November 29: Favor With God
♫ Music:
Day 2 - Monday, November 29
Title: FAVOR WITH GOD
Scripture: Luke 1:30-33
Then the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name Jesus. He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David. And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end.”
Poetry:
from “Annunciation”
by Denise Levertov
She had been a child who played, ate, slept
like any other child–but unlike others,
wept only for pity, laughed
in joy not triumph.
Compassion and intelligence
fused in her, indivisible.
Called to a destiny more momentous
than any in all of Time,
she did not quail,
only asked
a simple, ‘How can this be?’
and gravely, courteously,
took to heart the angel’s reply,
the astounding ministry she was offered:
to bear in her womb
Infinite weight and lightness; to carry
in hidden, finite inwardness,
nine months of Eternity; to contain
in slender vase of being,
the sum of power–
in narrow flesh,
the sum of light.
Then bring to birth,
push out into air, a Man-child
needing, like any other,
milk and love–
but who was God.
This was the moment no one speaks of,
when she could still refuse.
A breath unbreathed,
Spirit,
suspended,
waiting.
____________________
She did not cry, ‘I cannot. I am not worthy,’
Nor, ‘I have not the strength.’
She did not submit with gritted teeth,
raging, coerced.
Bravest of all humans,
consent illumined her.
The room filled with its light,
the lily glowed in it,
and the iridescent wings.
Consent,
courage unparalleled,
opened her utterly.
HE WILL BE GREAT
Where must we look? What must we listen to? To what must we attend for today’s devotional?
Looking at today’s artwork, what do you see? I can’t help but notice the half-dismantled lamp moved from the sensible place allocated by a parent to the middle of the floor, the drawers scattered open, clothes (dirty or clean? both, probably, you may tut) scattered around, both beds unmade. The cordless phone is the only clue this is not a 2021 parental nightmare of a room. If you, like me, see the state of the room for disapproving comments, you might, like me, already be unprepared to see what God sees, or more specifically for today, hear what God has to say. (Do teenagers read this devotional? If so, do you see the image differently than I do?)
All four texts of passage, painting, poem, and song feature Mary. Today’s familiar song invites us to wonder at Mary’s knowing or blessed ignorance of the life to be lived by her son, the God Man, Jesus. As Denise Levertov notes in her poem, the moment of her consent to the angelic annunciation is vital for salvation history. Visual artists strive to capture the courageous humility of consent of this ‘[b]ravest of all humans.’
The bedroom, whatever its state, is grounding for the centrality of the young woman depicted. Patty Wickman’s Overshadowed takes its title from Luke 1:35 and the reference to the Holy Spirit, the power of the Highest. That angelic statement is made in answer to Mary’s question, ‘How will this be?’ (1:34) that follows today’s Bible passage. Classically the overshadowing Spirit is depicted at the annunciation as a hovering dove. Here, the lamp light is the source of the Spirit’s ‘overshadowing’ –literally casting a dove shadow on the young woman’s body via the shaping of her hands in humble consent. The vulnerability of the messy, private, semi-dressed state evokes that questioning of the song ‘Did you know?’ inviting the enlightened and compassionate answer ‘How could you!’ Mary was a common name, still is a common name - Wickman’s bedroom is no different to many teenage bedrooms. We love to dwell on the paradox of the announced incarnation, that the commonplace human might bear the divine. Levertov puts it so well. Hence the understandable focus on Mary. Yet our compassion, or even condescension, can skewer our attention away from God’s self-revelation.
Today’s Bible passage narrows our focus within this well-known biblical scene. Truthfully, it is only barely about Mary, even rudely so. Conception through birth and naming ceremony are pithily promised as a demonstration of the favor with God she has found. But it is the one who will bear the name who should draw our attention – Jesus – Savior, Great, Son of God, of David, of Jacob, King forever!
I need my Dad-eyes lifted from the state of the room. We need our human psychological fascination lifted from the perplexity of the soon to be pregnant virgin teenager. At least for the moment of engaging this biblical proclamation alongside our song, poem and art, let me invite you beyond Mary to the one whose favor is bestowed on her: our God is a saving God, a ruling God, faithful to his promises to generations and generations, still speaking his love and grace into action, even to his servant Mary. Never giving up on his creation under the regency of his people, now to be reconciled through this one to be born to a greatness irrespective of the state of Mary’s bedroom or dress of that day.
Will you and I look to Jesus this Advent with a relentless focus? Will we seek for moments in this season to look past those details that could consume our attention, that fascinate our human compassion, that offer sites for the human scale of empathy or even wonder? Will we allow distractions of messiness around us to give way to the glory of the announcement of the coming of our God in rule and deliverance?
