December 19: We Have Seen With Our Eyes
♫ Music:
Day 23 - Monday, December 19
Title: WE HAVE SEEN WITH OUR EYES
Scripture: 1 John 1:1-4
That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, concerning the Word of life—the life was manifested, and we have seen, and bear witness, and declare to you that eternal life which was with the Father and was manifested to us— that which we have seen and heard we declare to you, that you also may have fellowship with us; and truly our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ. And these things we write to you that your joy may be full.In villages God does not live only
Poetry & Poet:
“In Villages God Does Not Live Only”
by Joseph Brodsky
Translated by George L. Kline
In icon corners, as the scoffers claim,
but plainly, everywhere. He sanctifies
each roof and pan, divides each double door.
In villages God acts abundantly–
cooks lentils in iron pots on Saturdays,
dances a lazy jig in flickering flames,
and winks at me, witness to all of this.
He plants a hedge, and gives away a bride
(the groom's a forester), and, for a joke,
he makes it certain that the game warden
will never hit the duck he's shooting at.
The chance to know and witness all of this,
amidst the whistling of the autumn mist,
is, I would say, the only touch of bliss
that's open to the village atheist.
WE HAVE SEEN WITH OUR EYES
Today we are invited to see. We are invited even to a deeper level of seeing, that of beholding. We are invited to open our eyes to the Glory of God, ultimately revealed in Jesus Christ.
This invitation asks us to gaze into the immensity of eternity and to look for glory, yet at the same time, to notice the eternal and glorious that is present in our everyday world. The poem by Joseph Brodsky expresses that God lives “plainly, everywhere.” It is this presence of God in our everyday lives that often goes unnoticed—but we can look to behold God in the sky above us, the pot of food cooking on the stove, or the person we might disagree with across the street. All of these hold the reality of being God’s creation. And in that, we find our everyday world is filled with people and things that are called by God to reconciliation. As Jesus says: “Behold I am making all things new.”
Image Continuous by artist David Wallace Haskins presents the everyday sky in a recontextualized way that helps us behold it with greater wonder. We can gaze both at and into the sky straight on. As people encounter the work, they are filled with awe and curiosity, questioning what they're seeing—is it a painted blue circle or something more? Reaching out, they expect to touch something, until their hand moves through, and they discover it is not a surface, but a reflection appearing through a void.
When viewing Image Continuous, we look into the sky at the level of a face-to-face encounter. Instead of craning our necks to look up, we face forward, like we do for most of our everyday interactions with others. Looking like this into the infinite blue of day or the deepening sable of the night presents us with a gaze into infinity that we’re not accustomed to. Looking at it head-on, face to face, creates a profound experience.
I believe when we look into the sky as it stretches out forever, deep down we somehow feel the power that we are looking into eternity. We are then also face to face with what is inside us. For God has made us all to be eternal. And carrying our own eternity, we are confronted with eternal essence, invited ultimately toward a deeper relationship with God.
There’s a power and importance to being face to face, because what we look at, is what we become. When babies look at their parents, they learn more of who they are. Likewise, when I pay attention to things that are good and true and beautiful, it helps shape me in becoming more good, true, and beautiful. When I spend time with loving and hope-filled people, it helps me become more loving and hope-filled. David’s work then gives us an artistic invitation to theosis, the transformative process that moves us into likeness or union with God, a concept found in Eastern Orthodoxy.
So, as we think about seeing, we can be thankful that God blessed us with the gift of his face. John wrote about his friendship with Jesus, who he touched and whose glory he beheld. John saw Jesus face to face. And Christ still offers that invitation to anyone willing to look to Him wherever he reveals himself. Let us learn who and how to be as we look to behold Jesus.
Prayer:
As you pray, look out as far as you can into the distance saying:
God, I praise you for being the Eternal One, the All-Glorious Father. Creation is filled with your wonders. The sky above in all its immensity is held in you.
Now look down at your own hands and say:
Thank you God for meeting me in my everyday world. Thank you, Jesus that you came in deep humility to join with creation, even as a newborn baby who was fully human even as you are fully God.
Now close your eye and look inward:
Holy Spirit, help me to behold Christ today. Let me encounter Him in ways that shape me to be more like Jesus.
Steven Homestead
Artist, Composer, Writer, and Curator
For more information about the artwork, music, and poetry selected for this day, we have provided resources under the “About” tab located next to the “Devotional” tab.
About the Artwork:
Image Continuous from the Skycube series
David Wallace Haskins
2010–2021
Pyrolytic coated glass, aluminum
244 x 244 x 244 cm
Edith Farnsworth House
Plano, Illinois
Interdisciplinary artist David Wallace Haskins is known for creating art that functions like a portal, much of which shows the infinite sky for us to gaze at or even "into," presenting it in a recontextualized way. As people encounter his works whether in indoor or outdoor spaces, they are filled with a sense of awe and curiosity, questioning what exactly they're seeing. Reaching out, they expect to touch something, until their hand moves through, and they discover it is not a surface, but a reflection appearing through a void. Haskins believes small shifts in our perception can create meaningful consequences in everyday lives. His insightful projects continue traditions of the Light and Space movement through highly considered and polished works that isolate viewers’ experiences with phenomena of light, space, time, and sound. Each conceptually driven piece invites visitors to reorient themselves to the world around them. David has shared how his work has been inspired by the Eastern Orthodox concept of “theosis,” which is the transformative process that moves us into likeness or union with God.
