December 25: Go and Search Carefully
♫ Music:
Day 25 - Wednesday, December 25
Christmas Day
Title: Go and Search Carefully
Scripture #1: Jeremiah 29:13–14a (NKJV)
And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart. I will be found by you, says the Lord.
Scripture #2: Matthew 2:1–12 (NKJV)
Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, saying, “Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we have seen His star in the East and have come to worship Him.” When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born. So they said to him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for thus it is written by the prophet: ‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are not the least among the rulers of Judah; for out of you shall come a Ruler who will shepherd My people Israel.’ ”Then Herod, when he had secretly called the wise men, determined from them what time the star appeared. And he sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search carefully for the young Child, and when you have found Him, bring back word to me, that I may come and worship Him also.” When they heard the king, they departed; and behold, the star which they had seen in the East went before them, till it came and stood over where the young Child was. When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceedingly great joy. 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. Then, being divinely warned in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed for their own country another way.
Poetry:
“Christmastide”
by Pauline Johnson
I may not go to-night to Bethlehem,
Nor follow star-directed ways, nor tread
The paths wherein the shepherds walked, that led
To Christ, and peace, and God’s good will to men.
I may not hear the Herald Angels’ song
Peal through the oriental skies, nor see
The wonder of that Heavenly company
Announce the King the world had waited long.
The manger throne I may not kneel before,
Or see how man to God is reconciled,
Through pure St. Mary’s purer, holier child;
The human Christ these eyes may not adore.
I may not carry frankincense and myrrh
With adoration to the Holy One;
Nor gold have I to give the Perfect Son,
To be with those wise kings a worshipper.
Not mine the joy that Heaven sent to them,
For ages since Time swung and locked his gates,
But I may kneel without—the star still waits,
To guide me on to holy Bethlehem.
WHEN SEEKING IS AS BIG AS FINDING
Searching is hard work. The intensity of it can make us frantic—panicked, with a sense of helplessness. You know when you’ve lost those car keys, a contact lens, or that two-year-old who dashes into the crowd as you’re paying at the counter. There can emerge a surreal sense that the thing, that person lost has vanished, becoming suddenly invisible. We can’t see it—even when it’s nearly right there, close enough to touch. The loss can paralyze us.
There’s another kind of search, that yearning for something or someone we’ve never seen but that we’ve heard about. Just the description of it triggers something in us, creating inner hunger. At its most intense it can become obsessive: we think about that something or someone constantly; to find it colors our day-to-day living. Its very elusiveness brings a kind of attraction, a persistence in the search.
To find something lost, we must change our minds. We must believe it is there to be found. The writer of Hebrews reminds us that faith is “evidence of things not seen” (11:1). And the paradoxical beauty of losing something is that it suddenly gains new value to us. We remember why we need it—we pursue it even more. Sadly, we live in a world leery of faithful pursuit. G.K. Chesterton called it misplaced doubt. “A man was meant to be doubtful about himself, but undoubting about the truth,” he says in Orthodoxy.
Barbara Takanaga, creator of the The Edge, seen beside today’s devotional, says the images in her work that look like stars or swirling constellations are a mix of the intentional and the unintentional. As an artist, she loves seeing astronomical features come into her painting, but when they do, she sees it as a kind of leaning in her artistic soul, into that something beyond— a kind of searching.
In our gospel passage we see two contrasting but systematic approaches to the search for Jesus, the baby Messiah. The Magi, a respected group in ancient Persian culture who foretold the future by the stars, had been studying the skies for perhaps many years to find this “King of the Jews” (Matt. 2:2). Were they anxious about it? Perhaps. But their search was driven by faith, a clear grasp of this baby’s significance. Herod’s search was driven by fear. The Greek word for his being “troubled” in Matt. 2:3 evokes a sense of morose anxiety or grief—an unsettledness. His lie to the Magi was that he wanted to worship this child. His search was murderous. Did the Magi sense it? What the gospel writer tells us is that light from the star led them to Jesus’ home, probably a house in which he’d lived with his parents for years. Their joy—true delight—at finding Him is like what we see in Song of Solomon when the lovers reunite. All our pondering here is underwritten by swirling, celestial music, “Star,” from the harmonic group Second Chapter of Acts.
