January 7: Christ Our Everlasting Light
♫ Music:
Day 36 - Sunday, January 7
Title: CHRIST OUR EVERLASTING LIGHT
Scripture: Isaiah 60:19–22 (NKJV)
“The sun shall no longer be your light by day, nor for brightness shall the moon give light to you; but the Lord will be to you an everlasting light, and your God your glory. Your sun shall no longer go down, nor shall your moon withdraw itself; for the Lord will be your everlasting light, and the days of your mourning shall be ended. Also your people shall all be righteous; they shall inherit the land forever, the branch of My planting, the work of My hands, that I may be glorified. A little one shall become a thousand, and a small one a strong nation. I, the Lord, will hasten it in its time.”
Poetry & Poet:
“They Are All Gone into the World of Light”
by Henry Vaughan
They are all gone into the world of light!
And I alone sit ling’ring here;
Their very memory is fair and bright,
And my sad thoughts doth clear.
It glows and glitters in my cloudy breast,
Like stars upon some gloomy grove,
Or those faint beams in which this hill is drest,
After the sun’s remove.
I see them walking in an air of glory,
Whose light doth trample on my days:
My days, which are at best but dull and hoary,
Mere glimmering and decays.
O holy Hope! and high Humility,
High as the heavens above!
These are your walks, and you have show’d them me
To kindle my cold love.
Dear, beauteous Death! the jewel of the just,
Shining nowhere, but in the dark;
What mysteries do lie beyond thy dust
Could man outlook that mark!
He that hath found some fledg’d bird’s nest, may know
At first sight, if the bird be flown;
But what fair well or grove he sings in now,
That is to him unknown.
And yet as angels in some brighter dreams
Call to the soul, when man doth sleep:
So some strange thoughts transcend our
wonted themes
And into glory peep.
If a star were confin’d into a tomb,
Her captive flames must needs burn there;
But when the hand that lock’d her up, gives room,
She’ll shine through all the sphere.
O Father of eternal life, and all
Created glories under thee!
Resume thy spirit from this world of thrall
Into true liberty.
Either disperse these mists, which blot and fill
My perspective still as they pass,
Or else remove me hence unto that hill,
Where I shall need no glass.
CHRIST OUR EVERLASTING LIGHT
It is the final day of the Advent Project. In contrast to the joy and anticipation on day one, the end of the season can honestly feel dreary. The wrappings have been put away, the last pine needles have been vacuumed, and the festive gatherings have passed. It is tempting to shift our gaze from the birth of Jesus and tread forward into the new year with apprehension, as we are once again bombarded with world news, and become engaged in the mundane tasks that we set aside during the holiday season. But this final day of Christmastide can be the most important of the season, as we set our hearts and minds on the light of the Lord. As we continue to invite Him into our day-to-day existence, we can face the uncertain future with renewed faith and purpose.
In the contemplative poem by Vaughan, he laments those who have passed to eternal life and ponders the hope of heaven with a hint of sadness as he asks the Father of Heaven to disperse the mists of grief he feels. Handel’s “Eternal Source of Light Divine” also has hopeful words, with a sorrowful tone. Although we know that there is the hope of light, peace, and joy when we think of eternity with Christ, as finite humans, there remains the temptation to assign life and light to holiday seasons and our eternal life in heaven, and unintentionally neglect walking in His Light each day.
The alabaster sculpture Eternal Light-The Ner Tamid by Paul Adam Hawkins illustrates light in darkness and was created to hang within a synagogue. In the words of the artist, “It reminds us of the Light of Freedom, always present, always illuminating our path guiding our hearts” (Hawkins, n.d.). This image of light within darkness should spark joy in our hearts. Jesus has come. He has placed His Spirit within our hearts and is always with us, as we abide with Him. Our Lord has given us His Word to be a lamp to our feet and a light to our path. Not only are we never alone in this dark world, but as His children, we have the privilege to bring His light and the news of His salvation to those who walk in darkness around us.
It may be the last day of Christmastide, but I pray that for all of us, that we enter into this next season with the same joy and anticipation that we had at the beginning of the season.
Prayer:
Lord, I thank you that you are our light, our salvation, and our hope. As I close this season of Advent and Christmastide, help me not to be overwhelmed by the darkness around me. Help me to remember that you, Lord, are always with me, and your Spirit and Word will light the way before me. Use me this year to bring the light of your truth to others so that they may know your salvation, and find joy in the hope of eternal life with you.
Amen
Dr. Suzanne Welty
Associate Professor of Communication Sciences and Disorders
Communication Sciences and Disorders
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.
Please join us for the annual Lent Project which starts on Ash Wednesday February 14, 2024. If you have subscribed to the Advent Project, you will automatically be sent the 2024 Lent Project.
