December 29: Christ Became Sin Who Knew No Sin
♫ Music:
Day 31 - Tuesday, December 29
Title: CHRIST BECAME SIN WHO KNEW NO SIN
Scripture: Psalm 69:20; Lamentations 1:12; Isaiah 53:8
Thy rebuke hath broken His heart; He is full of heaviness. He looked for some to have pity on Him, but there was no man; neither found He any to comfort Him. He was taken from prison and from judgment: and who shall declare His generation? Is it nothing to you, all ye that pass by? Behold, and see if there be any sorrow like unto His sorrow. For He was cut off out of the land of the living: for the transgression of His people was He stricken.
Poetry:
The Chicago Defender Sends a Man to Little Rock
by Gwendolyn Brooks
Fall 1957
In Little Rock the people bear
Babes, and comb and part their hair
And watch the want ads, put repair
To roof and latch. While wheat toast burns
A woman waters multiferns.
Time upholds or overturns
The many, tight, and small concerns.
In Little Rock the people sing
Sunday hymns like anything,
Through Sunday pomp and polishing.
And after testament and tunes,
Some soften Sunday afternoons
With lemon tea and Lorna Doones.
I forecast
And I believe
Come Christmas Little Rock will cleave
To Christmas tree and trifle, weave,
From laugh and tinsel, texture fast.
In Little Rock is baseball; Barcarolle.
That hotness in July . . . the uniformed figures raw
and implacable
And not intellectual,
Batting the hotness or clawing the suffering dust.
The Open Air Concert, on the special twilight green . .
When Beethoven is brutal or whispers to lady-like air.
Blanket-sitters are solemn, as Johann troubles to lean
To tell them what to mean . . .
There is love, too, in Little Rock. Soft women softly
Opening themselves in kindness,
Or, pitying one’s blindness,
Awaiting one’s pleasure
In azure
Glory with anguished rose at the root . . .
To wash away old semi-discomfitures.
They re-teach purple and unsullen blue.
The wispy soils go. And uncertain
Half-havings have they clarified to sures.
In Little Rock they know
Not answering the telephone is a way of rejecting life,
That it is our business to be bothered, is our business
To cherish bores or boredom, be polite
To lies and love and many-faceted fuzziness.
I scratch my head, massage the hate-I-had.
I blink across my prim and pencilled pad.
The saga I was sent for is not down.
Because there is a puzzle in this town.
The biggest News I do not dare
Telegraph to the Editor’s chair:
“They are like people everywhere.”
The angry Editor would reply
In hundred harryings of Why.
And true, they are hurling spittle, rock,
Garbage and fruit in Little Rock.
And I saw coiling storm a-writhe
On bright madonnas. And a scythe
Of men harassing brownish girls.
(The bows and barrettes in the curls
And braids declined away from joy.)
I saw a bleeding brownish boy. . . .
The lariat lynch-wish I deplored.
The loveliest lynchee was our Lord.
WHERE ARE COMFORT AND JOY?
Even though we’re in the middle of a feast, today’s devotional is a call to true lament. Christmas joy has come, but darkness is still around us in the dead of winter. On the one hand, we rejoice at the coming of hope himself. On the other, “hope is on holiday,” as Fatai sings. Hope is here, but hope does not deny the fact that the world still hurts. Hunger is still here. Disease still threatens our lives. Racism has not been rooted out.
The same people in Little Rock who “sing / Sunday hymns like anything” scream hateful slurs the next day. Like the reporter in today’s poem, we know that “They are like people everywhere.” How easy it is to sing “Silent Night” on a candlelit night, only to hate and covet the next day. Hope has come to roost in our broken world, our broken selves.
As Christmas continues, our hope is that Jesus has borne our sin in his body, and we long for his return to wipe away every tear. But I would like to suggest that this hope and this longing are what make lament possible. Hope makes lament a truly Christian practice, distinguishing it from complaint.
Jesus, our king of sorrow, is the object of our hope but also our pattern for lament. The Scriptures command us to “Behold, and see if there be any sorrow like unto His sorrow.” Comfortless, Jesus continued in his mission to fulfill the Father’s will because of his unshakable hope in the Father’s love. Deep hope and lasting trust lead Jesus to express his sorrow, and to cry out in anguish.
In our conquered-but-not-subdued world, we must join Jesus as people of hope and people of sorrow. The final lines of today’s song call to mind the fact that the whole creation---we included---are groaning together in the pains of childbirth. Lament is our labor, made possible by the hope that sustains us and towards which we strain. We know that there will be joyful birth in the end, though it feels like the labor might unmake us.
In a world that has not yet been made whole, hope requires lament. What God has promised is what we have yet to become. And this is why, even during Christmas, joy and lament can fit together. They need not crowd each other out.
Prayer:
Lord God,
Remember your word to your servant,
For you have given me hope.
My comfort in my suffering is this:
Your promise preserves my life.
