December 17: Christ Game Into the World to Save Sinners
♫ Music:
Day 21 - Saturday, December 17
Title: CHRIST CAME INTO THE WORLD TO SAVE SINNERS
Scripture: 1 Timothy 1:15-17
This saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost. But I received mercy for this reason, that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display his perfect patience as an example to those who were to believe in him for eternal life. To the King of the ages, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.
Poetry & Poet:
“Prodigal Ghazal”
by Jill Peláez Baumgaertner
Weightless as a float into the drift of water, one whose sin is
-----forgiven.
The Far Country a memory of fists and sour apples.
Of that old, heavy plunge through snowfall, frozen, refrozen.
The tug of gravity, slow and silent.
Of no words forming on dry lips, of breath aching to a full
-----inhale and then a letting go.
Of not yet. Not yet. And the longing for release.
The hold of grimy pleasures like a small mouth forming very
-----small o’s,
Like spaces as vast as the tundra with no human voice or as
-----tight as a wound spool.
The wasting disease of sin, God’s serious hand of judgment.
Then his gentle push: the swing into the spring air, back
-----and forth.
And then the breathing, unboxed. And later the fingers spread
wide in the grass, each particular blade a tickle.
The Father runs into the road, his embrace a chunk of earth to
-----the unmoored.
The twisted eyebeams, the Father’s gaze into his son’s tentative
-----face.
Pupils black with light peering into the lens of revelation,
-----crystalline.
Now comes the filling in of hunger, the bread hunks spilling
-----crumbs.
The wine meant for throats dry with salt and dust.
Here is God, his strokes on our dead flesh
Filling capillaries, sparking nerves. We are fed with the crusts
And blood of forgiveness, with the thrill of its gentle float,
-----its ripe music.
CHRIST CAME INTO THE WORLD TO SAVE SINNERS
“Jesus came into the world to save sinners.” Indeed. Sinners who are shaped by their sin in every aspect of their being. Sinners awash in shame. Sinners under the burden of guilt. Sinners contaminated by the unclean. Jesus came into the world to save sinners. But Jesus didn’t come merely to mend, heal, clean and restore. He did this, of course, but he came likewise to display—to reveal, to make known, to cast abroad the knowledge of his character, his will, the radiance of his glorious self-knowledge. Jesus came into the world to display himself to those lost and buried in ignorance.
And this revelation—it is an invitation: to wonder as we wander, to have visions of the past, present and future, to be transported from the narrow confines of a prison cell, to see beyond the rhythms, fears and hopes of the present, to see a light greater than any available through the narrow prison windows of this life. To see in the midst of tyranny the true King. To contemplate the immortal God as we walk among the tombs. To dwell upon the invisible one made visible, as the walls and confinements fade from our attention. To rejoice in honor amidst shame, glory amidst the mundane, and the only God among the idols.
I have been in this prison cell, depicted by Rembrandt, while touring Rome. Two things struck me. The tiny confines of the cell, and the cold—a cold deeper than the mere temperature. The masonry gathered up the shadows and the cold, storing them against the warm months to come. But what does God’s self-revelation in Christ do? It transports us. A deeper warmth radiates in Paul’s face, and a light shines, opening his eye to sights not seeable to other prisoners. God became man that we might see, that we might know, that our eyes might be opened to realities bigger than those that appear to surround us.
And in this work too, he saves us. For among our other qualities God included the fact that we are creatures who have reason and understanding, who love knowledge. Yes, we act and feel—we are sustained by food, drink and the human touch. But among these is the fact that we or creatures made for wisdom, made for knowledge. And to this end, God became man that we might know, that he might put himself on display for our delight and contemplation. That we might wonder, not merely at what we do not know, do not understand, but that we might wonder at what has been made known to us, in Christ coming into this world.
Prayer:
Father, Son and Holy Spirit,
Thank you for the gift of knowledge.
For the faculties of reason and memory.
For books, language and conversation.
For the gift of not merely acting and feeling—
But of grasping the reason, the history,
The purposes of things.
For these are wonderful and great gifts.
Not merely to be redeemed and saved—
But to know and delight in our Savior.
We thank you for the joy and goodness
Of the wonder that you have offered us.
Dr. Adam Johnson
Associate Professor of Theology
Torrey Honors College
Biola University
About the Artwork:
Paul in Prison
Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn
1627
Oil on canvas
73 × 60 cm
Staatsgalerie Stuttgart
Stuttgart, Germany
The Apostle Paul, with his belongings scattered about him, is shown sitting on his bed confined in a prison cell. His expression does not indicate a man imprisoned, but a man determined to minister and pray on behalf of churches and believers around the world. The pen in his left hand suggests that he was writing one of his many epistles to the churches of Colosse, Ephesus, and Philippi. A gentle light from the window envelops his head in a halo. The large sword leaning on the bed may be a symbol of his impending martyrdom or perhaps an allusion to the sword of the spirit from Ephesians 6:17. Despite his hardships and imprisonment, Paul did not despair in his incarceration, but used this time as an opportunity to further the gospel and the Kingdom of God with a robust ministry of preaching, praying, suffering, and writing.
