December 18: The Solomonic Prince of Peace
♫ Music:
Day 18 - Wednesday, December 18
Title: The Solomonic Prince of Peace
Scripture #1: 1 Chronicles 22:5–12 (NKJV)
Now David said, “Solomon my son is young and inexperienced, and the house to be built for the Lord must be exceedingly magnificent, famous and glorious throughout all countries. I will now make preparation for it.” So David made abundant preparations before his death. Then he called for his son Solomon, and charged him to build a house for the Lord God of Israel. And David said to Solomon: “My son, as for me, it was in my mind to build a house to the name of the Lord my God; but the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ‘You have shed much blood and have made great wars; you shall not build a house for My name, because you have shed much blood on the earth in My sight. Behold, a son shall be born to you, who shall be a man of [peace]; and I will give him rest from all his enemies all around. His name shall be Solomon, for I will give peace and quietness to Israel in his days. He shall build a house for My name, and he shall be My son, and I will be his Father; and I will establish the throne of his kingdom over Israel forever.’ Now, my son, may the Lord be with you; and may you prosper, and build the house of the Lord your God, as He has said to you. Only may the Lord give you wisdom and understanding, and give you charge concerning Israel, that you may keep the law of the Lord your God.”
Scripture #2: Isaiah 9:6–7 (NKJV)
For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given; and the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of His government and peace there will be no end, upon the throne of David and over His kingdom, to order it and establish it with judgment and justice from that time forward, even forever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this.
Poetry & Poet:
“Daytime”
by Komal Mathew
A good shepherd is a wonder in contrapposto, an artist
mapping the Serengeti with kingdom lines.
A good shepherd angles a lion’s eye, traps gazelles
in dry fields, copies a cheetah’s spots one leg at a time.
A good shepherd does not give you stones
when you ask for toast, does not ask you to work
without a burning bush—but owns a gate, uses a gate, pulls
the weeds and leaves the wheat on an altar of choices.
A good shepherd is a prince of peace when terror finds its full echo,
a creator in the wild where a predator, providentially, becomes prey.
THE SOLOMONIC PRINCE OF PEACE
The story of Christmas is a story full of contrast and contradictions. The story of the Gospel is a story of God acting against our preconceptions of how God should act. But, if we’re paying attention to who God is, maybe we shouldn’t be too surprised after all.
I’ve grown up singing carols and hymns every Christmas. Maybe you have, too. Every year, the bustle of the “holiday season”—and, if I’m being honest, the exhaustion of bringing another year to an end—tempt me to pass by the surprise of Christmas. The songs I sing are too familiar to feel wonder-full. And the busyness of the season is more frenetic than fantastic. Sure, the weary rejoice—but just barely.
Yet ever so often, maybe not every year, or maybe for just one moment during Advent, I catch a glimpse of what we say we celebrate––that the God who crafted the universe became Immanuel, God with us. There, I feel the warm polyphony of that first hallelujah chorus bursting in my chest. It’s as if “He appeared, and the soul felt its worth.”
The Scripture chosen for today’s devotion begins with a reflection on King David and his successor son, Solomon. The Lord tells David that his life of violence placed limits on his legacy (1 Chronicles 22:7–8, NKJV)
Because of the destructive power of war, the father’s dreams must be delayed and carried out by the son. David built an empire through war; that’s how empires are built. But building God’s house is a different task altogether.
We’re told Solomon was a man of peace, a man at rest from war (1 Chronicles 22:9). It’s from this place of peace that Solomon is allowed to build God’s house. In Matthew 12, Jesus—the Prince of Peace—situates himself as one greater than Solomon. The house that Jesus prepares, the Kingdom that he brings, is not built through violence, either.
There are some creative tasks that only peace can perform. War and violence have their end. As Martin Luther King, Jr. once quipped, “Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only Light can do that.” In the darkness of that first Christmas night, Immanuel arrives to bring God’s light.
It’s fitting, I think, that in Thomas Ingmire’s illumination, Messianic Predictions, “Immanuel” is not written among the hallelujah chorus in the sky but firmly fixed on the ground. One might expect God to burst on the scene when the heavens unfurl and angelic trumpets blare, like a triumphant empire-building king. But the surprise of Christmas is that Immanuel arrives like a son—infant and vulnerable. Not in a city of imperial power––Rome or even Jerusalem––but in that little town of Bethlehem. God’s way is not the way of the world. Yet, this is a truth told in the earliest pages of Scripture. This is who God is.
Weary world, rejoice! When terror shouts to find its full echo, when the exhaustion of this year mounts, may you remember and experience the Good Shepherd—the Prince of Peace—acting creatively in your life and in our world this Advent season. And may you discover anew his eternal law of love and abiding gospel of peace.
Prayer:
Immanuel, thank you for choosing to be with us. I confess I’m coming to Christmas a little wearier this year, and I’m tempted to forget what I say I believe. Forgive me for being distracted, by the busyness of my life or the terrors of this world, and forgetting just how good, and creative, you are. Prince of Peace, drive out the darkness in my life and in this world with your light. And may I learn to live in your way of light, too.
In Jesus’s name, Amen.
Chase Andre, M.A.
Instructor in Communication Core and Digital Learning
Department of Communication Studies
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:
Messianic Predictions (overall and detail view)
Thomas Ingmire
© 2005
Handwritten with quills on calfskin vellum, with gold and platinum leaf, and hand-ground pigments
The Saint John’s Bible, Saint John’s University, Collegeville, Minnesota, USA
Scripture quotations are from the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible, Catholic Edition, © 1993, 1989 National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America
Used by permission.
All rights reserved.
