December 14: Rods, Horns & Branches
♫ Music:
Day 17 - Tuesday, December 14
Title: RODS, HORNS & BRANCHES
Scripture: Luke 1:67-69; Isaiah 11:1-3
Now his father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit, and prophesied, saying: “Blessed is the Lord God of Israel, for He has visited and redeemed His people, and has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of His servant David.”
There shall come forth a Rod from the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots. The Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon Him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord.
Poetry:
Trees
by Joyce Kilmer
I think that I shall never see
A poem lovely as a tree.
A tree whose hungry mouth is prest
Against the earth’s sweet flowing breast;
A tree that looks at God all day,
And lifts her leafy arms to pray;
A tree that may in Summer wear
A nest of robins in her hair;
Upon whose bosom snow has lain;
Who intimately lives with rain.
Poems are made by fools like me,
But only God can make a tree.
RODS, HORNS, & BRANCHES
Entrances and exits. Energy intrudes upon a scene with the arrival of a character, bringing with them new information and intentions. When the character leaves, they have forever altered the status quo. These appearances and departures are inherent in the stories we tell because they are a key part of our human existence. So normal are they that we often pay them no mind until they happen, even though their effects are long-lasting.
My students learn about how playwrights build value changes from the beginning of a scene to the end. The shift in values is created as characters get closer to or further away from attaining their needs, which not only serves to progress the plot but also reveal true character along the way. To communicate a change, we have to understand where we start, as well as where we are going. Entrances are important because the actor must have a well-developed “moment before,” which encompasses a wealth of considerations such as where they are coming from, the emotional import of that origin, and any vital expository information—all of which culminate in bringing them to the stage for a specific and important purpose.
I often tell my theatre students that God is a God of story. He knows the beginning, middle, and end of this great play. During Advent we get to celebrate the best entrance of them all—one that took much preparation, continues to change us to this day, and set in motion the conclusion of the story.
Artist Donald Jackson presents the genealogy of Jesus as both a tree of life and a menorah. In The Saint John’s Bible, this work of art immediately precedes the first gospel, serving as a linking image between the Old and New Testaments. In the second work presented, Anselm Kiefer makes use of raw materials to create his interpretation of a Jesse Tree. The Jesse Tree is a Christmas tradition that stems from the medieval period, drawing its name from the father of King David, whose line would lead to Christ.
A branch, if you will, is an entrance—it is a sign of new life and beginnings. But just like an entrance onto a stage, there is much that has to precede that branch. In theatre, it is easy to take for granted the enormity of the work that takes place behind the scenes in the weeks and months that lead up to opening night. Similarly, it is often all too easy to take for granted the groundwork that God laid for the entrance of His son into our world.
Prayer:
Father, thank you for your plan and for raising up your son for our salvation. You are a good father, and I praise you for your daily blessings. Father, this season has been a difficult one for our world; thank you for inviting us to lay all of our cares at your feet. Thank you, Jesus, for entering our world, changing us, and for your great story.
Amen
Devotion Author:
Zachary Bortot
Assistant Professor of Theatre
Artistic Director of the Theatre Program
Biola University
For more information about the artwork, music, poetry, and devotional writer selected for this day, we have provided resources under the “About” tab located next to the “Devotional” tab.
About the Artwork #1:
Genealogy of Jesus
Donald Jackson
© 2002
The Saint John’s Bible
Saint John’s University
Collegeville, Minnesota, USA
Used with permission
All rights reserved.
Gilded illuminated manuscript on vellum
www.saintjohnsbible.org
Matthew Frontispiece: The Genealogy of Christ
(Matthew 1:1-17)
The Gospel of Matthew begins with the genealogy of Christ. Reaching back into the Old Testament scriptures to Abraham, progenitor of the Hebrew nation, Matthew lists the names of succeeding generations, culminating in the birth of Christ. This illumination is a family tree structured as both a tree of life and a menorah, the Jewish seven-branched candlestick. Placed at the beginning of the first gospel, the menorah serves as a bridge between the Old and New Testaments. A mandala-like cosmic image near the base is common to several religions and implies the universality of the search for God. The intricate gold medallions above the menorah were inspired by illuminations from the Koran. Reflecting our own time, patterns of DNA double helixes between the outer branches emphasize the connectedness of all humanity. The ancestral names flank the base of the menorah/tree and march up between the innermost branches. Abraham’s name appears in English and Hebrew, with that of his wife, Sarah, from whom these generations arose. Named in both Arabic and English is Hagar, Sarah’s handmaiden, with whom Abraham fathered Ishmael, the ancestor of the prophet Muhammad, founder of Islam. At the very top is the name of Jesus, in the same lettering style as Abraham, David, Mary, and Joseph.