https://www.bibleodyssey.org/en/tools/image-gallery/p/paul-in-prison
About the Artist:
Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn (1606–1669) was a Dutch draftsman, painter, and printmaker. He is generally considered one of the greatest visual artists in the history of art and the most important in Dutch art history. Unlike most Dutch masters of the seventeenth century, Rembrandt’s works depict a wide range of style and subject matter, from portraits and self-portraits to landscapes, genre scenes, allegorical and historical scenes, and biblical and mythological themes. His contributions to art came in a period of great wealth and cultural achievement that historians call the “Dutch Golden Age.” Having achieved youthful success as a portrait painter, Rembrandt’s later years were marked by personal tragedy and financial hardships. Rembrandt’s portraits of his contemporaries, self-portraits, and illustrations of scenes from the Bible are regarded as his greatest creative triumphs. His self-portraits form a unique and intimate autobiography, in which the artist surveyed himself without vanity and with the utmost sincerity. Rembrandt’s foremost contribution in the history of printmaking was his transformation of the etching process from a relatively new reproductive technique into a true art form. Because of his empathy for the human condition, he has been called one of the greatest storytellers in the history of art, possessing an exceptional ability to render people in their various moods and dramatic guises. Rembrandt is also known as a painter of light and as an artist who favored an uncompromising realism.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rembrandt
https://www.biography.com/artist/rembrandt
About the Music: “I Wonder as I Wander” (single)
Lyrics:
I wonder as I wander, out under the sky
How Jesus my Savior did come for to die
For poor ordinary people like you and like I
I wonder as I wander, out under the sky.
When Mary birthed Jesus 'twas in a cow's stall
With wise men and farmers and shepherds and all.
But high from God's heaven, a star's light did fall,
And the promise of ages it then did recall.
If Jesus had wanted for any wee thing,
A star in the sky or a bird on the wing,
Or all of God's Angels in heaven to sing,
He surely could have it, 'cause he was the King.
I wonder as I wander out under the sky,
How Jesus the Saviour did come for to die.
For poor on'ry people like you and like I;
I wonder as I wander out under the sky.
"I Wonder as I Wander" is a Christian folk hymn, typically performed as a Christmas carol, written by American folklorist and singer/songwriter John Jacob Niles. The hymn has its origins in a song fragment of three lines collected by Niles in 1933. Based on this fragment, Niles composed the version of "I Wonder as I Wander" that is known today, by extending the melody to four lines and the lyrics to three stanzas. It was originally published in Songs of the Hill Folk in 1934. With the writing of additional verses and the development of original music, “I Wonder As I Wander” came into being, and has been sung worldwide ever since.
About the Performer:
Simon Khorolskiy (b. 1990) is a Russian-born American singer based in Washington state. Music has always been an important part of his life but after he became a Christian, he felt blessed with a passion to sing and compose music for the Lord’s glory. Finding great inspiration for new songs in the Bible, many of his songs have been born while meditating on God’s word. His work is solely supported by viewer donations—not by a label or commercial company.
https://simonkhorolskiy.com/https://simonkhorolskiy.com/ally
About the Composer:
John Jacob Niles (1892–1980) was an American composer, singer, and collector of traditional ballads. Called the "Dean of American Balladeers," Niles was an important influence on the American folk music revival of the 1950s and 1960s, with singers Odetta, Joan Baez, Burl Ives, Peter, Paul and Mary, and Bob Dylan, among others, recording his songs. He became a serious student of Appalachian folk music from 1910 to 1917 by transcribing traditional songs from oral sources while an itinerant employee of the equipment manufacturer Burroughs Corporation. After serving in the US Army Air Service during World War I, he studied music in France. Returning to the United States in 1920, he continued his studies at the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music. In the 1920s, Niles began publishing music. He made four extended trips into the southern Appalachians as an assistant to photographer Doris Ulmann, again transcribing traditional songs from oral sources, including the ballads "Pretty Polly," "Barbara Allen," and "He's Goin' Away." Niles was also a noted songwriter. Later in life, Niles published compositions in a more classical style, including works for choir and art songs for voice and piano. The latter include the Niles-Merton Songs, a collection of twenty-two art songs which set the poetry of Trappist monk and theologian Thomas Merton to music.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Jacob_Niles
About the Poetry & Poet:
Jill Pelaez Baumgaertner is the author of six collections of poetry, including the 2022 publication From Shade to Shine: New Poems. She has also edited a collection of poetry, Imago Dei: Poetry from Christianity and Literature; written a textbook/anthology entitled Poetry; and published Flannery O’Connor: A Proper Scaring, which is still in print after thirty years. Taking Root in the Heart, an anthology of poetry from the Christian Century, will be published in 2023. She was a Fulbright fellow, and was nominated for a Pushcart Prize. She has served as the poetry editor of The Cresset and First Things and currently serves as poetry editor of The Christian Century. She is also a professor emerita of English and former dean of humanities and theological studies at Wheaton College in Illinois.
https://jillbaumgaertner.com/bio/
About the Devotion Author:
Dr. Adam Johnson
Associate Professor of Theology
Torrey Honors College
Biola University
Adam Johnson is a theologian and a professor for the Torrey Honors College who focuses on the doctrine of the atonement, exploring the many ways in which the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ affect the reconciliation of all things to God. His most recent book is The Reconciling Wisdom of God: Reframing the Doctrine of the Atonement. He and his wife, Katrina, have been married nineteen years and have three sons. They love camping and exploring America’s national parks.