The promise of a coming Messiah is found throughout the books of the prophets and embodies God's covenant with the people of Israel. According to the prophetic texts, the Messiah would be a king and mighty warrior who God would send to restore his broken relationship with his people, bear the sins of mankind, and end suffering. The names of the Messiah, which here include King of Kings, Prince of Peace, and Immanuel, appear on “this folio as soaring words of jubilation in gleaming gold and jewel-like colors." Christ’s names are celebrated with resounding hallelujahs and a text from Isaiah 7:14, which affirms that “therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign look the young woman is with child and shall bear a son and shall name him Immanuel.”
https://saintjohnsbible.org/Products/PR000012NF/Messianic-Predictions
About the Artist:
Thomas Ingmire (b. 1942) is an American calligrapher and artist. He received his B.A. from Ohio State University and an M.A. in landscape design from UC Berkeley. He worked in landscape design until the 1970s, when he studied medieval painting techniques and calligraphy during a one-year postgraduate program at California State University, Los Angeles. In 1977, he became the first foreign member to be elected as a Fellow of the Society of Scribes and Illuminators in London, England. Ingmire's work has focused primarily on the exploration of calligraphy as a fine arts medium. He has exhibited widely in the United States, and his works can be found in the San Francisco Public Library's Special Collections; the Newberry Library in Chicago; the Victoria Albert Museum, London; the Sackner Archive of Concrete and Visual Poetry; the Stiftung Academy of Art in Berlin, Germany; as well as many other public and private collections throughout the world. Since 1978, Ingmire has conducted several calligraphy workshops throughout the United States, Canada, Australia, and several countries in Europe, as well as in Japan and Hong Kong. He is involved in collaborative work with a number of poetry projects, including the Pablo Neruda series of books with Manuel Neri and poets Tsering Wangmo and David Jones Annwn. He is also widely known for his work as an illuminator on the Saint John’s Bible project.
http://calligraphy-expo.com/en/participants/Thomas_Ingmire
About the Music: “O Holy Night” from the album Libera: The Christmas Album
Lyrics:
O Holy night!
The stars are brightly shining
It is the night of our dear Savior's birth
Long lay the world in sin and error pining
'Til He appears and the soul felt its worth.
A thrill of hope the weary world rejoices.
For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn.
Fall on your knees; O hear the Angel voices.
O night divine, O night when Christ was born
O night, O Holy night, O night divine!
Led by the light of Faith serenely beaming,
With glowing hearts by His cradle we stand.
So led by light of a star sweetly gleaming.
Here come the Wise Men from Orient land.
The King of kings lay thus in lowly manger
In all our trials born to be our friend
He knows our need, to our weakness is no stranger
Behold your King; before Him lowly bend.
Behold your King; before Him lowly bend.
Truly He taught us to love one another;
His law is love and His Gospel is Peace.
Chains shall He break, for the slave is our brother,
And in His name, all oppression shall cease.
Sweet hymns of joy in grateful chorus raise we.
Let all within us Praise His Holy name.
Christ is the Lord; O praise His name forever!
His power and glory evermore proclaim.
His power and glory evermore proclaim.
About the Composers: Lyrics: Placide Cappeau, Music: Adolphe Adamand
Placide Cappeau (1808–1877) was a French poet and the author of the poem “Minuit, Chrétiens” (1847), which was set to music by Adolphe Adamand and is known in English as the carol “O Holy Night” or “Cantique de Noel.”
About the Performers:
The distinctive sound of Libera has traveled the world in the last few years. The group’s albums have topped both mainstream and classical charts in many countries, and their recordings hold their place in top-tens alongside major artists like Bocelli. The boys who make up the vocal band Libera have been described as “normal” and “ordinary.” However, as their recordings and performances demonstrate, the music they produce is truly extraordinary. With shimmering, mystical chords and ecstatic harmonies, they are unlike any other group you have ever heard. These are truly sounds to lift the soul—celestial sounds for a new time. The singers of Libera, who are aged seven to sixteen, attend many different local schools in South London and come from a variety of backgrounds. Although they are boys and they sing, they do not think of themselves as choirboys, but rather as an alternative kind of boy band. While the unique sound of Libera may be impossible to pigeonhole, its universal appeal has endeared the group to fans all over the world, particularly in the US, the UK, the Philippines, South Korea, and Japan, where their CDs top the mainstream and classical charts and where they pack concert halls, appearing in their trademark flowing white robes on imaginatively lit stages.
https://libera.org.uk/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Libera_(choir)
About the Poetry & Poet:
Komal Mathew is a graduate of Georgia Institute of Technology and Sarah Lawrence College. She currently lives with her family in Smyrna, Georgia, where she is the co-founding editor of Josephine Quarterly.
https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/komal-mathew
https://www.komalmathew.com/
About the Devotion Author:
Chase Andre, M.A.
Instructor in Communication Core and Digital Learning
Department of Communication Studies
Biola University
Chase Andre is an Instructor in communication core and digital learning for Biola’s Department of Communication Studies and holds a master's degree from Fuller Theological Seminary in intercultural studies with an emphasis in just peacemaking, and graduated with a bachelor's degree from Biola. Teaching in Biola’s Department of Communication Studies since 2014, Chase's integrative approach to education helps students practically follow Jesus's teachings in how they live, speak, work, and act—particularly as peacemakers and reconcilers at the sites of intercultural conflict. He has researched and engaged in fair housing advocacy, communication in the global, networked society, and Martin Luther King Jr.’s communicative action. Outside the classroom, Chase serves business and nonprofit leaders as a communication consultant. He speaks at national conferences, and leads workshops and retreats. Chase, his wife, Alicia Miller Andre, and their two kids, Silas and Nariah, live in Los Angeles, where overpriced coffee and underpriced tacos are a regular part of their diet.