December 5: Mary: A Willing and Fruitful Bride
♫ Music:
Day 5 - Thursday, December 05
Title: Mary: A Willing and Fruitful Bride
Scripture: Luke 1:26–38 (NKJV)
Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. And having come in, the angel said to her, “Rejoice, highly favored one, the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women!” But when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and considered what manner of greeting this was. Then the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name Jesus. He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David. And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end.” Then Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I do not know a man?” And the angel answered and said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God. Now indeed, Elizabeth your relative has also conceived a son in her old age; and this is now the sixth month for her who was called barren. For with God nothing will be impossible.” Then Mary said, “Behold the maidservant of the Lord! Let it be to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her.
Poetry:
“In the Garden”
by Thomas Hardy
We waited for the sun
To break its cloudy prison
(For day was not yet done,
And night still unbegun)
Leaning by the dial.
After many a trial—
We all silent there—
It burst as new-arisen,
Throwing a shade to where
Time travelled at that minute.
Little saw we in it,
But this much I know,
Of lookers on that shade,
Her towards whom it made
Soonest had to go.
ANNUNCIATION
Life can seem like a desert sometimes, seeing the landscape of want, need, and desolation across our own lives and the lives of loved ones. We need hope, and Luke provides it in a quiet, if startling, passage. In today’s passage, Luke tells us how Mary was visited by the angel Gabriel & told how she will bear “the Son of the Highest.” In addition to this miraculous work, she is also told of the miraculous fertility & pregnancy of her cousin Elizabeth. Gabriel’s concluding word is “for with God, nothing will be impossible.” After hearing Gabriel’s tidings, Mary declares herself to be “the maidservant of the Lord” and agrees to what has been proclaimed to her.
We can pass by the Annunciation, the fancy name for this passage, thinking that we’ve already heard it. Those of us who grew up in church or in a culture that celebrates some form of Christmas are familiar with the beats of the Christmas story: virgin birth, no room at the inn, born in a manger, shepherds, wise men, etc. But here is where the perceived deserts in our lives reveal signs of hope, in the news that the virgin girl Mary has found favor with God. She will conceive and give birth to a son who is “the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation.” (Col. 1:15)
Thomas Hardy’s poem “In the Garden” uses sun & light metaphors to describe waiting & a burst of gloriousness that should resonate with us; for “the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.” (John 1:14) That same burst of glorious relief can be heard in Patrick Hawes’ Song of Songs, our music for today; just as our artwork Annunciation by Grace Carol Bomer shows the wonder of Gabriel & Mary’s conversation.
As the old Christmas hymn says, our “hopes and fears of all the years are met” with the good news of Christ’s incarnation. Yes, there is need and want and trouble here on earth; we see it daily in our lives and the lives around us. To those of us who read today’s passage and feel relief that the Messiah has come: new life in Christ is here, and it is ours. (Romans 6:4)
When we read today’s passage, remember that these words are for our edification. In Christ, our lives are not deserts, no matter what they appear to be through earthly lenses. No matter your situation, we can have future life in Christ because “he shared in these [flesh and blood] so that through his death he might destroy the one holding the power and death …. And free those who were held in slavery all their lives by the fear of death.” (Heb 2:14-15) This annunciation is not an announcement, but the announcement. Christ is coming, he is here, and “of his kingdom there will be no end.” (Luke 1:33)
Prayer:
Lord, our prayer is similar to Mary’s: let it be according to your word. May blessing, glory, wisdom, thanksgiving, honor, power and might be to our God forever and ever!
Amen
Stacie Schmidt
Law Librarian
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:
Annunciation
Grace Carol Bomer
Oil, wax, and gold leaf on panel
36 x 60 in.
Courtesy of the artist
The presence of a holy angel hovers over Mary, who is chosen by God to birth Immanuel—God With Us! Isaiah, the prophet, foretold this sign—“Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel” (Isaiah 7:14 NKJV).
About the Artist:
Grace Carol Bomer received a degree in secondary education in English and history from Dordt University in Iowa and returned to Alberta to teach sixth grade, high school art, and French for six years. Her art career began after moving to Kansas, where she worked professionally as a painter from 1976 to 1981. She studied art in Kansas and continued to study at UNC Asheville after moving to North Carolina in 1981. She also studied art in Amsterdam, Italy, and Ukraine, and teaches workshops, traveling as far as Luxan Fine Art Academy in Shenyang, China. Grace continues to maintain a studio in Asheville’s popular River Arts District. Bomer says of her work, “I am inspired by words, especially God’s Word, which is powerful and relevant to my work. Good poetry and the classics are also essential. In my work I attempt to bring together the word/image dichotomy, which was truly brought together by Jesus, the Incarnate Word of God and the image of God. Her aesthetic language of parable, storytelling, and analogy stirs the imagination to consider the story, the eternal drama of God’s grace and love for a broken and fallen world. She calls her work metaphorical abstraction, as she paints to make visible the invisible. She views her work as “a form of play rejoicing before the face of God” (Rookmaaker). This is reflected in the name of her Asheville studio, Soli Deo Gloria Studio.
https://gracecarolbomer.com/about/
About the Music:
“Song of Songs” from the album Song of Songs
Lyrics:
Gleaming, shining,
golden starlight.