Thank you again for your support of this project.
Blessings,
–CCCA
About the Art:
Eternal Light—The Ner Tamid
Paul Adams Hawkins
2010
Alabaster sculpture
17" h. x 10" w. x 8" d.
Verde Valley Synagogue
Sedona, Arizona
In every Jewish place of worship, the Eternal Light (Ner Tamid) is suspended above the ark which holds the sacred text of Torah, the five books of Moses. Ner Tamid represents God’s light, the symbol of the divine presence in our midst and in our lives—a light that never abates, is never extinguished or turned off. Where once the Ner Tamid was an oil lamp, today most are fueled by either gas or electricity. This hand-carved orange alabaster Eternal Light is suspended at the Verde Valley Synagogue in Sedona, Arizona. https://www.alabaster.net/nertamid.html
https://www.myjewishlearning.com/article/the-eternal-light/
https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/ner-tamid
About the Artist:
Paul Adams Hawkins (1941–2013) was an American artist, master carver, original thinker, and sculptor. Ever engaged with his creative process and deeply committed to being a self-directed individual, he, and his partner Susan Zalkind, were pioneers of American stone carving. In more than forty years he created countless works of beauty collected by thousands of people. At the age of thirty-three he quit his last job, vowing to do his own work and live his life as autonomously as possible. When he met Zalkind, they started carving together. For thirty-seven years they lived their lives together as professional artists—thirty-five years in Verde Valley, Arizona. They had two children, Amber Serene and Zaliah Kahlil, and spent their lives traveling to beautiful places and selling their work across the country.
https://www.alabaster.net/paul.html
About the Music:
“Eternal Source of Light Divine” from the album Sound of the Trumpet
Lyrics:
Eternal source,
Eternal source of light divine,
With double warmth thy beams display,
With double warmth thy beams display,
And with distinguish'd glory shine,
And with distinguish'd glory shine,
To add luster to this day,
And with distinguish'd glory shine,
To add to add a luster to this day.
About the Composers:
George Frederic Handel and Ambrose Philips
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. 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. Ode for the Birthday of Queen Anne (HWV 74) is a secular cantata composed by Handel to a libretto by Ambrose Philips, of which the first line, "Eternal source of light divine,” provides an alternative title for the work. It was probably composed during January 1713 for a performance in February 1713, although there is no record of the performance having actually taken place. The cantata celebrates Queen Anne's birthday, and the accomplishment of the Treaty of Utrecht to end the War of the Spanish Succession.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Messiah_(Handel)
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/the-glorious-history-of-handels-messiah-148168540/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ode_for_the_Birthday_of_Queen_Anne
Ambrose Philips (1674–1749) was an English poet and politician. Educated at Shrewsbury School and then at St John's College, Cambridge, he seems to have lived chiefly at Cambridge until he resigned his fellowship in 1708. Philips worked for the bookseller Jacob Tonson, and his Pastorals opened the sixth volume of Tonson's Miscellanies (1709). The pastoral genre of literature, art, or music depicts an idealized form of the shepherd's lifestyle—herding livestock around open areas of land according to the seasons and the changing availability of water and pasture. The target audience is typically an urban one. Philips was the first English writer of his period who showed a "decided tendency to insert details of English life in his poems" and therefore was "the first eighteenth-century writer who attempted to combine with the pastoral tradition elements of realism."
http://www.thehypertexts.com/Ambrose%20Philips%20Poet%20Poetry%20Picture%20Bio.htm
About the Performers:
Alison Balsom, Trevor Pinnock, and the English Concert
Alison Balsom (b. 1978) is the world's preeminent female classical trumpeter. She is a unique and independent artist who has broken through to the mainstream while retaining her integrity and core musical values. Exceptional talent, a glamorous stage presence, and a witty, engaging personality make Alison one of the most exciting artists in the core classical world today. Sound the Trumpet is an album of baroque music associated with royalty where Alison brings the music of Purcell and Handel to life. This CD expands the repertoire for the instrument, while also maintaining a respect for the idioms and period style of these works. Alison is working with the top experts in this field—Trevor Pinnock and the English Concert. She is also joined by the countertenor Iestyn Davies and soprano Lucy Crowe in some delightful and slightly different performances of some familiar repertoire.