The Saint John's Bible is the first completely handwritten and illuminated Bible commissioned since the invention of the printing press. After a Saint John’s University-sponsored calligraphy presentation in 1995, master calligrapher Donald Jackson proposed a handwritten Bible to Fr. Eric Hollas, OSB, the former executive director of the Hill Museum & Manuscript Library at Saint John's University in Minnesota. Between 1996 and 1997, Jackson created the first sample illuminations for the proposed Bible while theologians at Saint John’s University developed an illumination schema for the project. The Saint John’s Bible, officially commissioned in 1998, was completed in 2011. During production, artistic director Donald Jackson oversaw a group of artists working in a scriptorium located in Monmouth, Wales. Using a mixture of the ancient techniques of calligraphy and illumination, the artists created illuminated manuscripts that were handwritten with quills on calfskin vellum decorated with gold and platinum leaf and hand-ground pigments. Gold leaf was used liberally to represent the divine, silver/platinum to reflect the principle of wisdom, and rainbows to show God’s faithful promises. A wide range of artistic styles, including iconography, abstraction, chrysography, and illustration, were incorporated to create a contemporary visual vocabulary for the sacred. A new script for the sacred text was devised by Donald Jackson to be readable, modern, and appropriately dignified. Meanwhile at Saint John’s Abbey and University in Minnesota, a team of biblical scholars, art historians, and theologians gathered weekly to develop the theological content behind the illuminations. This included not only developing the schema for the illuminations, but also identifying underlying themes and elements for the artists to incorporate. The Saint John’s Bible is divided into seven volumes and is two feet tall by three feet wide when open. It is made of vellum, with 160 illuminations across 1,165 pages. The Saint John’s Bible contains the text and notes of the New Revised Standard Version (NRSV).
https://saintjohnsbible.org/
About the Artist #1:
Donald Jackson (b. 1938) is one of the world's leading calligraphers and the artistic director and illuminator of The Saint John's Bible, a handwritten and illuminated Bible commissioned by the Benedictine Monastery of Saint John's Abbey in Collegeville, Minnesota. At the age of twenty, Jackson was appointed to be a visiting lecturer at the Camberwell College of Art, London. Within six years, he became the youngest artist calligrapher chosen to take part in the Victoria and Albert Museum’s first International Calligraphy Show after the war and appointed a scribe to the Crown Office at the House of Lords. As a scribe to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, he was responsible for the creation of official state documents. In 1985, he received the Medal of The Royal Victorian Order (MVO). Jackson is an elected fellow and past chairman of the Society of Scribes and Illuminators and, in 1997, was named master of the six-hundred-year-old Guild of Scriveners of the city of London. He is the author of The Story of Writing and The Calligrapher's Art. Jackson and his wife, Mabel, live and work in the Hendre, a converted town hall and outbuildings in Monmouth, Wales.
https://saintjohnsbible.org/
About the Artwork #2:
The Tree of Jesse
Anselm Kiefer
2008
Oil, emulsion, acrylic, shellac, branches coated with plaster, lead clothes, and soil on cardboard and plywood
The Batliner Collection
The Albertine Museum
Vienna, Austria
Artist Anselm Kiefer created two versions of the Tree of Jesse. This version of the Tree of Jesse offers a visual that seems to speak more to the situation of Jeremiah than do the brightly colored, often gilded medieval illustrations of this subject. Here Kiefer speaks more to the “promise” of the growth of a branch than actual growth of green leaves and twigs.
About the Artist #2:
Anselm Kiefer (b. 1945) is a German artist who has explored his country’s postwar identity, history, and mythology throughout his career. A painter, sculptor, and installation artist, materiality figures heavily into Kiefer’s practice. His large-scale paintings achieve their characteristic texture through his liberal application of pigments combined with found organic matter, metal, clay, straw, and lead, resulting in stark, haunting images with an imposing physicality. “Ruins, for me, are the beginning,” he mused. “With the debris, you can construct new ideas. They are symbols of a beginning.” Kiefer grew up in the aftermath of bombed houses, something which made a profound impact on him. In his entire body of work, Kiefer argues with the past and addresses taboo and controversial issues from recent history. His works are characterized by an unflinching willingness to confront his culture's dark past, and unrealized potential. His works are held in the collections of the Art Institute of Chicago, The Museum of Modern Art in New York, the Tate Gallery in London, and the Stedelijk Museum of Modern Art in Amsterdam, among others. Since 2008, he has lived and worked primarily in Paris.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anselm_Kiefer
https://gagosian.com/artists/anselm-kiefer/
http://www.artnet.com/artists/anselm-kiefer/
http://artandfaithmatters.blogspot.com/2018/11/
About the Music #1:
“Canticle of Zechariah” from the album Hear the Song of Your People
Lyrics:
Cry out in the stillness of morning
with the joy greet the dawn of this new day.
