December 20: Mary: The Christ Bearer
♫ Music:
Day 20 - Friday, December 20
Title: Mary: The Christ Bearer
Scripture #1: Matthew 1:18–23 (NKJV)
Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows: After His mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Spirit. Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not wanting to make her a public example, was minded to put her away secretly. But while he thought about these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take to you Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.” So all this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying: “Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,” which is translated, “God with us.”
Poetry:
“The Messenger”
by Thomas Merton
There is some sentry at the rim of winter
Fed with the speech the wind makes
In the grand belfries of the sleepless timber.
He understands the lasting strife of tears,
And the way the world is strung;
He waits to warn all life with the tongue of March's bugle,
Of the coming of the warrior sun.
When spring has garrisoned up her army of water,
A million grasses leave their tents, and stand in rows
To see their invincible brother.
Mending the winter's ruins with their laughter,
The flowers go out to their undestructive wars.
Walk in the woods and be witnesses,
You, the best of these poor children.
When Gabriel hit the bright shore of the world,
Yours were the eyes saw some
Star-sandalled stranger walk like lightning down the air,
The morning the Mother of God
Loved and dreaded the message of an angel.
THE PREGNANT VIRGIN AND HER BETROTHED, THE JUST MAN
At the rim of winter…
…the coming of the warrior sun.
Our great stories have these moments when the challenges feel insurmountable, the darkness seems impenetrable, the evil unstoppable. And then, there is the faintest glimmer of hope: rumor that the hero is on the move, the forever winter is beginning to thaw. Thomas Merton’s poem creates such a lovely parallel between today’s passage and the coming of spring.
I’d like to borrow Merton’s “warrior sun” and place it in the lamp of Joseph, the Messiah’s stepdad-to-be, in Michael Reiser’s painting. Joseph carried a small light into a shadowed stable, but God selected him to be the steward of so much more.
Joseph was “just” (NKJV), “righteous” (CSB), “noble” (The Message). As we read yesterday, Joseph was the protector of this new and vulnerable Holy Family. Today, we read of him as one who was confused yet devoted to doing what was right.
He and his fiancée had a complicated image problem, one that couldn’t be easily explained away. He was mulling over secretive options, how to somehow cover up an unexpected pregnancy. I wonder if this may be why the angel greeted him as “Joseph, son of David” (possibly referring to 2 Sam 11). Thankfully for Joseph, he and Mary were above reproach.
Today’s art pieces give us such rich angles to consider this miraculous moment with Mary and Joseph.
Merton’s poem invites us to watch as the ruin of winter is overrun by the joyful, beautiful, life-giving armies of spring. Then he lifts the veil to give us a glimpse of how nature’s miracle reflects the cosmic miracle of the virgin birth.
Sir John Tavener’s song gives us the joyful energy of new birth, and even the feeling of eager tension in the midst of waiting. It’s written with a rhythm that continually moves forward, but it never settles into a steady pattern. This is especially present even in the refrain, which serves as an anchor point throughout the song. The alleluia is extended with each repetition, increasing the sense of anticipation.
Reiser’s painting is a beautiful scene, and at the same time a remarkable study in opposites: Bright evening sky contrasted with shadowed stable; Pale crescent moon contrasted with warm, intense lamp flame; Well-shaped bricks next to rough stone. And the most significant opposites: Mary is still, calm, and reflective, while Joseph is as a man on the move. He is focused, looking at their options and ready to solve some problems. His halo is painted at a traditional angle given his physical position, but I chuckled when, in this context, it reminded me of a man pushing back his ball cap to scratch his head in thought. He has his light held high, heading into the gloom, preparing a place for the arrival of the Light of the World, coming into our darkness.
I don’t want you to miss Reiser’s hints of what’s to come: The streaming Bethlehem star is already in the sky, the shepherds are off in the distance, and on the stable gate, a twisted vine that may be shaped like a crown.
To finish, I’d like to highlight Mother Thekla’s song lyrics, celebrating this amazing meeting of opposites, and Joseph’s wonder in the midst.
“Mary, my Bride, O Mary, my Bride! What do I see? You, a virgin giving birth. Strange mystery!”
Prayer:
Father, praise you and thank you for your love, shown in this strange mystery.
Jesus, praise you and thank you for taking on human flesh, for being the light in our darkness.
Spirit, praise you and thank you for filling us and enlightening us. We pray that you will shape us to be more like Christ each day as we open ourselves to scripture and to your work in our lives.
To God be the glory!
Amen
Chuck Koontz, MLIS
Librarian for Systems and Special Collections
Adjunct faculty for School of Fine Arts & Communications
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:
On the Eve of the Birth of Christ
Michael Rieser
c. 1869
92 x 95 cm.
Oil on canvas
Private Collection
Public domain
Though the type of shelter in which Jesus was born is not specified in the Scriptures, we know that his birth was marked by humble and lowly circumstances. In today’s painting, artist Michael Rieser paints Mary and Joseph seeking shelter far away from the city in the background of this painting. The Son of Man left the “heights of Heaven’s glory” to live among us on earth and redeem humanity from their sins through his life, death, and resurrection.
