January 1: Joint Heirs with Christ
♫ Music:
Day 31 - Tuesday, January 1
Joint Heirs with Christ
Scripture: Romans 8:15-17
But you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!” The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him.
Poetry:
Advent
by Lisa Russ Spaar
Blue pietá, bend and darken
the darker mountains’ lap;
depose with clarity
the cataract of one falling star.
plot these housetops, each roof
a steeply pitched page of snow.
Rough up the shrubs, strung with lights,
the ice-inflected bamboo blades,
And clatter them against the fence,
the shed, the creaking racks of trees.
I’m haunted by your supple spark,
the hidden glide of soul
beneath the puddle’s frozen stare,
our world stripped and bled
for this illumination.
BELOVED CHILD
In this final week of Advent, we transition from anticipating Christ’s coming to pondering how to consciously embrace and carry the extraordinary message of God’s unconditional love with us into a New Year. The great mystery of Christmas is not simply that Jesus came, but that He continues to journey with us each moment—such that we never have to feel alone or lost in our struggles.
Long before Biblegateway.com provided the convenience of comparing Scripture translations with a few easy clicks, my standard practice was to make a beeline for my dad’s well-worn New Testament in Modern English by J.B. Phillips, its crimson cover readily visible on the family bookcase. And Phillips’ rendering of today’s reading from Romans 8:15-17 beautifully reinforces this idea that not only does God journey with us, but that we are members of His very family:
You have been adopted into the very family circle of God and you can say with a full heart, “Father, my Father." The Spirit himself endorses our inward conviction that we really are the children of God. Think what that means. If we are his children we share his treasures, and all that Christ claims as his will belong to all of us as well! Yes, if we share in his suffering we shall certainly share in his glory.
Yes, indeed, think of all that means! We are God’s dear children, sharing in all His treasures. And in Eugene Peterson’s wonderful paraphrase, The Message, we read, “If we go through the hard times with him, then we’re certainly going to go through the good times with him!”
Despite the best of intentions, however, once the New Year commences with its requirements, challenges, and unexpected demands, we easily lose perspective and often fail to recognize His reassuring presence—in both the hard times and the good times.
Slightly more than a decade ago, I initiated a spiritual practice that has become an essential part of my annual rhythm. As the day dawns on January 1st, I curl up with a soft blanket throw and a hot cup of coffee to sit quietly with the Lord. I intentionally pause at this juncture between the 365 days that are behind me and those that are yet before me and take time to be present with Jesus—to remember. I recall to mind the places where I experienced considerable pain as well as exhilarating joy; I reflect on the moments where I sensed His presence and heard His voice. This is enhanced by re-reading my journal and reminiscing on the ways His faithfulness was manifested through each consolation and desolation. Without exception, this practice ushers my heart to a place of profound gratitude and a recognition that quite often, God was at work for my good in ways that weren’t evident to me in the immediate moment.
With a renewed perspective, my heart is now prepared to sit in silence and to prayerfully journal about my hopes and desires in the year to come, recording any Scripture or words of encouragement, hope, or guidance that He might speak. I’ve found that simple practice creates a sacred place I can return to again and again as the year unfolds, providing a constant reminder of the incarnational message of Advent—that I am the beloved child of a Loving Father who invites me into an ever deepening relationship so that I can more fully share in His treasures.
Prayer:
Grant, O Lord,
that as the years change,
I may find rest in Your eternal changelessness.
May I meet this new year bravely,
secure in the faith that,
while we come and go,
and life changes around us,
You are always the same,
guiding us with Your wisdom,
and protecting us with Your love. Amen.
—William Temple (1881–1944)
Deborah Taylor
Provost and Senior Vice President
Biola University
About the Artwork:
New Morning, 2014
David Blow
Digital photograph
28 in x 40 in
New Morning presents a transcendent vision of a new day, serene and harmonious, where we are entirely at one with each other and the source of our being, God. There is a hushed air of reverence in the cathedral-like canopy of tree branches with pairs of doves perched in their branches as a faint yellow light penetrates the blanket of clouds above. These deeply moving experiences of oneness with something larger than ourselves provide us with a glimpse of that wholeness and rest we can only find in God. Artist David Blow has said he is interested in “peace, solitude, comfort, and joy, as well as color, rhythm, shape, and pattern. Whether it is the rhythmic circling of the birds overhead or when the air is filled with the aroma of cherry blossom and the song of the robin, you have the feeling of God’s guidance and order in the world.”
