apostolic Father of the Church.
About the Artist:
Unknown
About the Music:
“Circles” from the album The Tree Of Life (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
About the Composer and Performer:
Award-winning French film composer Alexandre Desplat (b. 1961) has won numerous nominations and awards for his work in French and American cinema. He has written music for films such as Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 1 and Part 2, The Queen, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, The King's Speech, Moonrise Kingdom, Argo, Godzilla, The Imitation Game, Unbroken, and Isle of Dogs. He won Academy Awards for both The Grand Budapest Hotel and The Shape of Water (2018). Desplat also wrote the soundtrack for the experimental epic drama film Tree of Life, directed by Terrence Malick. Desplat’s meditative compositional style complements the film’s breathtaking cinematography and artistic exploration of the mysteries of family, love, and loss.
About the Poet:
Fanny Howe (b. 1940) is an American poet, novelist, and short story writer. She grew up in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and studied at Stanford University. Howe has received awards from the National Endowment for the Arts, the National Poetry Foundation, the California Council for the Arts, and the Village Voice, as well as fellowships from the Bunting Institute and the MacDowell Colony. She was awarded the Ruth Lilly Poetry Prize in 2009, presented annually by the Poetry Foundation to a living U.S. poet whose lifetime accomplishments warrant extraordinary recognition. Howe’s collections of poetry include The Needle’s Eye (2016), Second Childhood (2014), Come and See (2011), On the Ground (2004), Gone (2003), Selected Poems (2000), Forged (1999), Q (1998), One Crossed Out (1997), O’Clock (1995), and The End (1992). “If someone is alone reading my poems, I hope it would be like reading someone’s notebook. A record. Of a place, beauty, difficulty. A familiar daily struggle,” Howe explained in a 2004 interview with the Kenyon Review. Howe taught for almost 20 years at MIT, Tufts University, and elsewhere, before taking a job at the University of California at San Diego, where she is now professor emerita.
About the Devotional Writer:
Mike Ahn
Director of Chapels & Worship
Host of The Biola Hour, Spiritual Development
Biola University
Mike Ahn oversees chapel programs, worship teams, Torrey Conference, and The Biola Hour podcast. He is a graduate of Talbot’s Institute for Spiritual Formation (M.Div. ’09), and is currently completing his Ph.D. in Educational Studies (also at Talbot). If he could, he would have two In-N-Out cheeseburgers with chopped chilis, animal style fries, and a Pamplemousse LaCroix for every meal.