December 29: Precious Gifts as an Offering of Worship
♫ Music:
Day 33 - Thursday, December 29
Title: PRECIOUS GIFTS AS AN OFFERING OF WORSHIP
Scripture #1: Matthew 2:11
And when they had come into the house, they saw the young Child with Mary His mother, and fell down and worshiped Him. And when they had opened their treasures, they presented gifts to Him: gold, frankincense, and myrrh.
Scripture #2: Matthew 26:6–13
And when Jesus was in Bethany at the house of Simon the leper, a woman came to Him having an alabaster flask of very costly fragrant oil, and she poured it on His head as He sat at the table. But when His disciples saw it, they were indignant, saying, “Why this waste? For this fragrant oil might have been sold for much and given to the poor.” But when Jesus was aware of it, He said to them, “Why do you trouble the woman? For she has done a good work for Me. For you have the poor with you always, but Me you do not have always. For in pouring this fragrant oil on My body, she did it for My burial. Assuredly, I say to you, wherever this gospel is preached in the whole world, what this woman has done will also be told as a memorial to her.”
Poetry & Poet:
“The Meeting Place”
by Christopher Pilling
It was the arrival of the kings
that caught us unawares;
we’d looked in on the woman in the barn,
curiosity you could call it,
something to do on a cold winter’s night;
we’d wished her well –
that was the best we could do; she was in pain,
and the next thing we knew
she was lying on the straw
- the little there was of it –
and there was this baby in her arms.
It was, as I say, the kings
that caught us unawares….
Women have babies every other day,
not that we are there –
let’s call it a common occurrence though,
giving birth. But kings
appearing in a stable with a
‘Is this the place?’ and kneeling,
each with his gift held out towards the child!
They didn’t even notice us.
Their robes trailed on the floor,
rich, lined robes that money couldn’t buy.
What must this child be
to bring kings from distant lands
with costly incense and gold?
what would a tiny baby make of that?
And what were we to make of
was it angels falling through the air,
entwined and falling as if from the rafters
to where the gaze of the kings met the child’s
- assuming the child could see?
What would the mother do with the gift?
What would become of the child?
And we’ll never admit there are angels
or that somewhere between
one man’s eyes and another’s
is a holy place, a space where a king could be
at one with a naked child
at one with an astonished soldier.
PRECIOUS GIFTS AS AN ACT OF LOVE AND WORSHIP
Are you, like me, feeling the pinch of inflation this holiday season? If so, gift giving this year may not have inspired excitement. Inflation finds many tightening belts in one way or another. Several of my friends and family members lamented situations in which celebrations were scaled back or physical gifts were not possible. I was similarly dismayed, until the writing of this devotion provided enough pause to reevaluate my relationship to gifts and the nature of sacrificial love.
As a theatre professor part of my job is providing students with feedback on their performance work. It can be difficult to receive such criticism, no matter how constructive. I remind students it is through our “failures” that we learn how to grow. We must take the time to invest in the process, trusting it will lead to what we hope to accomplish. It can be challenging in our day and age to first slow down enough to take that time, and to also trust this act. C.F. John’s artwork Gathering Fragments is a metaphor for such “negotiations and balancing” we all work through internally day-to-day. But the work also reflects his own joy and a desired “state of connectedness and affectation with the world.”
Perhaps this year you could not afford what you could in the past, and it required you to do some negotiating and balancing. I imagine you instinctively had to do two things: take some time and get creative. Maybe this meant you had to be more thoughtful in your selection of gifts, which gave them greater meaning. Or maybe you found unique ways to bless others, through acts of service, making gifts at home, or spending quality time together. I would hazard a guess that in many instances there were also personal sacrifices made. Perhaps the process of assembling these fragments of meaning even brought you some joy along the way.
Sometimes what we view as hardship, or limitation, helps us not only mature, but more fully appreciate what we already have. Some of these situations require of us love and sacrifice that go beyond what we consider normal. I am reminded of the mystery and magnificence of the gift we have been given through Christ. Is it a great feat to give when we have plenty of reserves? Is it impressive that we love those who love us? If we give at cost to ourselves, or show love to those who would scorn and ridicule us, does that not mirror our Lord and Savior?
Prayer:
“Father, thank you for your unending love. I know in times of difficulty I have questioned your goodness, but I ask you to renew my heart and mind so I may continue to see your ever-present blessings, especially when I feel as though nothing is going right. Father, your gift of grace is a lavish one, and I exalt your name for loving us even when we do not love you back. I ask that you enlarge my heart for others, so I may be a reflection of your love unto them.
Amen.”
Zachary Bortot
Associate Professor of Theater
California Baptist University
Riverside, California
About the Artwork:
Gathering Fragments I
C. F. John
2012
Mixed media on canvas
12 × 12 in.
In artist C. F. John’s paintings, the image as well as the space around are fragmented into small parts of various proportions and are placed together again to bring about a completion and harmony of their own. “Gathering fragments” is used as a metaphor for the negotiations and balancing that we do within, in our day-to-day living. These paintings however go beyond just being still life or figure studies, especially when placed in the context of fasting and the voluntary emptying of a bowl as an offering to God. The featured artwork here is from John’s Gathering Fragments series. To be aware of emptiness, to empty the bowl, to ask God to fill our emptiness—all of these conditions are evoked in these images that stir our emotions as well as our contemplation. John describes his focus in painting, saying, “A sort of readiness for dissolution of the self to a realm of timelessness is what I seek. Doing paintings is meditation and a prayer for me.”