About the Artist:
David Blow is an American printmaker and photographer, recognized for the poetic quality of his digitally altered images. He is a graduate of the Kendall School of Design, and earned his BFA from Michigan State University, and MFA from Syracuse University. He worked for several years as an art director in Traverse City, Michigan. In 2012 he retired from the College of Visual Arts and Design at the University of North Texas after 32 years. He has been awarded numerous exhibitions and recognitions, including a retrospective of his work in 2013 at the University of North Texas, which featured his Americana, Word, and Nature series. Blow has exhibited his prints in numerous galleries including, Gallery Z, Munich, Germany; Gallery X; Houston Center for Photography; Museum of Abilene, Abilene; One 9zero6 Gallery, San Antonio; George Fox University, Newberg, OR; and Boston Printmakers, Wenham, MA. His prints have also been included in American Photo & Juxtapoz magazines and in the books The Next Generation: Contemporary Expressions of Faith (2005) and David Blow Nature's Poetic Vision (2011) a collection of poetic quotations and digitally altered images that “bridge the gap between ecology and theology.”
About the Music:
“Appalachia Waltz” from the album Appalachia Waltz
About the Composers and the Performers:
Mark O'Connor, Yo-Yo Ma, and Edgar Meyer
Edgar Meyer (b. 1960) is an American bassist, multi-instrumentalist, and composer. His styles include classical, bluegrass, newgrass, and jazz. Meyer has worked as a session musician in Nashville, Tennessee, as part of various chamber groups, as well as a composer and an arranger. His collaborators have spanned a wide range of musical styles and talents; among them are Joshua Bell, Hilary Hahn, Yo-Yo Ma, Jerry Douglas, Béla Fleck, Zakir Hussain, Sam Bush, James Taylor, Chris Thile, Mike Marshall, Mark O'Connor, Alison Krauss, Mary Chapin Carpenter, Guy Clark, and the trio Nickel Creek. Meyer participates yearly in a bluegrass supergroup known as the House Band at the annual Bluegrass Festival in Telluride, Colorado. The band also consists of Meyer's contemporaries Sam Bush, Béla Fleck, Jerry Douglas, and Stuart Duncan.
Mark O'Connor (b. 1961) is an American violinist whose music combines bluegrass, country, jazz, and classical music. O'Connor composes, arranges, and records American music in genres that include folk, classical, and jazz. His works include concertos and compositions for string orchestra, string quartets, string trios, choral music and solo unaccompanied pieces. His "Fiddle Concerto", a violin concerto in American fiddle style commissioned by the Santa Fe Symphony Orchestra and Chorus, has been performed over 200 times, making it one of the most performed concertos written in the last 40 years. Yo-Yo Ma, as part of his live performance repertoire, has adopted his composition, “Appalachia Waltz." O'Connor has won three Grammy Awards and was named Musician of the Year by the Country Music Association six years in a row (1991-1996).
Yo-Yo Ma (b. 1955) is a French-born Chinese-American cellist. He was born in Paris and spent his schooling years in New York City and was a child prodigy, performing from the age of four and a half. He graduated from the Juilliard School and Harvard University and has enjoyed a prolific career as both a soloist performing with orchestras around the world and a recording artist. He has recorded more than 90 albums and received 18 Grammy Awards. In addition to recordings of the standard classical repertoire, he has recorded a wide variety of folk music such as American bluegrass music, traditional Chinese melodies, the tangos of Argentinian composer Ástor Piazzolla, and Brazilian music. He has been a United Nations Messenger of Peace since 2006. He was awarded the National Medal of Arts in 2001, Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2011, and Polar Music Prize in 2012.
About the Poet:
Lisa Russ Spaar (b. 1956) is the author of Glass Town (Red Hen Press, 1999), Blue Venus (Persea, 2004), Satin Cash (Persea, 2008), Vanitas, Rough (Persea, 2012), and Orexia (Persea, 2017). A recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship and a Rona Jaffe Award, Spaar teaches English and Creative Writing at the University of Virginia.
About the Devotional Writer:
Dr. Deborah Taylor
Provost and Senior Vice President
Biola University
Deborah Taylor is Provost and Senior Vice President at Biola and holds B.A. and M.A. degrees from Biola University and a Ph.D. from Claremont Graduate University. Prior to coming to Biola, she was the principal of a K-8 private school. She has experienced the joy of being a faculty member, as well as serving in a variety of administrative roles since coming to Biola in 2001. She has a lifelong love for beautifully written and illustrated children’s literature, and currently finds great pleasure sharing her vast collection with her six adorable grandchildren.