January 6: The Lamb of God
♫ Music:
Day 38 - Tuesday, January 06
Title: The Lamb of God
Scripture #1: John 1:29 (NKJV)
The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!”
Scripture #2: 1 Peter 1:18–21 (NKJV)
Knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver or gold, from your aimless conduct received by tradition from your fathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot. He indeed was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you who through Him believe in God, who raised Him from the dead and gave Him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God.
Scripture #3: Revelation 5:8–12 (NKJV)
Now when He had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each having a harp, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. And they sang a new song, saying: “You are worthy to take the scroll, and to open its seals; for You were slain, and have redeemed us to God by Your blood out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation, and have made us kings and priests to our God; and we shall reign on the earth.” Then I looked, and I heard the voice of many angels around the throne, the living creatures, and the elders; and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands, saying with a loud voice: “Worthy is the Lamb who was slain to receive power and riches and wisdom, and strength and honor and glory and blessing!”
Poetry & Poet:
“Upper Room”
by Keith Patman
Stars sing, light-years deep in silent space.
In a bottle’s neck God’s Ghost sings
as the wine is poured.
Out on the edge of eternity, the Father
sees the Lamb slain ere the world is formed.
A soft cough splits the silence of this room
light-years below the wheeling stars.
A hollow prayer; give it breath, O Ghost,
let roar a wind like that which shook
the bones in Vision Vale.
For vision, God spills bread crumbs on the board.
His stars sing, light-years deep in silent space.
Here, emblems speak a mystery of brokenness:
the shattering of him by whom all things consist.
The Lamb of God
Today is the Feast of the Epiphany when the Church celebrates the arrival of the Magi to adore the Christ child. An event that has also been interpreted as an image of the fact that the Gospel of Jesus Christ, that “mystery hidden for ages and generations” has now been “revealed to his saints” (Col. 1:26). But what exactly is being revealed, given the fact that this little infant, helpless and dependent on his parents’ gentle care, is, well, so quintessentially human? How is it that the “Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world” can be so fragile? When these kings of the Orient arrived at the scene of the nativity, were they surprised that the divine beacon, that unique star in the sky guided them to Bethlehem of all places? To the feet of a babe wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger? Perhaps but the Christian tradition tells us that they kneeled in adoration, nonetheless. As is often the case, they may not have fully understood but they reverenced and worshipped the incarnate Lamb of God, nevertheless.
Our images for today depict an event that is yet to come but they are, of course, in continuity with God the Son’s incarnation and appearing to humankind as a babe. Even though a child, Jesus always was and always is the “Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.” John the Baptist did not make it so, it was always so. In the words of the Apostle Peter, he “indeed was foreordained before the foundation of the world.” Or in the poetry of Keith Patman, “Out on the edge of eternity, the Father sees the Lamb slain ere the world is formed.” And just as “the twenty-four elders [will fall] down before the Lamb” in heaven, so too do the magi fall down before the infant Lamb of God. And in doing so they join their voices with the ten-thousand-fold choir of angels who sing out with a loud voice, “Worthy is the Lamb who was slain to receive power and riches and wisdom, and strength and honor and glory and blessing!” The question for us, of course, is this: do we do the same? Do we recognize the Lamb of God and fall down in adoration? Do we bring ourselves to him as our gift and offer him ourselves, our souls and bodies, to be a reasonable, holy, and living sacrifice? If not, then what prevents us from doing it today, even at this very moment?
Prayer:
O God, who by the leading of a star didst manifest thy only-begotten Son to the Gentiles; Mercifully grant that we, who know thee now by faith, may after this life have the fruition of thy glorious Godhead; through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.
Rev. Greg Peters, Ph.D., S.M.D.
