December 6: The Humble Rejoice
♫ Music:
Day 9 - Monday, December 6
Title: THE HUMBLE REJOICE
Scripture: Luke 1:47; Psalm 34:1-3
“My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior.”
I will bless the Lord at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth. My soul shall make its boast in the Lord; The humble shall hear of it and be glad. Oh, magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt His name together.
Poetry:
Thank You
by Ross Gay
If you find yourself half naked
and barefoot in the frosty grass, hearing,
again, the earth's great, sonorous moan that says
you are the air of the now and gone, that says
all you love will turn to dust,
and will meet you there, do not
raise your fist. Do not raise
your small voice against it. And do not
take cover. Instead, curl your toes
into the grass, watch the cloud
ascending from your lips. Walk
through the garden's dormant splendor.
Say only, thank you.
THE HUMBLE REJOICE
My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior.
I will bless the Lord at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth. My soul shall make its boast in the Lord; The humble shall hear of it and be glad. Oh magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt his name together.
I am afraid that in my heart I am anything but humble. I don’t know about you, but as I read this passage I realize that I’m just like most of us. I find the desire for recognition and accolades a driving attribute of my life! I want to be important, to be recognized for how smart and talented I must be; and I want to be beloved and looked up to by my peers, my bosses, my employees, and the world. I want to be a leader, my own person, and in charge! And when I don’t get the recognition or opportunities I think I deserve, I can get, and you can ask my wife because she has seen me at my worst, grumpy and a little bitter to say the least! My life can become all about the “I and my!” (You can circle them in this paragraph to see what I’m talking about!)
It grieves me to see how our culture, media, and we have glorified and elevated certain people in our world, this elevation encourages us all to seek the “I and my!” To what am I referring? Perhaps it’s the actor we see on the big screen and little screens. All you have to do is watch a media awards show to see this demonstrated. Maybe it’s the band or musician that lives for the cheers of the crowd, or the athlete that draws media attention for their athletic prowess, or a business owner for the money that they make or what they accomplish in their industry. Perhaps it’s the pastor of the growing mega-church that believes it’s their wit and wisdom that got them there, or the philanthropist that takes credit for the results of their giving. As a reminder my friends—offers fade, voices falter, bodies fail, and markets fall just as some mega-church pastors.
Now, don’t get me wrong, success is not a bad thing. And being driven by success is not necessarily a fault. Most of the great things accomplished in this world are accomplished by the tenacity and drive of an individual or team! It is however, when we forget where those opportunities, skills, talents, and resources come from that we fail. We become driven by the “I and my,” rather than the His!
So, what’s the answer if you are finding yourself grumpy, bitter, and maybe even a little depressed? We are reminded in these passages:
My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior.
I will bless the Lord at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth. My soul shall make its boast in the Lord; The humble shall hear of it and be glad. Oh magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt his name together.
In this Advent season, as we remember the birth of our Savior Jesus Christ, let us recall and rejoice in the mighty work of His hands, and our salvation that only comes from His death and resurrection. Let us find ourselves humble in the site of the Lord and let us boast and succeed only in the Lord.
May this be our prayer!
Father, hear us this day as we seek to remember that all that matters in this life is what is done and accomplished in your name and for your purpose. May our name be decreased and your name increased, and may we find ourselves fully magnifying you and exalting in your name forever.
In our Savior Jesus name we pray,
Amen
Devotion Author:
Dr. Rick Bee
Senior Director of Foundation Relations
and Capital Projects
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:
My Soul Magnifies the Lord
Shin-hee Chin
2018-2019
Mixed Media on mulberry paper
16.5 x 182 cm (flat)
This work by Shi-hee Chin is inspired by the Magnificat. The artist explains the work, saying, “The whole work is a metaphor for the female body from which new life merges, suggesting stillness and waiting in the presence of the Creator. The voluminous shrouding contour of the shirt is intended to evoke the fertile empowered body found in her experience of her pro-creative power. The work is composed of 24 panels each depicting a pregnant woman. The trip to China planted a seed—dream-in me—pregnancy, or process, or waiting on God in itself is a blessing.”
About the Artist:
Shin-hee Chin is a fiber/mixed-media artist and professor in the Visual Art Department at Tabor College. Chin’s work has been exhibited nationally and internationally, including Washington, DC, Tokyo, Hampton, Geneva, Tainan, and Seoul. Chin’s work was featured as the cover of the Studio Art Quilt Associates Journal (2017) and the cover of Surface Design Association Journal (2014). As an esteemed educator for fifteen years, Chin has taught drawing, painting, color theory, and mixed media. She was elected as Distinguished Faculty in 2008. Influenced by feminist traditions, Christian spirituality, and Eastern philosophy, Chin has created a coherent narrative addressing the complex issues of the female body, procreation and motherhood, cultural identity, cultural hybridity, and sense of belonging.
https://shinheechin.com/
About the Music:
“Magnificat Primi Toni” from the album A Choral Tapestry
Lyrics: Luke 1:46-55 (Vulgate Bible)
Magnificat anima mea Dominum;
Et exultavit spiritus meus in Deo salutari meo,
Quia respexit humilitatem ancillae suae;
ecce enim ex hoc beatam me dicent omnes generationes.