Rising, burning,
silver moonlight.
Warming, glowing,
streaming sunlight.
Sing my heart
the song of songs!
Dance heavens!
Dance starlight!
Dance sunlight!
Dance moonlight!
To the highest song of songs.
Maria Regina!
Christus Est!
Who is this
Who comes like the dawn?
Who scatters the darkness and heralds the morn?
Maria Regina!
Christus Est!
About the Composer:
In recent years, Patrick Hawes (b. 1958) has emerged as one of England’s most popular and inspirational composers. Born in Lincolnshire, he read music as an organ scholar at Durham University, and soon went on to make an impact in the world of choral music with his cantata The Wedding at Cana. It was with the release of his debut album Blue in Blue that Patrick first gained widespread public recognition. The standout track “Quanta Qualia” became a hit with audiences across the world. In 2009, the release of Patrick’s album Song of Songs, which consists of six choral pieces for strings and voices along with other works for choir and organ, was well received. The recording features the English Chamber Orchestra, Patrick’s own choir Conventus, and soprano Elin Manahan Thomas.
https://www.patrickhawes.com/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patrick_Hawes
About the Performers: Conventus, Elin Manahan Thomas, and the English Chamber Orchestra
Composer Patrick Hawes founded the vocal ensemble Conventus in 2002, primarily to record the music for his highly successful debut album Blue in Blue. Some of the original sixteen singers already had a high profile on the choral music scene, notably Janet Coxwell, who assisted Hawes in auditioning a wide range of talented postgraduate students. The result was a choir with an engagingly pure and honest tone. Over the last few years, Rob Johnston has taken over the choir’s management and various newcomers have joined the ranks, bringing with them their own particular expertise and a genuine commitment to the group’s activities. Conventus performed at the premiere of Hawes’ Lazarus Requiem at the Cadogan Hall in 2008.
https://www.hyperion-records.co.uk/a.asp?a=A3243
Elin Manahan Thomas (b. 1977) is a Welsh soprano. A specialist in Baroque music, she sang at the wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle in 2018. After auditioning for conductor Sir John Eliot Gardiner, she joined the Monteverdi Choir, singing in many of the concerts of the Bach Cantata Pilgrimage, which the choir completed in the year 2000. In 2001, she moved to pursue postgraduate vocal studies at the Royal College of Music in London. She went on to sing with several ensembles, including The Sixteen, Polyphony, Cambridge Singers, and the Gabrieli Consort, as well as pursuing a solo career.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elin_Manahan_Thomas
The English Chamber Orchestra (ECO) is the most recorded chamber orchestra in the world—its discography contains 860 recordings of over 1,500 works by more than four hundred composers. Benjamin Britten was the orchestra’s first patron and a significant musical influence. Recent tours have included the USA, Bermuda, China, Finland, France, Greece, Slovenia, and Austria, as well as concerts across the UK. The orchestra has recorded many successful film soundtracks, including Dario Marianelli’s prize-winning scores for Atonement and Pride and Prejudice, and also several James Bond soundtracks, and has taken part in a variety of other film and television projects. The ECO is proud of its outreach program, Close Encounters, which takes music education into many nontraditional settings within communities and schools around the UK and abroad.
http://www.englishchamberorchestra.co.uk/about/eco
About the Poetry & Poet:
Thomas Hardy (1840–1928) was a renowned and prolific English novelist and poet. A Victorian realist, he was influenced both in his novels and in his poetry by Romanticism. He was highly critical of much in Victorian society, especially the declining status of rural people in Britain. While Hardy regarded himself primarily as a poet, he initially gained fame as the author of novels such as Far from the Madding Crowd, The Mayor of Casterbridge, Tess of the d'Urbervilles, and Jude the Obscure. Innovative in their use of stanza and voice, Hardy’s poems pay attention to the transcendent possibilities of sound, line, and breath—the musical aspects of language. Hardy wrote in a great variety of poetic forms, including lyrics, ballads, satire, dramatic monologues, and dialogue.
https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/thomas-hardy
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...
About the Devotion Author:
Stacie Schmidt
Law Librarian
Stacie Schmidt is a law librarian. She loves solving difficult research questions, finding the best hole-in-the-wall restaurants, and dialoguing about film. Her favorite book of the Bible is Hebrews.