Prayer:
Lord, to you I lift my eyes,
From where my help comes.
My ever-present help in times of trouble,
Savior, Great One, Son of God, Son of Man,
Ruler and King, I worship you.
Fix my eyes on you, by your Spirit,
And set my mind on things above,
As I bring to mind your coming from above,
Bringing peace and goodwill to all people,
Among whom I stand, in my messiness,
To be opened utterly,
To receive your loving grace,
Amen.
Devotion Author:
Dr. Andy Draycott
Associate Professor of Theology and Christian Ethics
Talbot School of Theology
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:
Overshadowed
Patty Wickman
2001
Oil on canvas
78 × 104 in.
Collection of Howard F. Ahmanson Jr. and Roberta Green Ahmanson
In the fifteenth century, Fra Roberto Caracciolo distinguished five successive spiritual and psychological states of Mary in the third mystery of the annunciation, the Angelic Colloquy. These states include disquiet, reflection, inquiry, submission, and merit. Fra Roberto’s analysis informed much of the visual iconography and depictions of the annunciation of the fifteenth century, and influenced Wickman’s reading and interpretation of the biblical text. Wickman was also deeply impacted by Dieric Bouts’ exquisite painting, The Annunciation, at the Getty Museum. Wickman’s interest lay in reflecting upon how a twenty-first-century Marian narrative might be represented. She has commented on her work saying that “light and shadow have long played significant roles in my work. In Overshadowed the viewer is positioned between an unshaded lamp, a bare bulb, and an adolescent girl kneeling on the ground. The protagonist holds her hands in a gesture of intimacy, possibly prayer, while simultaneously creating a shadow of a bird on her upper abdomen. Her active gesture and engagement with the source of light, despite her slight hesitation, indicates a willingness to collaborate and engage, an assent. The bedroom, cluttered on the left side of the painting, gives way to greater clarity and order on the right. A cordless phone lies on the floor, an open combination lock and empty bird cage occupy a dresser on the right edge of the painting. The moment of Annunciation, of saying yes to God, occurs within the chaos of everyday existence.”
About the Artist:
Patty Wickman (b. 1959) earned her B.F.A. from Arizona State University, Tempe, in 1981 and her M.F.A. at the University of Colorado, Boulder. In 1984, she accepted a teaching position at San Jose State University and a year later she joined the art faculty at UCLA, where she is currently Associate Professor of Painting and Drawing and has served as vice chair and chair of the department. Wickman’s spiritual beliefs and upbringing are a driving force for her work, with themes of lamentation, grace, and mercy present throughout. Wickman affirms that her artistic intent lies in her being "drawn to figures and situations that manifest a weakness, vulnerability, or brokenness—situations in which the possibility of grace and redemption are most present." She wants the figures to "maintain a delicate strength, balance, and dignity amidst their surroundings, seeking a state of being within the paintings that is visually analogous to the state of contemplative prayer." Wickman has exhibited nationally and internationally at venues such as Cornell DeWitt Gallery, New York; Los Angeles Contemporary Exhibitions, Los Angeles; Bridge Projects, Los Angeles; ACME Gallery, Los Angeles; Dan Bernier Gallery, Santa Monica; Lora Schlesinger Gallery, Santa Monica; Rosamund Felsen Gallery, Santa Monica; W139, Amsterdam; the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels, Los Angeles; the San Jose Museum of Art, San Jose, CA; and the Frye Art Museum, Seattle, WA. Reviews of Wickman’s work have been included in publications such as Artforum, Art in America, The Los Angeles Times, The New Yorker, and Image Journal. Her work is also featured in Full of Grace by Judith Dupré.
https://www.art.ucla.edu/faculty/wickman.htm
https://imagejournal.org/artist/patty-wickman/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patty_Wickman
https://www.bridgeprojects.com/programs/echo-locate-patty-wickman
About the Music:
“Mary Did You Know?”
Lyrics:
Mary did you know
That your baby boy will one day walk on water?
Mary did you know
That your baby boy will save our sons and daughters?
Did you know
That your baby boy has come to make you new?
This child that you've delivered
Will soon deliver you
Mary did you know
That your baby boy will give sight to a blind man?
Mary did you know
That your baby boy will calm a storm with His hand?
Did you know
That your baby boy has walked where angels trod?
And when you kiss your little baby
You've kissed the face of God
Mary, did you know?
