December 19: A Journey of Joy
♫ Music:
Thursday, December 19
Title: A JOURNEY OF JOY
Scripture: Matthew 2: 1-3, 7-11
Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, magi from the east arrived in Jerusalem, saying, “Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we saw His star in the east and have come to worship Him.” When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. . .
Then Herod secretly called the magi and determined from them the exact time the star appeared. And he sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search carefully for the Child; and when you have found Him, report to me, so that I too may come and worship Him.” After hearing the king, they went their way; and the star, which they had seen in the east, went on before them until it came and stood over the place where the Child was. And when they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy.
Poetry:
Carol of the Brown King
by Langston Hughes
Of the three Wise Men
Who came to the King,
One was a brown man,
So they sing.
Of the three Wise Men
Who followed the Star,
One was a brown king
From afar.
They brought fine gifts
Of spices and gold
In jeweled boxes
Of beauty untold.
Unto His humble
Manger they came
And bowed their heads
In Jesus’s name.
Three Wise Men,
One dark like me—
Part of His
Nativity.
A JOURNEY OF JOY
This past summer, my family went on a six-week road trip. We had a specific purpose and destination – a family reunion on the East Coast. Why didn’t we just fly and save time? Well, there was so much to see along the way—friends and a lot of beautiful countryside too! We enjoyed stopping and seeing sites along the way and to make driving some of the long stretches more enjoyable, we listened to audio books! We created memories to last a lifetime and enjoyed every moment of it.
In our Scripture reading for today, we read of another journey--the journey of the wise men from the East who came to worship the young king of the Jews. There are many interesting elements in this short narrative, not least is the question of the specific identity of the Magi, nor an explanation for the star that helped them identify the Messiah’s birth. Matthew does not tell us much about either, but what he does highlight is the eagerness of the Magi to worship Jesus. This is contrasted with the hostility of Herod and all Jerusalem (2:3) at the scene of Christ’s birth. These Magi evidently had some exposure to Old Testament prophecies from Jewish colonies in the East. Although many Jews returned to Palestine after the Babylonian deportation, several Jews remained in the East. If the Magi came from Babylon, it would have been a journey of roughly 900 miles, which means they were likely traveling for several months (cf. Ezra 7:9).
The purpose of the Magi’s journey is fulfilled when they “bowed down and worshiped him” (2:11 NIV). Such a long journey from such unlikely Gentile visitors from the East is really an extraordinary way to announce the arrival of the Messiah and Savior of the world. I wonder what their journey was like? What anticipation filled their hearts? What was their experience of worship truly like?
As we prepare our hearts to celebrate the Lord’s birth in less than a week now, may we find joy in the journey leading to that day of celebration. It’s all too often that the hustle and bustle of life, especially around this time of year, distract us from the joy of worship today. Yet what we celebrate impacts not just one day out of a year for Christians, but every day! There is indeed no greater joy than worshipping Him who humbled himself in the form of a man, took on all of our sin and shame on the cross, and ascended to the right hand of the throne of God to reign forever as King over all! Let’s worship in joy today!
The song attached to today’s devotion is a medley of “I Saw Three Ships” and “Joy to the World.” In our prayer today let’s repent of any lack of worship and join the words of this jubilant hymn.
Prayer:
Heavenly Father,
We bow before you humbly, repenting of our wayward hearts that too often stray from the focused worship you deserve. We desire to turn our hearts to the glorious truth of who you are and all that your coming into the world means for us. We worship you, singing:
Joy to the World, the Lord is come!
Let earth receive her King;Let every heart prepare Him room,And Heaven and nature sing.
Dr. Jeanette Hagen Pifer
Assistant Professor of New Testament
Biola University
For more information about the artwork, music, and poetry selected for this day, we have provided resources under the “About” tab located next to the “Devotional” tab.
About the Artwork:
Journey of the Magi with their Retinue (with detail)
by August von Wörndle
1852
Oil on canvas
106 cm x 158 cm
The Kunsthistorisches Museum
Vienna, Austria
Although the Bible only refers to them as "Magi," these figures have come to be known as the three kings. These powerful individuals presented the Christ Child with precious gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. It is thought that these Magi may have included Balthazar, who is referred to as the "King of Arabia," and Caspar and Melchior. Their traditional names are ascribed to a Greek manuscript from 500 AD, which was translated into Latin and is commonly accepted as the source of the names of the Magi. Balthazar is thought to be the Magi who gave the gift of myrrh to Jesus.
About the Artist:
August von Wörndle (1829–1902) was an Austrian ecclesiastical artist, academic, and tutor to Imperial princes including Franz Ferdinand, Archduke of Austria. Von Wörndle began his studies in 1844 at the Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna. Von Wörndle was involved in the creation of cartoons, preparatory drawings typically used in the production of frescoes, for the "Campo Santo,” a burial place of the House of Hohenzollern.
About the Music:
“Medley: I Saw Three Ships / Joy To the World” from the album Christmastime
About the Composer:
Traditional English Carol / George Frideric Handel (Arr. Michael W. Smith)
George Frederic Handel (1685–1759) was a German Baroque composer who spent the bulk of his career in London, becoming well-known for his operas, oratorios, anthems, and organ concertos. He was strongly influenced by the great composers of the Italian Baroque and the middle-German polyphonic choral tradition. Musicologist Winton Dean writes that his operas show that "Handel was not only a great composer; he was a dramatic genius of the first order.” Handel composed more than forty operas in about thirty years.
About the Arranger/Performer:
Michael W. Smith (b. 1957) is a three-time Grammy Award winner, an American Music Award recipient, and has earned 45 Dove Awards. In 1999, ASCAP awarded him with the Golden Note Award for lifetime achievement in songwriting, and in 2014 they honored him as the "cornerstone of Christian music" for his significant influence on the genre. Smith has recorded 31 - #1 hit songs, fourteen gold albums, and five platinum albums. He has starred in 2 films and published 13 books including This is Your Time, which he co-wrote with Gary Thomas.
http://michaelwsmith.com/
About the Poet:
James Mercer Langston Hughes (1902–1967) was an American poet, social activist, novelist, playwright, and columnist. One of the earliest innovators of the then-new literary art form called “jazz poetry,” Hughes is best-known as a leader of the Harlem Renaissance, the flowering of African-American intellectual, literary, and artistic life during the 1920s. In addition to poetry, Hughes also wrote plays and short stories and published several non-fiction works. He sought to honestly portray the joys and hardships of working-class Black lives, avoiding both sentimental idealization and negative stereotypes. From 1942 to 1962, as the Civil Rights Movement was gaining momentum, he wrote a weekly column in a leading Black newspaper, The Chicago Defender.
https://poets.org/poet/langston-hughes
About the Devotion Writer:
Dr. Jeanette Hagen Pifer
Assistant Professor of New Testament
Biola University
Jeanette Hagen Pifer has served in a variety of ministry capacities including evangelistic and humanitarian work with orphans in the former Soviet Union, helping to facilitate for theological and ministry training around the world, and serving in a church plant in Whittier, California. She completed her Ph.D., studying under Professor John Barclay at Durham University, England. Her research focused on the Pauline concept of faith. Hagen Pifer has presented academic papers at a number of conferences in the U.S. and in Europe. She also contributed to the Lightfoot Legacy, a three-volume set of previously unpublished commentaries by this foremost English NT scholar of the 19th century. Prior to coming to Biola, Hagen Pifer taught at Cranmer Hall in Durham, England, a theological college focused on training individuals called to full-time Christian service.