December 23: Running to Joy
♫ Music:
Day 26 - Thursday, December 23
Title: RUNNING TO JOY
Scripture: Luke 2:15-20
So it was, when the angels had gone away from them into heaven, that the shepherds said to one another, “Let us now go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has come to pass, which the Lord has made known to us.” And they came with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the Babe lying in a manger. Now when they had seen Him, they made widely known the saying which was told them concerning this Child. And all those who heard it marveled at those things which were told them by the shepherds. But Mary kept all these things and pondered them in her heart. Then the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told them.
Poetry:
Christmas Carol
by Sara Teasdale
The kings they came from out the south,
All dressed in ermine fine;
They bore Him gold and chrysoprase,
And gifts of precious wine.
The shepherds came from out the north,
Their coats were brown and old;
They brought Him little new-born lambs—
They had not any gold.
The wise men came from out the east,
And they were wrapped in white;
The star that led them all the way
Did glorify the night.
The angels came from heaven high,
And they were clad with wings;
And lo, they brought a joyful song
The host of heaven sings.
The kings they knocked upon the door,
The wise men entered in,
The shepherds followed after them
To hear the song begin.
The angels sang through all the night
Until the rising sun,
But little Jesus fell asleep
Before the song was done.
RUNNING TO JOY
The shepherds’ response to their heavenly revelation is a wonderful moment in Luke’s narrative. Here are men responding exactly as they ought to do to a divine revelation. They don’t, like Zachariah, ask how they can know that what the angels are saying is true. They don’t, like Gideon, ask for a sign as proof that their message is from God. They get up and run, believing that they will see the thing they have been told about. And once they have entered and seen, they go and tell everyone, rejoicing and praising God that his word has come true.
It’s easy for us to imagine that we, too, would respond this way to a divine revelation, but the art attending today’s reading is full of the warning that this is not the only possible response. A heavenly call can be questioned or ignored, a response can be delayed. This message is embedded in the enigmatic refrain of “Mary Had a Baby,” which seems so disconnected from the main message of the song: The people keep coming, but the train has gone. The writer of this spiritual seems to be warning us of the possibility of missing the train, as others have done, and encouraging us to get up and run.
There’s a similar dynamic in the painting by van der Gos. The shepherds to the left of the scene have indeed gotten up and run to the manger to see Christ, but if you attend to the larger painting, you can see other shepherds still in the fields, shading their eyes from the angels. Why haven’t they come? The roughly dressed man in the foreground seems to issue an invitation to us, the viewers, to come in, but there is a question in his eyes. Will we enter in? Even Sara Teasdale’s poem has a strange reflection of this warning. The poem concludes with the angels still singing, but Jesus has fallen asleep.
The possibility that we might miss our invitation to come and see Christ casts the action of the shepherds in a new light. Perhaps their haste comes from more than firm belief or even excitement. Perhaps they get up and run because they know that responding rightly to a divine invitation means responding right away. There is a danger in allowing our fear (the shepherds are struck down by the sight of the heavenly choir), or perhaps our insecurity (the shepherds come bearing no gold, only a lamb), to delay us in our response.
There is always a temptation to wait a little longer in the darkness, believing that whenever we are ready, we will be able to enter into the light. This is true for those waiting at the threshold of belief, and also for those Christians who are being called to move deeper in their journey of sanctification and devotion. I think this is why the author of Hebrews admonishes us: “Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.” (Heb 12:1 ESV)
May we see in the shepherds, members of that cloud of witnesses, and may we remember to get up and run when we hear God’s call, rejoicing in the good news of salvation.
Prayer:
Lord, I am tempted to delay in responding to your invitation. Make me like the shepherds who responded to your glorious gospel with haste and great joy.
Amen
Devotion Author:
Dr. Janelle Aijian
Associate Director of Torrey Honors College
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:
Adoration of the Shepherds (closeup and full views)
Hugo van der Goes
c. 1480
Oil on panel
97 x 245 cm
Staatliche Museen
Berlin, Germany
This painting dates from artist Hugo van der Goes’ last creative period. In this Adoration of the Shepherds, Mary and Joseph are seen kneeling on either side of the manger, surrounded by the angels who are worshipping the Christ Child with them. The shepherds to whom God's angel has proclaimed the birth of Christ come hurrying in from the left side, curious and full of joy. When confronted with this miracle taking place before their eyes, one kneels down while the other stops midstride with his mouth wide open. The painting is framed on the right and left by two large, half-length figures, who draw a green curtain aside for all to see. These are Old Testament prophets who had foretold Christ's birth. They underline the profound significance of the event as those who had proclaimed that God would be incarnated as a mortal man. The sheaf of corn by the manger is linked with the sacrament of the Lord's Supper and Christ's words "I am the bread which came down from heaven" (John 6:41).