The blind will see
The deaf will hear
And the dead will live again
The lame will leap
The dumb will speak
The praises of the Lamb
Mary did you know
That your baby boy is Lord of all creation?
Mary did you know
That your baby boy will one day rule the nations?
Did you know
That your baby boy is heaven's perfect Lamb?
This sleeping child you're holding
Is the Great I Am
Oh, Mary, did you know?
About the Performer:
Kateri Lirio is a recent graduate of the Longy School of Music at Bard College. Her capstone research project “Sustaining Intergenerational Media in Music Education” explores opportunities for effective musical instruction that engages students, families, and communities. A graduate of the renown Orange County School of the Arts, Lirio sharpened her classical piano skills and music theory knowledge at a young age. She continued her music education on a full scholarship to Cal Poly Pomona, California. The university’s learn-by-doing philosophy landed her opportunities to perform the original arrangement of George Gershwin’s “Rhapsody in Blue.” She was awarded the Paul Anka Songwriting Endowment in 2009 and graduated magna cum laude. As a collaborative pianist for nearly two decades, Lirio has spent most of her career supporting church ensembles and community theatre groups. She has shared the stage with singer Eden Espinosa (Wicked). As an educator, Lirio runs a virtual music studio and serves Los Angeles nonprofit organizations like the Filipino American Symphony Orchestra and the Arts for Healing and Justice Network. Lirio is a founding board member of the award-winning classical chamber ensemble Bridge to Everywhere.
http://www.katerilirio.com/
About the Composer:
Buddy Greene (b. 1953) is an American singer, songwriter, guitar player, and harmonica player. Most of his recordings consist of gospel music with a distinctly Southern flavor. Much of his music is also influenced by country music and bluegrass music. He has written the music for many songs and also co-wrote the Christmas song "Mary, Did You Know?" with Mark Lowry. Other milestones in Buddy’s career include performing at numerous Billy Graham crusades, especially the 1992 New York Crusade before a crowd of 250,000 in Central Park.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buddy_Greene
https://www.buddygreene.com/
About the Lyricist:
Mark Alan Lowry (b. 1958) is an American singer, comedian, minister, and songwriter. He is best known for co-writing the song "Mary, Did You Know?" with Buddy Greene and being a member of the Gaither Vocal Band from 1988 to 2001, and 2009 to 2013, along with Michael English, Guy Penrod, David Phelps, and Bill Gaither. Lowry has recorded twelve albums, both music and comedy. In 1984, Lowry wrote the lyrics to the song "Mary, Did You Know?" when asked to write a script for a church Christmas play. He wrote a series of questions that he would like to ask Mary, the mother of Jesus. Over the next decade, Lowry tried to find music that would complete the song. Eventually, musician and songwriter Buddy Greene wrote the music to the song. The song has become a popular Christmas classic and has been performed by more than thirty artists, including CeeLo Green, Clay Aiken, Kenny Rogers, Wynonna Judd, Michael English, Natalie Cole, Michael Crawford, and Dolly Parton.
https://marklowry.com/about
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_Lowry
About the Poet:
Denise Levertov (1923–1997) was educated entirely at home and claimed to have decided to become a writer at the age of five. When she was twelve, she sent some of her poetry to T. S. Eliot, who responded by encouraging her to continue writing. At age seventeen, she had her first poem published in Poetry Quarterly. Her poems of the 1950s won her widespread recognition and her book With Eyes at the Back of our Heads (1959) established her as one of the great American poets. Levertov went on to publish more than twenty volumes of poetry, and was also the author of four books of prose. Levertov’s conversion to Christianity in 1984 was the impetus for her religious poetry. In 1997, she brought together thirty-eight poems from seven of her earlier volumes in The Stream & the Sapphire, a collection intended, as Levertov explains in the foreword to the collection, to "trace my slow movement from agnosticism to Christian faith, a movement incorporating much doubt and questioning as well as affirmation."
https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/denise-levertov
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Denise_Levertov
About the Devotion Author:
Dr. Andy Draycott
Associate Professor of Theology and Christian Ethics
Talbot School of Theology
Biola University
Andy Draycott is a British immigrant scholar living in Southern California with his family. He is a lifelong fan of Charles Schultz’s Peanuts, enjoys reading novels and social history, and also enjoys cycling, running, and baking. Currently, he is an Associate Professor of Theology and Christian Ethics at Biola’s Talbot School of Theology. He counts God’s blessings in Christ, in local church, in family life, and in delightful work colleagues. His teaching and research on John Bunyan’s The Pilgrim’s Progress can be sampled at ProfessorPilgrimsProgress.com.