About the Artist:
C. F. John is an internationally exhibited, award-winning artist and social activist based in Bangalore, India. He works in a variety of mediums including oils, mixed media, and installation, and has even designed a few architectural spaces. Spirituality and ecology are important aspects in his practice. Responding to upheavals at various levels in the last twenty years, John has woven into his art the problems of urban living, struggles of disprivileged communities, and institutional mechanisms of control.
https://cfjohn.com/copy-of-contact
About the Music:
“Bethlehem’s Treasure” from the album Gospel Music
Lyrics:
Lord, You are more precious than silver
Lord, You are more costly than gold
Lord, You are more beautiful than diamonds
And nothing I desire compares with You
Gifts of praise, songs of love
Lord our vs we share
Celebrate, heavens above
Glad tidings to bear
Father’s gift of love come down
Sacrifice beyond all measure
Heavenly hosts proclaim this sound
Come and see the Infant king
Bethlehem’s Treasure
Many kings come afar
Seek the shining star
On our knees, in our hearts
We cry Lord of lords You are
Father’s gift of love come down
Sacrifice beyond all measure
Heavenly host proclaim the sound
Come and see the Infant king
Bethlehem’s Treasure
Riches unfold, frankincense and gold
Pale before the glory we behold
Father’s gift of love come down
Sacrifice beyond all measure
Heavenly host proclaim the sound
Come and see the Infant king
Bethlehem’s Treasure (3x)
About the Performers:
Living Stones Quartet featuring Cherry George Cherian
Br. George Cherian founded a youth movement in 1992 called Youth Movement of Missions India (YFM), whose goal is to reach out to the next generation with the gospel of Jesus Christ through various media. India has the largest youth population in the world. Today YFM’s commission remains unchanged—YFM wants to see young lives transformed to live out their God-given purpose and to see young people move from disillusionment to purpose, addiction to freedom, and from the worldly to the word of God.
https://www.facebook.com/cherrygcherian/
https://youthformission.com/#update
The Living Stones Quartet got its start with four men deciding to minister the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ through their gift of singing. They felt that Lord put this desire in their hearts as they first performed as a quartet for the Christmas concert of the Kottayam Mixed Voices in 2012. The four of them share not just a passion for quartet singing but also for sharing what the Lord has done in their lives. In a world where the “harvest is plentiful and workers are few,” The Living Stones Quartet finds joy in bringing meaningful music to a hurting world. While they root their harmonies in traditional church hymns, the quartet blends together a variety of sounds, including Southern gospel music, spirituals, a capella styles, and contemporary gospel music. The Living Stones Quartet roster comprises Alen Itty Jose, Jithin Mathew Abraham, Olive Abraham, and Blesson M. Joseph.
https://www.mymusicministry4u.com/index.php/group/profile/the-living-stones-quartet/12
About the Composer:
Lynn DeShazo is the author of some of the church's most loved worship songs of today, many of which have been featured on the live praise and worship recordings produced by Integrity Media. DeShazo is best known for such songs as "More Precious Than Silver," "Lead Me to the Rock," "Turn My Heart," "Be Magnified," "Be Unto Your Name," "Stand Up and Give Him the Praise," "In Your Presence, O God," and "Ancient Words." Her songs have been performed by a diverse and distinguished group of worship leaders and vocalists including LaMar Boschman, Travis Cottrell, Brian Doerksen, the Women of Faith worship team, Graham Kendrick, Don Moen, Paul Wilbur, Kelly Willard, Michael W. Smith, and John Tesh. She has been involved in worship ministry on the local church level for over twenty-five years as a worship leader, a songwriter, and a musician. DeShazo travels frequently as a guest worship leader, instructor, and minister to a wide variety of churches, retreats, and conferences within the USA and abroad.
https://www.delicatefade.com/biography.asp?ID=1305
https://www.lynndeshazo.com/about-lynn-deshazo/
About the Poetry & Poet:
Christopher Pilling (b. 1936) was born in Birmingham and taught in a Quaker boarding school before moving to Keswick, Cumbria, where he taught French, German, and Latin. He was a prizewinner in the National Poetry Competition and has published nine collections of his own poetry, as well as translations of poems by Tristan Corbièr. He has also written a number of plays. With William Scammell, he founded a Cumbrian Poets' workshop which has run for thirty years, and has seen two of his plays performed at Theatre by the Lake in Keswick. In 2006, Pilling won first prize in the John Dryden Translation Competition, one of the UK's most prestigious translation awards.
https://www.arcpublications.co.uk/writers/christopher-pilling
About the Devotion Author:
Zachary Bortot
Associate Professor of Theater
California Baptist University
Riverside, California
Zachary Bortot is an Associate Professor of Theatre at California Baptist University. Prior to CBU he served as the Artistic Director for Biola University's Theatre Program, as well as the Director of Development for the Chicago based non-profit Christian theatre company, Honest Theatre. He last directed Biola’s spring production of Sarah Ruhl’s Eurydice and is currently directing for CBU Tim Slover’s Joyful Noise, about the tribulations George Frederic Handel faced in the creation of his masterwork Messiah. You will be able to see him next as Sebastian in Rebel Run Studio’s science-fiction film adaptation of Shakespeare’s The Tempest.