Prayer:
Thank you, Jesus, for the way you came. You left heaven’s glory and riches to be born into poverty and a quiet, hidden space. Yet those who believed were able to find you––lowly shepherds, an aged prophetess, and Magi from across many miles. What they found I have found. Immanuel, God was with them. God is with me as I worship you today, my Savior. Thank you for knowing me in all my humanity, my frailty, my inabilities. You loved me first, as you do all who search for you with all their hearts. Welcome to my world; I joyfully take Your hand, gentle shepherd. And I celebrate your birthday again with all that is within me.
Amen
Dr. Michael A. Longinow
Chair, Department of Digital Journalism and Media
Adviser, Print Journalism; Adviser, The Chimes
Co-Adviser, Media Narrative Projects
Department of Digital Journalism and Media
School of Fine Arts and Communication
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:
The Edge
Barbara Takenaga
2018
Acrylic on canvas
54 x 45 in.
Artist Barbara Takenaga arranges the simple components of her dense, abstract paintings into stunningly detailed compositions that undulate, radiate, and recede in seemingly infinite space. Her dazzling repetition of forms suggests the inherent yet sometimes incomprehensible logic of both the cosmic and the cellular, while spontaneous twists and puckers preserve the elements of wonder and surprise. Crisp, saturated color defines each discrete element in the tightly woven, tessellated work.
About the Artist:
Barbara Takenaga is an abstract painter working in New York City. A 2020 recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship, she is represented by DC Moore Gallery. A twenty-year survey of her work at the Williams College Museum of Art was published by Delmonico|Prestel in 2017. She was the Mary A. and William Wirt Warren Professor of Art at Williams College, a position she held from 1985 to 2018. Her work has been widely exhibited at institutions including MASS MoCA, North Adams, MA; Museum of Contemporary Art, Denver, CO; National Academy Museum, New York; Asian Arts Initiative, Philadelphia, PA; and International Print Center, New York. Takenaga was awarded a John Simon Guggenheim Fellowship in the field of fine arts in 2020. In 2020, she was commissioned by New York MTA Arts & Design to create a permanent installation of mosaic and laminated glass for the Metro-North Railroad White Plains Station. She also completed a thirty-foot wall mosaic for the sunken garden at NYU Langone as part of their permanent art collection. Takenaga is represented in many permanent collections.
https://www.dcmooregallery.com/artists/barbara-takenaga
https://imagejournal.org/article/in-the-studio-barbara-takenaga/
https://www.barbaratakenaga.com/paintings
About the Music: “Star” from the album 20
Lyrics:
Star in the sky tonight
Shine on my pathway with your pure light
Lead me on to the wondrous sight
Of the child king
Lead me on to his hideaway
Sleeping there in a bed of hay
Who would think that a child so small
Would be the king of all
And we would bow down and worship him
Bow down to the child king
All creation redeemed through him
While the angels sing
Hosanna, alleluja, alleluja
Glory to the child king
Hosanna, alleluja, alleluja
Glory to the child king
Star in the sky tonight
Shine on my pathway with your pure light
Lead me on to the wondrous sight
Of the child king
Heaven rang as the angels sang
Shepherds and kings all bowed down and sang
Giving gifts while their hearts were changed
I need to see the king
So I can bow down and worship him
Bow down to the child king
Give my heart as a gift to him
While the angels sing
Hosanna, alleluja, alleluja
Glory to the child king
Hosanna, alleluja, alleluja
Glory to the child king
Hosannah/alleluja
About the Composer:
Annie (Ward) Herring (b. 1945) is one of the pioneers of contemporary Christian music. She was a member of the musical trio 2nd Chapter of Acts, for which she wrote most of the songs and sang lead and harmony vocals with her brother and sister. During her musical career with 2nd Chapter of Acts, she also recorded several solo albums. Herring's music and ministry was, in no small part, forged from personal family tragedy. In 1968 her mother died of a brain tumor and two years later her father also died, leaving her youngest sister, Nelly, and brother, Matthew, orphaned. Annie and her new husband, record producer Buck Herring, took in the two younger Ward siblings. Annie was a self-taught singer and songwriter who wrote and played her songs around the family piano. Her brother and sister would often join in as she played, and eventually they developed extremely tight and intricate harmonies. During her time with 2nd Chapter, Annie released two solo albums, Through a Child's Eyes and Search Deep Inside, as well as an album for children, Kids of the Kingdom. After 2nd Chapter disbanded, Annie continued her solo career and toured the US through the 1990s and early 2000s. Though officially retired from touring, Annie continues today to make music and minister privately.
