December 23: Good Tidings of Great Joy
♫ Music:
Day 21 - Saturday, December 23
Title: GOOD TIDINGS OF GREAT JOY
Scripture #1: Isaiah 40:9 (NKJV)
O Zion,you who bring good tidings, get up into the high mountain; O Jerusalem, you who bring good tidings, Lift up your voice with strength, lift it up, be not afraid; say to the cities of Judah, “Behold your God!”
Scripture #2: Isaiah 52:7–10 (NKJV)
How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him who brings good news, Who proclaims peace, who brings glad tidings of good things, who proclaims salvation, who says to Zion, “Your God reigns!” Your watchmen shall lift up their voices, with their voices they shall sing together; For they shall see eye to eye when the Lord brings back Zion. Break forth into joy, sing together, you waste places of Jerusalem! For the Lord has comforted His people, He has redeemed Jerusalem. The Lord has made bare His holy arm in the eyes of all the nations; and all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God.
Poetry & Poet:
“XXVII Dominus Illuminatio”
by Malcolm Guite
Oh let me see with his eyes from now on
Whose gaze on beauty makes it beautiful,
Who looks us into love and looks upon
His whole creation with a merciful
And loving eye. My heart has said of him
Seek out his face, I’ve sensed his bountiful
Presence shimmering behind the dim
Veil of things. That presence calls to me
Calls me to tremble at the brink and rim
Of lived experience, and then to free
Myself of fear. to trust him, and to dive
Right off that brink, into his mystery
Into that deep and holy sea of love
In which the living worlds all float and swim
To dare each moment’s death, that I might live.
BEAUTIFUL FEET HERALDING GOD’S GOOD REIGN
Feet are not particularly attractive. Sure, some are more pleasing to look at than others, but feet tend to serve a more utilitarian purpose, their labor reflected in their worn and weathered appearance over time. Day after day our feet traverse all kinds of terrain, both literally and figuratively. They take us either toward or away from God. They can lead us to sow peace and goodness just as they can carry us into violence and evil.
Today’s Scripture highlights the feet which are deemed beautiful because of the good news they carry. In 586 BC the city of Jerusalem lay in ruins because of the violence inflicted by Babylon, leaving Judah in a devastating exile of despair. Isaiah 40 breaks into this desolation as Yahweh proclaims a reversal of Judah’s plight. Exile is over! Yahweh is bringing restoration and freedom. This is the kind of news that Jerusalem will want to shout from a high mountain at the top of her lungs, “Behold, your God!”
This news is so jubilant that the messenger runs at a full sprint to Jerusalem to declare it widely. The watchmen on the city walls are straining their eyes, hoping for a reason to rejoice. Discerning that the messenger’s feet are not running at the pace of dejection, they immediately spread the word: “God reigns!” Yahweh has “made bare His holy arm”—his hands are out of his pockets, he’s rolled up his sleeves to actively bring comfort and redemption to his people.
Years later the Gospel writers proclaim a similar message about Jesus. To those who lie in ruins, to those in desperate need of restoration, Jesus has come, declaring the good news of the kingdom to come. After Jesus is lifted up from the earth in crucifixion, he is taken down into the grave of death, where flesh decomposes into skeletal remains. Procopio’s illustration captures what happens next: Jesus’s body is lifted up again, only this time into new life. Jesus’s feet eternally bear the marks of violence, reminiscent of his suffering on our behalf. And yet his holey, holy feet are tightly wrapped not with graveclothes, but with verdant, new creation beauty. He is the embodiment of resurrection life and eternal flourishing.
All is not yet fully restored in our world. Every day we wake up to feet delivering more bad news, our newsfeeds populated with reports of destruction, violence, and intractable conflicts filled with stalemates and reactionary responses. We still cry out, “Come, Lord Jesus!”
Malcolm Guite’s poem reminds us that God’s kingdom has come and is coming. The crucified, resurrected, ascended Son is sitting at the right hand of the Father, reigning on high and yet oh, so close to us. His Presence is “shimmering behind the dim Veil of things,” inviting us to cast off fear and dive “into that deep and holy sea of love.” And why wouldn’t we? We are safe in Him no matter how bad the news is. He is the One who went to death and back for us. This good news is surely worth running at a full sprint for.
Prayer
Jesus, your broken, beautiful feet remind us of how far you traveled to redeem and restore us, and how you make all things new. As we prepare to commemorate your arrival this season, we rejoice in your salvation, and we seek to love boldly in response.
Amen.
Dr. Jeannine Hanger
Assistant Professor
Talbot School of Theology
Biola University
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:
Ascension
Stephen Procopio
2020
From Come See a Man, An Illustrated Gospel of John
by Fish Coin Press
About the Artist:
Stephen Procopio is an illustrator living outside Washington, D.C. He received his M.F.A. in illustration from the School of Visual Arts in New York City. Currently working as a full-time illustrator, Propcopio also teaches illustration at The Art League in Old Town Alexandria, Washington, D.C.
https://procopiodraws.com/
https://www.fishcoin.press/product-page/come-see-a-man
About the Music:
“Messiah Medley” from the album Joy to the World
Lyrics:
And the glory of, the glory of the Lord,
Shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together, together,
For the mouth of the Lord has spoken it.