About the Artist:
David Wallace Haskins (b. 1975) is an American interdisciplinary artist using light, space, time, and sound to create experiential installations, sculptures, and architectural interventions. His works often invite exploration and participation, challenging visitor’s assumptions while highlighting the interrelational dynamic they share with themselves, others, and the world around them. Haskins develops and contextualizes his work with a team of creative technicians—often partnering with specialists in psychology, ecology, physics, and philosophy. DWH Studio is based in Chicago, Illinois.
https://davidwallacehaskins.com/info
https://www.elmhurstartmuseum.org/exhibitions/david-wallace-haskins-polarity/
About the Music:
“What Glory Now Our Eyes Have Seen” from the album Messenger Hymns: Advent
Lyrics:
What glory now our eyes have seen
From angel’s praise on high
The King of glory condescends
To shine into our night
Glory to God in the highest
The saints and the angels sing
Praise and adore Him Messiah
Glory to the newborn King
And now we see the kingdom come
The darkness turns to light
The shout of sin is overthrown
By the baby’s cry
Glory to God in the highest
The saints and the angels sing
Praise and adore Him Messiah
Glory to the newborn
Glory to God in the highest
The saints and the angels sing
Praise and adore Him Messiah
Glory to the newborn King
And now this night our eyes has seen
Our faith turned to sight
The promise of the coming King
We now behold in Christ
About the Performer/Composer:
Matt Boswell is a widely respected hymn writer and leading figure in church music. Currently the founding pastor of the Trails Church in Prosper, Texas, he came to a saving faith in Christ at age seven while his father, a pastor, was planting a church. Matt has been involved in church planting and pastoral ministry since 1998, and is also an author and hymn writer. Matt is a graduate of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary (M.A., Christian ministry), and is also a Ph.D. candidate at Southern Seminary with an emphasis in Christian worship and biblical spirituality. He has released multiple albums and has authored or co-authored widely acclaimed songs, including “Christ the Sure and Steady Anchor” and “Come Behold the Wondrous Mystery.” Boswell is well-regarded not only for his hymn writing, but also his training of worship leaders for church ministry. He is the author of Doxology and Theology: How the Gospel Forms the Worship Leader. Boswell also is the founder of Doxology and Theology, a ministry focused on equipping and encouraging worship leaders in the practice of gospel-centered worship.
https://www.thetrails.org/leadership
https://www.sbts.edu/academics/faculty/matthew-boswell/
About the Poetry & Poet:
Joseph Brodsky (1940–1996) was a Russian-born American poet and essayist. Brodsky ran afoul of Soviet authorities and was expelled from the Soviet Union after being sentenced by authorities to a Soviet mental institution and years in an arctic labor camp. A public outcry from American and European intellectuals over his treatment helped to secure his early release. In 1972, with the help of the poet W. H. Auden, he settled in at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor as Poet-in-Residence. He then taught at several universities, including Queens College in New York, Yale, Columbia, and Cambridge. He won a Nobel Prize for his work and was appointed United States Poet Laureate in 1991. Predominant themes in his work are exile and loss, and man’s timeless concerns—man and nature, love and death, the ineluctability of anguish, and the fragility of human achievements and attachments.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Brodsky
https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/joseph-brodsky
About the Devotion Author:
Steven Homestead is an artist, composer, writer, curator, and speaker who brings genre-spanning creativity to life, whether by composing music, leading community art projects, writing and speaking on creativity and faith, or curating generative events and programs. Overall, Steven works to promote honor, champion voice, share wonder, and develop unity. Recent musical performances include premieres at CSUF’s New Music Festival, with Newgate Orchestra, conductor Christian Guebert, and soprano Linda Jackson. Steven earned his M.M. from CSUF and B.A. from UCLA, both in music composition. As the president of the American Composers Forum of Los Angeles (ACF-LA) from 2013 to 2021, he supported the development and appreciation of new music, including helping to launch the city of Los Angeles' month-long Compose LA festival in 2019. In the visual arts, Steven is the force behind multiple interactive installations, including work at the Laguna Beach Festival of Arts, Fuller Theological Seminary, and TEDx Mission Viejo. In addition, he has led numerous community art projects for Saddleback Visual Arts over the past decade, along with recent collaborations with Mariners Church and the Western Conference of the Church of the Brethren. In 2020, he developed and hosted a virtual poetry reading series and was guest curator in 2021 for the Boca De Oro festival, Orange County’s literary arts and culture festival. As an active member of Christians in the Visual Arts (CIVA), he helped develop the organization’s Heart to Heart program with Kent Larson and Barb Lidfors and in 2021 was invited to serve on CIVA’s inaugural advisory board.
http://stevenhomestead.com/