Professor of Medieval and Spiritual Theology
Torrey Honors College
Biola University
Vicar of Anglican Church of the Epiphany
La Mirada, California
About the Artwork:
Sgraffito Murals of the Book of Revelation (multiple panels and overall of chapel interior)
Second panel of the series
Sixth panel of the series
Seventh panel of the series
Adam Kossowski
1964
St. Benet’s Chaplaincy
Queen Mary University of London
London, England
Used with permission from St. Benet’s Chaplaincy
The Sgraffito Murals of the Book of Revelation are a series of murals created by Adam Kossowski at St. Benet's Chaplaincy, Queen Mary University of London. These murals, completed in 1964, depict scenes from the Book of Revelation, the final book of the Bible. The murals are located in St. Benet’s Chaplaincy at Queen Mary University of London. We have selected just three of the panels. The second panel represents the unseen reality of worship in heaven (chapters 4 and 5). Jesus Christ, once sacrificed as the Lamb of God, is acknowledged by all creation as the center and fulfillment of God's saving plan. The sixth panel depicts Jesus Christ, King of kings, seated in majesty and authority, and holding the Book of Life prior to the last judgment (chapter 20). The seventh panel portrays the final part of John's revelation—a victorious image of the eternal city, the new Jerusalem, and its associated images of the Tree of Life and River of Life (chapter 21). Christ the Lamb of God is the light at its center. The technique used by the artist Adam Kossowski is called sgraffito, which involves scraping away a layer of wet plaster to reveal a contrasting color beneath, creating a unique visual effect.
https://www.qmul.ac.uk/faith/stbenets/chapel-murals/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sgraffito
About the Artist:
Adam Kossowski (1905–1986) was a Polish refugee who quickly made a career in works of figurative art in Britain. His Catholic background brought him church commissions, which he undertook with exceptional stylistic integrity and a sophisticated theological understanding. Kossowski worked in many media, but was notable for his use of sgraffito, a scratch-through drawing technique employing two differently colored coats of plaster. Kossowski studied architecture at Warsaw Technical University, and painting at Cracow Academy of Fine Arts. In the late 1930s he studied and worked in Italy and France, then returned to Warsaw. From 1950, for about twenty years, Kossowski completed over one hundred works at Aylesford Priory in Kent, England.
https://artuk.org/discover/artists/kossowski-adam-19051986
About the Music #1: “Worthy is the Lamb” from the album Igniting the Passion
Lyrics #1:
Thank you for the cross, Lord.
Thank you for the price You paid.
Bearing all my sin and shame,
In love You came,
And gave amazing grace.
Thank you for this love, Lord.
Thank you for the nail pierced hands.
Washed me in Your cleansing flow,
Now all I know,
Your forgiveness and embrace.
Worthy is the Lamb.
Seated on the throne,
Crown You now with many crowns.
You reign victorious.
High and lifted up,
Jesus Son of God.
The Darling of Heaven crucified.
Worthy is the Lamb.
Worthy is the Lamb.
Thank you for the cross, Lord.
Thank you for the price You paid.
Bearing all my sin and shame,
In love You came,
And gave amazing grace.
Thank you for this love, Lord.
Thank you for the nail pierced hands.
Washed me in Your cleansing flow,
Now all I know,
Your forgiveness and embrace.
Worthy is the Lamb.
Seated on the throne,
Crown You now with many crowns.
You reign victorious.
High and lifted up,
Jesus Son of God.
The Darling of Heaven crucified.
Worthy is the Lamb.
Worthy is the Lamb.
Worthy is the Lamb.
Worthy is the Lamb.
Worthy is the Lamb.
Seated on the throne,
Crown You now with many crowns.
You reign victorious.
High and lifted up,
Jesus Son of God.
The Darling of Heaven crucified.
Worthy is the Lamb.
Worthy is the Lamb.
Worthy is the Lamb.
Worthy is the Lamb.
Worthy is the Lamb.
Worthy is the Lamb.
Worthy is the Lamb.
Worthy is the Lamb.