And the glory of, the glory of the Lord.
For unto us a child a born,
Unto us, a Son is given,
Unto us, A Son is given,
And the government shall be upon His shoulder,
And his name shall be calleth,
Wonderful, counselor, the mighty God,
The everlasting father, the prince of peace,
The everlasting father, the prince of peace.
Glory to God, glory to God in the highest,
Good will (good will), Good will (good will),
Good will (good will), Good will (good will),
Towards man, good will towards man.
Rejoice, rejoice, rejoice greatly,
The King from His home to thee,
Who is this king of glory?
Who is this king of glory?
This king of glory,
The Lord strong and mighty,
The Lord strong and mighty,
The Lord of hosts,
He is the king of glory,
He is the king of glory,
He is, the king of glory,
And He shall reign for ever and ever,
King of kings,
Forever and ever,
And Lord of lords,
Hallelujah, hallelujah,
And he shall reign forever, forever and ever,
King of kings,
And Lord of Lords,
King of kings,
And Lord of lords,
And He shall reign for ever and ever,
King of kings and Lord of lords,
Hallelujah Hallelujah,
Hallelujah, Hallelujah,
Hallelujah!!!!
About the Composer:
George Frederic Handel (1685–1759) was a German Baroque composer who spent the bulk of his career in London and became well-known for his operas, oratorios, anthems, and organ concertos. He was strongly influenced by the great composers of the Italian Baroque and the middle-German polyphonic choral tradition. Musicologist Winton Dean writes that his operas show that "Handel was not only a great composer; he was a dramatic genius of the first order.” Handel’s Messiah was first performed in Dublin, Ireland, in April 1742 and received its London premiere nearly a year later. After an initially modest public reception, the oratorio gained in popularity, eventually becoming one of the best-known and most frequently performed choral works in Western music. Handel's Messiah has been described by the early-music scholar Richard Luckett as "a commentary on Jesus Christ's Nativity, Passion, Resurrection, and Ascension," beginning with God's promises as spoken by the prophets and ending with Christ's glorification in heaven. The music for the Messiah was completed in only twenty-four days and Handel wrote the letters SDG—Soli Deo Gloria, “To God Alone the Glory”—at the end of the manuscript.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Messiah_(Handel)
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/the-glorious-history-of-handels-messiah-148168540/
About the Performer:
Steve Green (b. 1956) is an American singer-songwriter. He spent much of his early life in Argentina with his missionary parents. He graduated from Grand Canyon University. His intended major was pre-law, but a professor recognized his musical talent and encouraged him to develop it. In 1980, Green joined Gary McSpadden, Lee Young, and Bill Gaither to form the Gaither Vocal Band. Green sang tenor for their first two albums, The New Gaither Vocal Band and Passin' the Faith Along. In 1982, he signed a solo contract with Sparrow Records, and released his self-titled debut album in 1984. In the same year, he established Steve Green Ministries. Green's breakout year came in 1985 with the release of “He Holds the Keys,” which earned him the Dove Award for Male Vocalist of the Year in the Contemporary Christian Music (CCM) category. Green has been nominated for a Grammy Award four times. He has also been the Dove Award winner seven times and was inducted into the Gospel Music Hall of Fame in 2017. His website states he has sold over three million albums. His bilingual abilities have led to the release of seven Spanish CDs in the United States, including El Descanso, in 2019.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steve_Green_(singer)
https://stevegreenministries.org/
About the Poetry and Poet:
Malcolm Guite (b. 1957) is a poet, author, Anglican priest, teacher, and singer-songwriter based in Cambridge, England. He has published six collections of poetry: Saying the Names, The Magic Apple Tree, Sounding the Seasons: Poetry for the Christian Year, The Singing Bowl, Waiting on the Word, and the recently released Parable and Paradox: Sonnets on the Sayings of Jesus and Other Poems. Rowan Williams and Luci Shaw have both acclaimed his writing, and his Antiphons appeared in Penguin’s Best Spiritual Writing, 2013. Guite’s theological works include What Do Christians Believe? and Faith, Hope, and Poetry: Theology and the Poetic Imagination. Guite is a scholar of authors J. R. R. Tolkien and C. S. Lewis, and of the British poets, and serves as the Bye-Fellow and chaplain at Girton College at the University of Cambridge, while supervising students in English and theology. He lectures widely in England and the USA, and in 2015 he was the CCCA Visionary-in-Residence at Biola University. Guite plays in the Cambridge rock band Mystery Train.
https://malcolmguite.wordpress.com/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malcolm_Guite
About the Devotion Author:
Dr. Jeannine Hanger
Assistant Professor
Talbot School of Theology
Biola University
Dr. Hanger teaches at Biola in the area of undergraduate Biblical Studies (NT). Her research and writing interests focus on John's gospel, and more specifically on the sensory aspects of texts. She and her husband Garrick live in the South Bay, where Garrick pastors (Coastline Covenant), and where they love spending time with their kids, Bella, Emery, and Garrison. Jeannine also enjoys rainy days, good books, and strong coffee.