December 6: A Future & A Hope
♫ Music:
Friday, December 6
Title: A FUTURE & A HOPE
Scripture: Jeremiah 29: 11-13
“For I know the plans that I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart. I will be found by you,” declares the Lord.
Poetry:
Song of the Oyamel
By Karen An-Hwei Lee
On the other side of this door
You are an oyamel native to the mountains of Mexico
Rising in a cloud forest of sister evergreens
Shedding pollen cones, shedding winged seeds
Our lost wings
singly and in pairs.
This is why the monarchs vanish
Raising sienna-hued colonies longer than my arms
Hibernating in Mexico where it’s hotter in January
than my front yard, where the red bougainvillea raves
And magnolias with a mauve rush on paper
And open as though thinking about last year’s novels
Read over the shoulders of garden-strollers
Obey the apostle’s exhortation
And do everything in love.
A CERTAIN HOPE
Nine minutes into the game and I start to feel tense.
The Soviet Union has scored and the upstart American hockey team is bracing for the onslaught of goals that is sure to come. The fears of the American players are warranted in light of their most recent encounter with this team. Two weeks before the 1980 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid, U.S.A., the teams squared off in an exhibition game at Madison Square Garden. The Soviets—defending gold medalists made up of seasoned professionals—crushed the young inexperienced American team 10-3. Now, with the score of a quick goal in the Olympic rematch it seemed a massacre was certain. I uncomfortably shift in my chair in front of the television.
I’m re-watching my favorite sports movie, Miracle (2004) which retells one of the most famous hockey games ever played now dubbed the Miracle on Ice. Shockingly, at the end of the first period the Americans have somehow weathered the first storm and the game is tied 2-2. My heart sinks again when the Soviets score quickly to start the second period. It’s at this point in the movie that I tell myself, “Remember, we win.”
In one of the greatest sports upsets ever, the Americans win the Olympic contest with the Soviets 4-3. The game concludes with ABC sports announcer, Al Michaels, famously shouting, “Do you believe in miracles?” Americans do and our team goes on to win gold!
What does a hockey game have to do with Jeremiah’s calming proclamation: “For I know that plans I have for you . . . plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and hope” (29:11)?
Some context may be helpful. While in exile, a prophet—Hananiah the Son of Azzur—assures the Jewish captives that in a few short years all will be well (Jer. 28:3). Obviously, such a proclamation brings great comfort. Gut it out for two years and we’ll be fine. God is good! However, the prophet Jeremiah boldly counters that not only is Hananiah a false prophet, but that the Babylonian captivity will not end in two years, but will continue for 70 years! In other words, almost all those listening to Jeremiah’s proclamation will die in bondage and not see restoration.
Back to the hockey game.
The pain and disappointment of losing to the Russians 10-3 at Madison Square Garden is lessened by knowing that two weeks later we’ll knock the Soviet juggernaut out of the Olympics. Hananiah’s message is that it’s easy to have faith in your team when you know victory is around the corner. Scenes of Americans literally dancing in the streets after beating the Soviets bears out this point. The bitter taste of the Madison Square Garden drubbing is gone with the sweet taste of victory.
However, what if the American team lost to the Soviets in their Olympic rematch by 7 or more goals? And, in the next 70 games the young Americans are soundly defeated again and again and again? Would you still retain your faith in USA hockey?
“I know that plans I have for you” takes on a different—and perhaps less comforting tone—when we realize those plans were not quickly actualized for Jeremiah’s listeners. How about us? Do we still take comfort in Jeremiah’s proclamation—often the source of many Christian posters, bumper stickers, and T-shirts—knowing those plans may look very different from what we hoped?
Well, thanks for ruining my favorite passage! Keep two thoughts in mind as we approach Advent. First, God often keeps the big picture in mind while we focus on what’s in front of us. A good friend of mine likes to say that we want God to write short blogs posts, while He’s more interested in writing Russian novels. Second, don’t miss the central message of Jeremiah: God will—no matter the score—never abandon you. And in the end, all of us will find a future—however close or distant—filled with hope.
Prayer:
Father, we thank you for the plans you have for us—plans for a future rooted in hope. Let us not judge your goodness by today’s calamity or our timetable, but rather, by your promise to ever be with us.