https://officialannieherring.com/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Annie_Herring
About the Performers:
The 2nd Chapter of Acts was an early contemporary Christian music group composed of sisters Annie Herring and Nelly Greisen, and brother Matthew Ward. They began performing in 1972 and enjoyed a period of great success during the 1970s and disbanded in 1988. They started singing for local coffeehouses and small gatherings, then gained the notice of singer Pat Boone, who arranged a contract for them to record and release two singles, "Jesus Is" (1972) and "I'm So Happy" (1973). The fledgling trio also came to the attention of 1960s folk singer Barry McGuire, who had recently become a Christian and was preparing to record his first Christian music album. The siblings provided background vocals for Seeds and McGuire's 1974 follow-up album Lighten Up. The trio released their debut album, With Footnotes, in 1974. This album featured "Easter Song," which would become a signature piece for the group and has been recorded by many other artists since. 2nd Chapter of Acts broadened their appeal with the release of Hymns and Hymns 2, reaching audiences with more traditional music. Hymns proved to be their best-selling release, receiving a Dove Award for Best Praise and Worship Album of the Year in 1987. They were recognized by the Gospel Music Association in 1999 by their induction into its Gospel Music Hall of Fame.
https://www.2ndchapterofacts.com/AboutUs.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2nd_Chapter_of_Acts
About the Poetry & Poet:
Pauline Johnson (1861–1913), also known by her Mohawk stage name Tekahionwake, was a Canadian poet, author, and performer who was popular in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Her father was a hereditary Mohawk chief of mixed ancestry and her mother was an English immigrant. Johnson—whose poetry was published in Canada, the United States, and Great Britain—was among a generation of widely read writers who began to define Canada, making an indelible mark on Indigenous women's writing and performance. Johnson was notable for her poems, short stories, and performances that celebrated her mixed-race heritage, drawing from both Indigenous and English influences. She is most known for her books of poetry The White Wampum (1895), Canadian Born (1903), and Flint and Feather (1912); and her collections of stories Legends of Vancouver (1911), The Shagganappi (1913), and The Moccasin Maker (1913). While her literary reputation declined after her death, since the late twentieth century, there has been a renewed interest in her life and works.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E._Pauline_Johnson
About the Devotion Author:
Dr. Michael A. Longinow
Chair, Department of Digital Journalism and Media
Adviser, Print Journalism; Adviser, The Chimes
Co-Adviser, Media Narrative Projects
Department of Digital Journalism and Media
School of Fine Arts and Communication
Biola University
Michael Alexander Longinow grew up in a liturgical church where he learned to sing “Come to my heart, Lord Jesus, there is room in my heart for Thee” in Sunday School. Prior to entering academia at Asbury University, Longinow was a reporter and writer for daily newspapers in metro-Chicago and metro-Atlanta. He teaches the skills, theory, history and ethics of investigative journalism in the Communications Division of the School of Fine Arts & Communication. He lives in Yorba Linda and he and his wife Robin look for creative ways to sneak off and see their grandchildren in far-flung cities around the Southwest.