About the Artist:
Michael Rieser (1828–1905) was an Austrian painter. He studied at the Academy of Fine Arts, Munich, from 1848 to 1850 under German painter Christian Ruben. After a stay in Rome (1861–1864) Rieser moved to Vienna, and taught at the Kunstgewerbeschule, a vocational art school, from 1868 to 1888. His students included Austrian painters Gustav Klimt and Franz von Matsch.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Rieser
About the Music: “Today the Virgin” from the album Christmas with Chanticleer
Lyrics:
Today the Virgin comes to the cave
To give birth to the Word eternal:
Rejoice, O World
With the Angels and the Shepherds
Give glory to the Child!
Alleluia!
Mary my wife, O Mary my wife!
What do I see?
I took you blameless before the Lord
From the priests of the Temple
What do I see?
Rejoice, O World
With the Angels and the Shepherds
Give glory to the Child!
Alleluia!
Joseph the Bridegroom
O Joseph the Bridegroom!
Do not fear
God in his mercy has come down to earth
He takes flesh in my womb
For all the world to see
Rejoice, O World
With the Angels and the Shepherds
Give glory to the Child!
Alleluia!
Mary, my Bride, O Mary my Bride
What do I see?
You, a virgin giving birth
Strange mystery.
Rejoice, O World
With the Angels and the Shepherds
Give glory to the Child!
Alleluia!
Joseph the Bridegroom, O Joseph the Bridegroom!
Do not fear.
God in his mercy has come down to earth.
He takes flesh in my womb
For all the world to see.
Rejoice, O World
With the Angels and the Shepherds
Give glory to the Child!
Alleluia!
Warned by the Angel we believe
That Mary gives birth inexplicable
To the infant, Christ, our God.
Rejoice, O World
With the Angels and the Shepherds
Give glory to the Child!
Alleluia!
About the Composers: Lyrics: Mother Thekla, Music: John Tavener
Mother Thekla (1918–2011) was a teacher, a nun, and the founder of the Orthodox Monastery of the Assumption in North Yorkshire, England, and the spiritual muse/advisor of the British composer Sir John Tavener. As a leading theologian and religious thinker, she strongly influenced Tavener, who converted to Orthodoxy from Presbyterianism. He was greatly influenced by her book The Life of St. Mary of Egypt (1974) and this provided the plot for his second opera, Mary of Egypt (1992). She also provided the libretti for a series of important works, including “Song for Athene” (1993), which was part of the funeral of Diana, Princess of Wales, The Apocalypse (1993), Fall and Resurrection (1999), We Shall See Him As He Is (1993), and Let Us Begin Again (1995). Tavener wrote he could not have worked so well with another librettist: "It's one of those very special relationships in life, which will not ever happen again."
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mother_Thekla
Sir John Kenneth Tavener (1944–2013) was an English composer known for his extensive output of religious works, including The Protecting Veil, “Song for Athene,” and “The Lamb.” Tavener first came to prominence with his cantata The Whale, which premiered in 1968. Then aged twenty-four, he was described by The Guardian as "the musical discovery of the year." During his career, he became one of the best-known and most popular composers of his generation. His composition “Song for Athene” was sung at the funeral of Diana, Princess of Wales. After Tavener converted to the Russian Orthodox Church in 1977, Orthodox theology and liturgical traditions became a major influence on his work. While Tavener's earliest music was influenced by Igor Stravinsky and Olivier Messiaen, his later music became more sparse and minimal. Tavener recognized composer Arvo Pärt as "a kindred spirit" and shared with him a common religious tradition and a fondness for textural transparency.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Tavener
About the Performers:
Based in San Francisco, California, Chanticleer is a full-time male classical vocal ensemble in the United States. Over the last three decades, it has developed a major reputation for its interpretations of Renaissance music, but it also performs a wide repertoire of jazz, gospel, and other venturesome new music. It was named for the "clear singing rooster" in Geoffrey Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales. Chanticleer is known around the world as “an orchestra of voices” for the seamless blend of its twelve male voices ranging from soprano to bass and its original interpretations of vocal literature.
https://www.chanticleer.org/
About the Poetry & Poet:
Thomas Merton (1915–1968) was a Roman Catholic monk, poet, and prolific writer on spiritual and social themes and one of the most important American Roman Catholic writers of the twentieth century. After a year at the University of Cambridge, he entered Columbia University, where he earned both B.A. and M.A. degrees. Following years of agnosticism, he converted to Catholicism and entered the Trappist Abbey of Gethsemani in Kentucky. The Trappists are considered to be one of the most ascetic of the Roman Catholic monastic orders and it was at Gethsemani that Merton grew as a mystic, pursuing spiritual quests through his writing. Merton’s first published works were collections of poems: Thirty Poems (1944), A Man in the Divided Sea (1946), and Figures for an Apocalypse (1948). With the publication of the autobiographical Seven Storey Mountain (1948), he gained an international reputation. His early works are strictly spiritual, but his writings of the early 1960s tend toward social criticism, civil rights, pacifism, and nonviolence.
https://www.britannica.com/biography/Thomas-Merton
About the Devotion Author:
Chuck Koontz, MLIS
Librarian for Systems and Special Collections
Adjunct faculty for School of Fine Arts & Communications
Biola University
Chuck Koontz is the Systems Librarian and Archivist at Biola University, having worked at Biola since 2001. He also works as a freelance musician playing tuba in various settings around Los Angeles. He has been happily married to Faith since 2001, and they have three sons. The Koontzes are members of Grace Evangelical Free Church in La Mirada.