Amen
---Psalm 119.49-50
Rachel Glazener
Alumna of the Conservatory of Music, Biola University
2020 Advent Project Music Curator
Chad Glazener
Pastor of First Covenant Church
Portland, Oregon
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:
The Cup of Suffering
Nicholas Mynheer
2009
Oil on paper
31 x 25 cm
As the sinless Son of God, Jesus knew what awaited Him as the cross loomed before Him. Artist Nicolas Mynheer represents Christ surrounded by His sleeping disciples in the Garden of Gethsemane as He asks the Father for “this cup” to be taken from Him, if possible. Ultimately, however, He accepts the will of His Father and says, “My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will” (Matthew 26:39). Christ chose to suffer and die for the sins of the world and to drink the cup of God’s wrath, which was rightly intended for us, so that we might drink the cup of salvation.
About the Artist:
“Nicholas Mynheer loves life and makes its holiness visible”
- Sister Wendy Beckett
Nicholas Mynheer (b. 1958) is a British artist who studied graphic design at the Hornsey College of Art in London, graduating in 1981. After spending several years working in advertising, he turned to painting full-time and then sculpture and glass design. A rigorous simplicity typifies Mynheer's work, whether it be in stone, oil or glass. Anything superfluous to the design is omitted and anything deemed important is emphasized. Largely figurative, his work is almost always biblically based and has a linear quality that is richly expressive. Mynheer’s style is very distinctive, evoking a blend of primitivism, expressionism, and medieval art. His figures are non-naturalistic and generalized, with long faces and wavy hair, while their environments often warp around them and create a sense of dynamism. “The style in which I work is one of simplification and stylization,” he writes. “Anything that I feel is not essential is omitted and anything deemed important emphasized.”
http://www.transpositions.co.uk/featured-artist-nicholas-mynheer/
http://www.mynheer-art.co.uk/
http://www.mynheer-art.co.uk/about-nick.html
Music #1:
“Lament” from the album Nine Beats to the Bar
Lyrics:
Broken, beauty crying out – alive
Comfort, everything is not alright
Hope is on holiday
The angels say
Lost and, never really gone or known
Carried, grateful to be found alone
Echoes of holy innocence unknown
Waiting, groaning for the dawn to break
Under the weeping skies creation cries
Composer/Lyricist:
Aaron Niequist is a liturgist, writer, and pastor currently living with his family in New York City. After leading worship at Mars Hill Church (Grand Rapids, MI) and Willow Creek Church (Barrington, IL), he created A New Liturgy—a collection of modern liturgical worship recordings. Shortly after, he started a discipleship-focused, formational, ecumenical, practice-based community at Willow Creek called The Practice. In 2018 he released a book about a practice-based faith called The Eternal Current: How a Practice-Based Faith Can Save Us from Drowning.
https://www.aaronniequist.com/about
Performers:
Nine Beats Collective and Fatai
NINE BEATS Collective is an international collaboration of world-class musicians, artists, and songwriters exploring the ancient wisdom of the beatitudes. Their highly acclaimed album Nine Beats to the Bar is an eclectic soundscape of R&B, soul, rock/pop, acoustic threads, classical, jazz/funk, African vibes, and a hint of gospel. The Collective came together from different continents, different cities, and different experiences, all on the trail of following the Beatitudes.
https://9beats.org/
http://redletterchristians.org.uk/the-nine-beats-collective/#:~:text=The%20Nine%20Beats%20Collective%20is,Jesus%20known%20as%20the%20Beatitudes.
Fatai (Fatai Veamatahaun, b.1995) is an Australia-based singer of Tongan descent. She rose to fame soon after being a semi-finalist on the first season of the Australian version of The Voice. Following her success on The Voice, she inked a deal with Mercury Records Australia. In mid-2015, following two and a half years on the Mercury label, Fatai decided to become an independent artist. Her debut single as an independent artist, “Purple,” was released in August 2015, soon followed by her live debut EP, “Undone,” in November 2015.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fatai
https://www.fataimusic.com/
Music #2:
Messiah, HWV 56, Pt. 2: 6. Thy Rebuke Hath Broken His Heart
Lyrics:
Thy rebuke hath broken His heart;
He is full of heaviness.
He looked for some to have pity on Him,
but there was no man;
neither found He any to comfort Him.
Music #3:
Messiah, HWV 56, Pt. 2: 7. Behold and See
Lyrics:
Behold, and see if there be any sorrow like unto His sorrow
Music #4:
Messiah, HWV 56, Pt. 2: 8. He Was Cut Off
Lyrics:
He was cut off out of the land of the living:
for the transgression of His people was He stricken.