https://www.alisonbalsom.com/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alison_Balsom
Trevor David Pinnock CBE (b. 1946) is a British harpsichordist and conductor. He is best known for his association with the period-performance orchestra the English Concert, which he helped found and directed from the keyboard for over thirty years in baroque and classical music. He is a former artistic director of Canada's National Arts Centre Orchestra and founded the Classical Band in New York. Since his resignation from the English Concert in 2003, Pinnock has continued his career as a conductor, appearing with major orchestras and opera companies around the world. He has also performed and recorded as a harpsichordist in solo and chamber music and conducted and otherwise trained student groups at conservatoires. Pinnock won a Gramophone Award for his recording of Bach's Brandenburg Concertos with the European Brandenburg Ensemble, an occasional orchestra formed to mark his sixtieth birthday.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trevor_Pinnock
The English Concert is an outstanding orchestra—exceptional in the world-renowned quality, ambition, and variety of its live and recorded output. Under the artistic direction of Harry Bicket, the English Concert has earned a reputation for combining passion with precision, delicacy, and beauty. One cornerstone of the orchestra’s annual cycle is its international Handel Opera tour. Blossoming from an ongoing relationship with Carnegie Hall, their itinerary now regularly takes in the Theater an der Wien, Théâtre des Champs-Elysées, the Elbphilharmonie, and Barbican Hall. In 2023, the English Concert launched their ambitious Handel for All project, which aims to film and make freely available all of Handel’s works online.
https://englishconcert.co.uk/
lestyn Davies (b.1979) is a British countertenor widely recognized as one of the world’s finest singers, celebrated for the beauty and technical dexterity of his voice and intelligent musicianship. Critical recognition of Iestyn’s work can be seen in two Gramophone Awards, a Grammy Award, a RPS Award for Young Singer of the Year, the Critics’ Circle Award, and recently an Olivier Award Nomination. He was awarded the MBE in the Queen's New Year's Honours List 2017 for services to music. His recordings include two versions of Handel’s Messiah, Handel’s Chandos Anthems, Handel’s Flavio for Chandos with the Early Opera Company, Bach’s Easter Oratorio with Retrospect Ensemble, his debut solo recording Live at the Wigmore Hall with his own Ensemble Guadagni, a disc of Porpora Cantatas with Jonathan Cohen and Arcangelo, an award-winning disc of works for Guadagni for Hyperion, and a disc of Handel arias with the King’s Consort for Vivat.
http://www.iestyndavies.com/about
Born in Staffordshire, Lucy Crowe (b. 1978) studied at the Royal Academy of Music, where she is a fellow. With repertoire ranging from Purcell, Handel, and Mozart to Donizetti’s Adina and Verdi’s Gilda, she has sung with opera companies and orchestras throughout the world, including the Royal Opera; English National Opera; the Teatro Real Madrid; the Deutsche Oper Berlin; the Bavarian State Opera; Metropolitan Opera, New York; the Berlin Philharmonic/Harding and Nelsons; Vienna Philharmonic/Nelsons; Scottish Chamber Orchestra/Nézet-Séguin; and the London Symphony Orchestra/Rattle. Recent opera appearances include her debut at Dutch National Opera in the title role Rodelinda, Poppea Agrippina at the Royal Opera House, Susanna Le Nozze di Figaro at the Metropolitan Opera, and Pamina Die Zauberflöte at the Liceu Barcelona. Crowe received a Grammy nomination in 2021 for Best Opera Recording for Janácek’s The Cunning Little Vixen with the London Symphony Orchestra.
https://www.askonasholt.com/artists/lucy-crowe/
About the Poetry and Poet:
Henry Vaughan (1621–1695) was a Welsh metaphysical poet, author, translator, and physician, who wrote in English. He is chiefly known for the religious poetry contained in Silex Scintillans, published in 1650. It was thought that Vaughan suffered a prolonged, painful illness that led him to a religious conversion born out of his reading of Welsh-born poet and priest of the Church of England George Herbert. Greatly indebted to Herbert, who provided a model for Vaughan's newly founded spiritual life and literary career, Vaughan dedicated himself to sacred verse. The prose Mount of Olives, or Solitary Devotions (1652) shows the depth of his religious convictions and the authenticity of his poetic genius. He also translated short moral and religious works and two medical works in prose. At some time in the 1650s, he began to practice medicine and continued to do so through his life. It was during this period of Vaughan's life, around 1650, that he adopted the saying "Moriendo, Revixi"—"By dying, I gain new life.”
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Vaughan
https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/henry-vaughan
About the Devotion Author:
Dr. Suzanne Welty
Associate Professor of Communication Sciences and Disorders
Communication Sciences and Disorders
Biola University
Suzanne Welty is an associate professor of Communication Sciences and Disorders at Biola University who earned her Ed.D. in Educational Leadership, Teaching and Learning from Azusa Pacific University. Welty specializes in diagnosing and remediating communication, behavioral, and social challenges of individuals diagnosed with autism and other developmental disabilities. In addition, Welty has a passion for missions and has spent many summers in the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland, and Germany, and finds joy in visiting, praying for, and encouraging those who are serving Christ worldwide.