Quia fecit mihi magna qui potens est,
et sanctum nomen ejus,
Et misericordia ejus a progenie in progenies timentibus eum.
Fecit potentiam in bracchio suo;
Dispersit superbos mente cordis sui.
Deposuit potentes de sede, et exaltavit humiles.
Esurientes implevit bonis, et divites dimisit inanes.
Suscepit Israel, puerum suum,
recordatus misericordiae suae,
Sicut locutus est ad patres nostros,
Abraham et semini ejus in saecula.
*Gloria Patri, et Filio, et Spiritui Sancto,
sicut erat in principio, et nunc, et semper:
et in Saecula saeculorum.
Amen
English Translation (Book of Common Prayer 1662)
My soul doth magnify the Lord.
And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour.
For he hath regarded: the lowliness of his
handmaiden:
For behold, from henceforth: all generations shall
call me blessed.
For he that is mighty hath magnified me: and holy is
his Name.
And his mercy is on them that fear him: throughout
all generations.
He hath shewed strength with his arm: he hath
scattered
the proud in the imagination of their hearts.
He hath put down the mighty from their seat:
and hath exalted the humble and meek.
He hath filled the hungry with good things:
and the rich he hath sent empty away.
He remembering his mercy hath holpen his servant
Israel:
As he promised to our forefathers,
Abraham and his seed for ever.
*Glory be to the Father, and to the Son:
and to the Holy Ghost;
As it was in the beginning, is now,
and ever shall be: world without end.
Amen.
*The Gloria Patri is appended to the canticle but is not part of Luke's Gospel.
About the Performers:
Formed in 2005, VOCES8, an a cappella octet from the United Kingdom, has a diverse repertoire ranging from early English and European Renaissance choral works to their own original arrangements. The ensemble is dedicated to supporting promising young singers and awards eight annual choral scholarships through the VOCES8 Scholars Initiative, at which amateur singers of all ages are invited to work and perform with the ensemble. VOCES8 tours extensively throughout Europe, North America, and Asia, and their artistic collaborations have included the Philharmonia Orchestra, London Philharmonic Orchestra, period ensemble Les Inventions, violinist Hugo Ticciati, and cellist Matthew Sharp.
http://www.voces8.com/
About the Composer/Lyricist:
The sixteenth-century Italian composer Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina (1525/1526–1594) is regarded as one of the greatest Renaissance masters, producing hundreds of sacred vocal works of serene beauty. His music is known for its clarity of line, lovely harmonies, and a joyous rhythmic sense. The "Palestrina Style" is characterized by a sense of perfect balance and equilibrium: a seamless combination of always intelligible words and rich vocal sounds. An organist, he began composing and subsequently his music was noticed by the Bishop of Palestrina. When the bishop became Pope Julius III in 1550, Palestrina was appointed choirmaster of the Julian Chapel of St. Peter's Basilica in Rome. Palestrina worked in other major Roman churches, but returned to the Julian Chapel as choirmaster in 1571, where he remained for the rest of his life. Palestrina's large body of work encompasses the most important musical categories of the late Renaissance period: masses, motets, and madrigals. He wrote predominantly sacred music, for which he was famous and admired in his own time. He is regarded as one of the greatest Renaissance masters, producing hundreds of sacred vocal works of serene beauty.
https://www.kennedy-center.org/artists/d/da-dn/giovanni-da-palestrina/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giovanni_Pierluigi_da_Palestrina
About the Poet:
Ross Gay (b. 1974) is an American poet and professor. Along with a National Book Critics Circle Award for poetry, he is the author of The New York Times best-selling collection of essays, The Book of Delights. Gay compiled the book for a year’s worth of daily essays about things that delighted him, especially the small actions of individuals that create community. The Book of Delights, he said, “is about how do we attend to the ways that we make each other possible.” He earned a B.A. from Lafayette College, an M.F.A. in Poetry from Sarah Lawrence College, and a Ph.D. in English from Temple University. He is the author of Be Holding (2020); Catalog of Unabashed Gratitude (2015), winner of the Kingsley Tufts Award and a finalist for the National Book Award and the National Book Critics Circle Award; Bringing the Shovel Down (2011); and Against Which (2006). Gay is the coauthor, with Aimee Nezhukumatathil, of the chapbook Lace and Pyrite: Letters from Two Gardens (2014), and, with Richard Wehrenberg, Jr., of River (2014). His honors include fellowships from the Guggenheim Foundation, Cave Canem, and the Bread Loaf Writers Conference. He is an editor with the chapbook presses Q Avenue and Ledge Mule Press and is a founding editor, with Karissa Chen and Patrick Rosal, of the online sports magazine Some Call it Ballin’. He teaches at Indiana University and in Drew University’s low-residency M.F.A. program.
https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/ross-gay
About the Devotion Author:
Dr. Rick Bee
Senior Director of Foundation Relations
and Capital Projects
Biola University
Dr. Rick Bee is the Senior Director of Foundation Relations and Capital Projects at Biola Univeristy. Rick has graduated three times from Biola University and Talbot School of Theology, and has served the University in the Advancement area for over forty years. Rick and his wife, Julie, live in Yorba Linda, California, and have two married adult daughters (both Biola alumni) and four grandchildren (future alumni!).