Pour out your heart like water,
lift your hands to God in praise.
We praise You God of Israel,
you have turned to Your people
and set them free.
And have raised up a deliver to save us,
in the house of David, Your servant.
So You promised in every age,
by the word of Your prophets.
To set us free from our oppressors,
from the hands of all who hate us.
Your bond of love is with our people,
and Your covenant abiding forever.
So You promised to Abraham and Sarah,
assuring us that free from fear.
With Your favor lavished upon us,
we might serve You with justice all our day.
This child will be called prophet of the Most High,
running before our God to prepare the way.
Announcing Salvation to the people,
with forgiveness for all their sins.
Through the tender love in the heart of our God,
the Rising Sun will break upon us.
To shine on those who dwell in the gloom of the shadows,
and to guide our feet into the way of peace.
To You, Giver of all Life,
through Your Wisdom, Jesus the Christ,
In Your Spirit dwelling in our midst,
be praised forever more.
Cry out in the stillness of morning
with the joy greet the dawn of this new day
Pour out your heart like water,
lift your hands to God in praise.
lift your hands to God in praise.
About the Performers/Composers/Lyricists:
The Benedictine Monks of Weston Priory
The Weston Priory was founded at the edge of the Green Mountain National Forest in Weston, Vermont, in 1953, by Abbot Leo A. Rudloff of the Dormition Abbey in Jerusalem. Members have come to the community from the United States, Canada, and Mexico. They come with a variety of backgrounds and skills, but they all come to the monastery with their hopes and dreams centered around the Gospel and Spirit of Jesus Christ. The music in these recordings grows out of the prayer and life experiences of the brothers at Weston Priory. The words of the songs are sometimes significant passages from Scripture and sometimes poetic expressions of life situations set to music and song by the brothers. With the help and encouragement of many supporters, these recordings have become a way of sharing the faith, hopes, and vision of the community of Weston Priory.
https://www.westonpriory.org/music.php
About the Poet:
Alfred Joyce Kilmer (1886 –1918) was an American writer and poet mainly remembered for a short poem titled "Trees" (1913), which was published in the collection Trees and Other Poems in 1914. Though a prolific poet whose works celebrated the common beauty of the natural world as well as his Catholic religious faith, Kilmer was also a journalist, literary critic, lecturer, and editor. At the time of his deployment to Europe during World War I, Kilmer was considered the leading American Catholic poet and lecturer of his generation, whom critics often compared to British contemporaries G. K. Chesterton (1874–1936) and Hilaire Belloc (1870–1953). He enlisted in the New York National Guard and was deployed to France with the 69th Infantry Regiment (the famous "Fighting 69th") in 1917. He was killed by a sniper's bullet at the Second Battle of the Marne in 1918 at the age of 31. While most of his works are largely unknown today, a select few of his poems remain popular and are published frequently in anthologies. Several critics—including both Kilmer's contemporaries and modern scholars—have dismissed Kilmer's work as being too simple and overly sentimental, and suggested that his style was far too traditional, even archaic. Many writers, including notably Ogden Nash, have parodied Kilmer's work and style—as attested by the many imitations of "Trees".
About the Devotion Author:
Zachary Bortot
Assistant Professor of Theatre
Artistic Director of the Theatre Program
Biola University
Professor Zachary Bortot is the Artistic Director of Biola University’s Theatre Program. He last appeared as Sebastian in Rebel Run Studio’s science fiction film adaptation of The Tempest. This season for Biola he is directing Sarah Ruhl’s Eurydice and serving as a producer for Dear 2020: A Process, Miss Bennet: Christmas at Pemberley, and Waiting for the Host. His professional interests include immersive theatre, Theatre of Cruelty, and the use of augmented and virtual reality in theatrical performance. He has a passion for enabling other performance artists to explore the creative vocational endeavors to which the Master Artist has called them.