Performers:
Kathleen Battle, Toronto Mendelssohn Chorus & Elmer Iseler Singers, and Toronto Symphony Orchestra conducted by Sir Andrew Davis
Kathleen Battle (b.1948) is an African-American operatic soprano known for her distinctive vocal range and tone. Battle initially became known for her work through performances with major orchestras during the early and mid-1970s. She made her operatic debut in 1975. Battle expanded her repertoire into lyric soprano and coloratura soprano roles during the 1980s and early 1990s, until her dismissal from the Metropolitan Opera in 1994. After a 22-year absence from the Met, Battle performed a concert of spirituals at the Metropolitan Opera House in 2016. Battle's concert and recital repertoire encompasses a wide array of music including classical, jazz, and crossover works. Her jazz and crossover repertoire includes the compositions of Duke Ellington, George Gershwin, Leonard Bernstein, André Previn, Rodgers and Hammerstein, and Stevie Wonder among others.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kathleen_Battle
Toronto Mendelssohn Chorus (TMC), founded by Augustus Vogt, is a Grammy-nominated choir that has brought outstanding choral music to Toronto for more than 125 years. Grand symphonic sound has been the Toronto Mendelssohn Choir’s trademark. Performing both sacred and secular repertoire, TMC choristers are committed to offering audiences authentic interpretation, clarity of expression, and a profound emotional experience of some of the most important music ever composed. The TMC includes a core of 20 professional singers and 100+ auditioned and experienced volunteer choristers. The TMC organization also includes the Mendelssohn Singers, a 70-voice ensemble formed from the ranks of the TMC, giving them more flexibility in both performing venue and repertoire.
https://www.tmchoir.org/who-we-are/
The Elmer Iseler Singers (EIS) is a 20 voice professional choral ensemble founded by the late Dr. Elmer Iseler in 1979. They have built an enviable reputation throughout Canada, the United States, and internationally through concerts and recordings and by performing repertoire that spans 500 years, with a focus on Canadian composers. Annually, EIS sponsors choral workshops through their GET MUSIC! Educational Outreach Initiative for secondary school conductors and choirs, which concludes with a joint public performance. They also work to mentor young conductors with the help of university students, who also join in the joint public performance.
https://www.elmeriselersingers.com/about/
The Toronto Symphony Orchestra (TSO) is a Canadian orchestra based in Toronto, Ontario. Founded in 1922, the TSO gave regular concerts at Massey Hall until 1982 and has performed at Roy Thomson Hall since then. The TSO also manages the Toronto Symphony Youth Orchestra (TSYO). The TSO's music director from 2004 to 2018 was Peter Oundjian. Sir Andrew Davis, conductor laureate of the TSO, has most recently served as the orchestra's interim artistic director. Gustavo Gimeno is music director-designate of the TSO, scheduled to assume the TSO music directorship in the 2020–2021 season.
https://www.tso.ca/
Sir Andrew Davis, CBE, (b. 1944) is an English conductor and currently is the music director and principal conductor of Lyric Opera of Chicago. Maestro Davis's career spans over forty years, during which he has been the artistic leader at several of the world's most distinguished operatic and symphonic institutions, including the BBC Symphony Orchestra, Glyndebourne Festival Opera, Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, and the Toronto Symphony Orchestra where he serves as Interim Artistic Director through 2020. Sir Andrew has led performances at many of the world's most important opera houses, among them the Metropolitan Opera, Teatro alla Scala, Royal Opera House at Covent Garden, and the major companies of Munich, Paris, San Francisco, and Santa Fe. Maestro Davis studied at King's College, Cambridge, where he was an organ scholar before taking up conducting. His diverse repertoire ranges from Baroque to contemporary, and spans the symphonic, operatic, and choral worlds.
http://sirandrewdavis.com/biography/
About the Poet:
Gwendolyn Elizabeth Brooks (1917–2000) was an American poet, author, and teacher. Her work often dealt with the personal celebrations and struggles of ordinary people in her community. She won the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry in 1950 for Annie Allen, making her the first African American to receive a Pulitzer Prize. Throughout her prolific writing career, Brooks received many more honors. A lifelong resident of Chicago, she was appointed Poet Laureate of Illinois in 1968 and was also named the Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress for the 1985–86 term. Her poems range in style from traditional ballads and sonnets to poems using blues rhythms in free verse. Brooks published her first book of poetry, A Street in Bronzeville (1945), with Harper & Brothers, after a strong show of support to the publisher from author Richard Wright. Brooks taught extensively around the country and held posts at Columbia College Chicago, Northeastern Illinois University, Chicago State University, Elmhurst College, Columbia University, and the City College of New York.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gwendolyn_Brooks
About the Devotion Authors:
Rachel Glazener
Alumna of the Conservatory of Music, Biola University
2020 Advent Project Music Curator
Chad Glazener
Alumnus of the Torrey Honors College, Biola University
Pastor of First Covenant Church
Portland, Oregon
Rachel Glazener is a musician, visual artist, and gardener who delights in creating beautiful spaces. Chad Glazener is a pastor and writer currently serving as lead pastor of First Covenant Church in Portland, Oregon. Chad and Rachel are called to practice radical hospitality and be reminders, always, of God’s love and nearness. The Glazeners have been married since 2011 and have three children: Madeleine, Lucy, and Henri.