Amen
Tim Muehlhoff
Professor of Communication Studies
Director of Resources at the Center for Marriage and Relationships
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:
Fervent Prayer
Gbenga Offo
2015
Acrylic on canvas
173 cm x 121 cm
Nigerian artist Gbenga Offo’s paintings are inspired by the craftsmanship of traditional African art and culture. Offo’s style is also similar to Cubism in that he utilizes precise line work and geometrical shapes to define his subjects. With Fervent Prayer, Offo shows three individuals engaged in deep and passion-filled prayer, the kind that changes not only circumstances, but the person who prays as well. James 5:16, KJV, declares, "Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much."
http://www.smocontemporaryart.com/artist-details/gbenga-offo/
About the Artist:
Gbenga Offo (b. 1957) is one of Nigeria’s leading contemporary artists. Offo graduated from Yaba College of Technology in Lagos in 1984. While working for nearly a decade as a commercial illustrator for the leading advertising agencies, Offo continued to work on his paintings by expanding his personal artistic style and vision. After leaving the commercial art world, Offo has devoted his time and energy into full-time painting. He has taken part in numerous solo and group exhibitions in the United Kingdom, United States, and in his native Nigeria, and his works are found in many corporate and public collections. He currently lives and works in Lagos, Nigeria.
https://thoughtpyramidart.com/about-us/gbenga-offo/
About the Music:
“Evening of Roses” from the album Hadar: Evening of Roses
About the Composer:
Josef Hadar (1926-2006) was an Israeli composer and songwriter who has written numerous popular songs. Hadar recorded most of his well-known Israeli children’s songs of the 1960’s. Some of Hadar's compositions have become established folk songs and are at the core of the Israeli popular music genre. In 1990, Hadar won the ACUM Golden Feather Award for Lifetime Achievement. His song, "Erev shel Shoshanim" (words: Moshe Dor) has been widely performed around the world, has become part of the prayers for Shabbat evening and morning.
https://web.nli.org.il/sites/NLI/English/music/daily_song/Pages/Joseph_Hadar.aspx
About the Performers:
Sheku Kanneh-Mason (cello), Oliver Janes and the CBSO Cellos
Sheku Kanneh-Mason (b. 1999) is a British cellist who won the 2016 BBC Young Musician of the Year Award. He is the first black musician to win the award since its launch 38 years ago. Kanneh-Mason was a member of the Chineke! Orchestra, founded by Chi-chi Nwanoku, for black and minority ethnic classical musicians. In 2016, Kanneh-Mason told The Guardian's Tom Service that: “Chineke! is a really inspiring project. I rarely go to a concert and see that kind of diversity in the orchestra. Or in the audience. Having the orchestra will definitely change the culture...” In February 2018, Sheku became the first artist ever to be re-invited to perform at the British Academy Film Awards, playing "Evening of Roses" by Josef Hadar. Sheku currently studies at the Royal Academy of Music in London. He also played at the royal wedding of Prince Harry to Meghan Markle in 2018.
https://shekukannehmason.com/
Oliver Janes is a British musician and the Principal Clarinet for the The City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra (CBSO). His grandfather, John Fuest, played clarinet with the CBSO and convinced Oliver to try the instrument. After two years of lessons with his grandfather, Oliver went to Chethams School of Music to study and the Royal Academy of Music. After graduation Oliver freelanced with some of the London orchestras before joining the CBSO as Principal Clarinet in December 2014.
https://cbso.co.uk/profile/oliver-janes
The City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra (CBSO) is a British orchestra based in Birmingham, England. Since 1991, the orchestra has been at Symphony Hall, Birmingham. Its administrative and rehearsal headquarters are at the CBSO Centre, where it also presents chamber concerts by members of the orchestra and guest performers. Each year the CBSO performs more than 130 concerts to audiences totaling over 200,000 people. Another 72,000 people each year take part in its educational outreach events and over 750 local musicians are engaged in its six choirs and the CBSO Youth Orchestra. CBSO’s Cello section is composed of eight cellists who periodically perform without the full orchestra.
https://cbso.co.uk/
About the Poet:
Karen An-hwei Lee (b. 1973) is a Chinese American poet, translator, and critic. She earned an MFA in creative writing from Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island, and a PhD in literature from the University of California, Berkeley. Lee has received six Pushcart Prize nominations, the Poetry Society of America's Norma Farber First Book Award, the Kathryn A. Morton Prize for Poetry from Sarabande Books, and the July Open Award. Lee’s work appears in journals such as The American Poet, Poetry, Kenyon Review, Gulf Coast, Journal of Feminist Studies & Religion, Iowa Review, and IMAGE: Art, Faith, & Mystery. The recipient of an NEA Fellowship, Lee currently serves as a Professor of English at Vanguard University of Southern California in Costa Mesa, California.
https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/karen-an-hwei-lee
About the Devotion Writer:
Tim Muehlhoff
Professor of Communication
Director of Resources at the Center for Marriage and Relationships
Biola University
Tim Muehlhoff is a professor of communication at Biola University where he teaches classes on family communication, gender, persuasion, and apologetics. In addition to teaching, Muehlhoff is an author whose newest release is Defending Your Marriage: The Reality of Spiritual Battle (IVP). He currently serves as an author and speaker for Biola’s Center for Marriage and Relationships.