https://artsandculture.google.com/asset/the-adoration-of-the-shepherds-hugo-van-der-goes/JgFhttp://www.smb-digital.de/eMuseumPlus?service=direct/1/ResultLightboxView/result.t1.collection_lightbox.$TspTitleImageLink.link&sp=10&sp=Scollection&sp=SfieldValue&sp=0&sp=0&sp=3&sp=Slightbox_3x4&sp=12&sp=Sdetail&sp=0&sp=F&sp=T&sp=14
https://jhna.org/articles/hugo-van-der-goes-adoration-of-the-shepherds-between-ascetic-idealism-urban-networks-late-medieval-flanders/
About the Artist:
Hugo van der Goes (1430–1482) was one of the most significant and original Flemish painters of the late fifteenth century. Van der Goes was an important painter of altarpieces as well as portraits. He introduced important innovations in painting through his monumental style, use of a specific color range, and individualistic manner of portraiture. From 1483 onwards, his masterpiece the Portinari Triptych, in Florence, played a role in the development of realism and the use of color in Italian Renaissance art. Van der Goes achieved considerable success and secured important commissions from the Burgundian court, church institutions, affluent Flemish bourgeoisie, and associations of Italian businessmen based in the Burgundian Netherlands. When he had reached the peak of his career in 1477, he suddenly decided to close down his workshop in Ghent to become a lay brother at the monastic community of the Rood Klooster in Brussels. At the monastery he was allowed to continue working on painting commissions. However he suffered from acute depression, which led to a decline in health and ultimately to his untimely death.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hugo_van_der_Goes
https://artsandculture.google.com/entity/hugo-van-der-goes/m05tpqd?hl=en
About the Music:
“Mary Had a Baby” from the album Christmas
Lyrics:
Mary had a baby (My Lord)
Mary had a baby (Oh My Lord)
Mary had a baby (My Lord)
The people keep coming but the train has gone
Where did she lay him (My Lord)
Where did she lay him (Oh My Lord)
Where did she lay him (My Lord)
The people keep coming but the train has gone
Laid him in a manger (My Lord)
Laid him in a manger (Oh My Lord)
Laid him in a manger (My Lord)
The people keep coming but the train has gone
What did she name him? (My Lord)
What did she name him? (Oh My Lord)
What did she name him? (My Lord)
The people keep coming but the train has gone
Named him King Jesus (My Lord)
Named him King Jesus (Oh My Lord)
Named him King Jesus (My Lord)
The people keep coming but the train has gone
Who heard the singing? (My Lord)
Who heard the singing? (Oh My Lord)
Who heard the singing? (My Lord)
The people keep coming but the train has gone
Shepherds heard the singing (My Lord)
Shepherds heard the singing (Oh My Lord)
Shepherds heard the singing (My Lord)|
The people keep coming but the train has gone
Star keeps shining (My Lord)
Star keeps shining (Oh My Lord)
Star keeps shining (My Lord)
The people keep coming but the train has gone
Moving in the elements (My Lord)
Moving in the elements (Oh My Lord)
Moving in the elements (My Lord)
The people keep coming but the train has gone
Jesus went to Egypt (My Lord)
Jesus went to Egypt (Oh My Lord)
Jesus went to Egypt (My Lord)
The people keep coming but the train has gone
Traveled on a donkey (My Lord)
Traveled on a donkey (Oh My Lord)
Traveled on a donkey (My Lord)
The people keep coming but the train has gone
Angels went around him (My Lord)
Angels went around him (Oh My Lord)
Angels went around him (My Lord)
The people keep coming but the train has gone
About the Performer/Composer/Lyricist:
“Mary Had a Baby” is a St. Helena Island spiritual collected by Nicolas G. J. Ballanta-Taylor and adapted by Bruce Cockburn.
Bruce Cockburn (b. 1945) is a Canadian folk-rock guitarist and singer-songwriter who, for the past forty years, has been traveling to the corners of the globe doing humanitarian work and writing songs along the way. Those songs have brought Cockburn a long list of honors, including thirteen Juno Awards, an induction into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame, a Governor General’s Performing Arts Award, and several international awards. In 1982, he was made a Member of the Order of Canada and was promoted to Officer in 2002. His early work features rural and nautical imagery as well as biblical metaphors, while his later work has become increasingly more political.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bruce_Cockburn
http://brucecockburn.com/
Nicholas G. J. Ballanta-Taylor (1893–1962) was a Sierra Leonean music scholar, composer, and educator who conducted field research of the music of West Africa in the early twentieth century. His education in European music influenced his musical compositions. As musical director of the choral society in Freetown, Nicholas worked with Adelaide Caseley Hayford, who used her influence to promote Ballanta's education. When Mrs. Caseley Hayford travelled to America, she continued promoting his career. She urged him to join her and sent funds for his journey to the United States. Ballanta went to New York, where he was given a scholarship to the Institute of Musical Art (later the Juilliard School of Music) and graduated in 1924. Banker and philanthropist George Foster Peabody persuaded Ballanta to visit Alabama, Georgia, and South Carolina to better understand the music of African-Americans. While visiting the Penn School in South Carolina, Ballanta worked on a collection of one hundred three spirituals published in 1925 as Saint Helena Island Spirituals.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicholas_G._J._Ballanta
About the Poet:
Sara Teasdale (1884–1933) was an American lyric poet. In 1918 she won a Pulitzer Prize for her 1917 poetry collection Love Songs. Teasdale wrote seven books of poetry in her lifetime and received public admiration for her well-crafted lyrical poetry, which centered on a woman’s changing perspectives on beauty, love, and death. Many of Teasdale’s poems chart developments in her own life, from her experiences as a sheltered young woman in St. Louis, to those of a successful yet uneasy writer in New York City, to a depressed and disillusioned person who would unfortunately commit suicide. Although later critics and scholars have marginalized or excluded Teasdale from canons of early twentieth-century American verse, she was popular in her lifetime with both the public and critics. Teasdale’s early collections of poetry include Sonnets to Duse and Other Poems (1907), Helen of Troy and Other Poems (1911), and Rivers to the Sea (1915). Reviewing the 1915 volume Rivers to the Sea, a New York Times Book Review contributor deemed the book “a little volume of joyous and unstudied song.”
https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/sara-teasdale
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sara_Teasdale
About the Devotion Author:
Dr. Janelle Aijian
Associate Director of Torrey Honors College
Biola University
Janelle Aijian is an Associate Professor of Philosophy teaching in the Torrey Honors College at Biola University. She studies religious epistemology and early Christian ethics, and lives with her husband and their two children in La Mirada, California.