About the Composer #1:
Darlene Joyce Zschech (b. 1965) is an Australian Pentecostal Christian worship leader and singer who primarily writes praise and worship songs. Described as a pioneer of the modern worship movement, she is the former worship pastor of Hillsong Church. Zschech is currently a contributing songwriter with CompassionArt, a charity founded by Christian songwriter Martin Smith. Zschech was the worship pastor of Hillsong Church from 1996 to 2007, during which time she served as producer, vocal producer, and executive producer for more than twenty albums under the Hillsong Music label and wrote more than eighty published worship songs. In 2011, with her husband, she became senior pastor of Hope Unlimited Church in New South Wales. Since they became lead pastors there, Hope Unlimited has transitioned from being a local ministry to having a worldwide outreach with locations throughout Australia, India, and four major cities in the United States.
https://www.darlenezschech.com/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Darlene_Zschech
About the Performers #1: Darlene Zschech with Hillsong Worship
Hillsong Worship (formerly Hillsong Live) is an Australian praise and worship group from Sydney, Australia, where they started making music in 1983 at the Hillsong Church. Fifteen of their songs have appeared on the Billboard Magazine charts in the US, with "What a Beautiful Name" (2016) representing one of their greatest successes, reaching platinum in the US. Hillsong Worship has had some notable members, including Darlene Zschech, Marty Sampson, Brooke Fraser (Brooke Ligertwood), Reuben Morgan, and Joel Houston.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hillsong_Worship
About the Music #2: "No More Night"
Lyrics #2:
The timeless theme, earth and heaven will pass away
It’s not a dream, God will make all things new that day.
Gone is the curse from which I stumbled and fell.
Evil is banished to eternal hell
No more night, no more pain
No more tears, never crying again
Praises to The Great “I Am’
We will live in the light of The Risen Lamb
See all around, Now the nations bow down to sing
The only sound is the praises to Christ our King
Slowly the names from the book are read
I know the King, so there’s no need to dread
No more night, no more pain
No more tears, never crying again
Praises to The Great “I Am’
We will live in the light of The Risen Lamb
BRIDGE
See over there, it’s a mansion prepared for me
Where I can live with my Savior eternally
No more night, no more pain
No more tears, never crying again
Praises to The Great “I Am’
We will live in the light of The Risen Lamb
About the Performers #2:
Christian Edition is an a cappella men's chorus that performs a repertoire of sacred and gospel music to share their love of God. Founded in 1981, the group has a long history of music ministry, performing in concert halls, churches, and various events across the United States and Canada. They have released numerous albums and are heard on Christian television and radio broadcasts, making their music ministry available to a global audience.
About the Composer #2:
Walt Harrah is a singer, song writer/arranger/producer, and worship leader. A graduate of the USC School of Music and Fuller Theological Seminary, he has produced more than 1000 songs for the Haven of Rest radio ministry, and more than fifty of his songs have been recorded by Maranatha Music, Integrity Music, the Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir, David Phelps, and Glenn Campbell. For many years he directed the music group, The Kingsmen, and taught at Biola’s Conservatory of Music. He currently serves as elder of worship at Grace Evangelical Free Church in La Mirada, California.
About the Poetry & Poet:
Keith Patman is an occasional poet whose primary vocation is Bible translation. Since 1982 he has worked for Wycliffe Bible Translators, assisting with the translation of Scripture into the languages of West and Central Africa. He lived in Cameroon from 1987 to 1995, working on a Nugunu New Testament, and now serves from the United States as part of an international team providing tools and training to African translators. He currently lives in Waynesboro, Virginia, with his wife, Jaci, who is a Presbyterian minister.
About the Devotion Author:
Rev. Greg Peters, Ph.D., S.M.D.
Professor of Medieval and Spiritual Theology
Torrey Honors College
Biola University
Vicar of Anglican Church of the Epiphany
La Mirada, California
Dr. Greg Peters is a professor in the Torrey Honors College at Biola University and vicar of Anglican Church of the Epiphany, La Mirada. He is also the author of The Monkhood of All Believers: The Monastic Foundation of Christian Spirituality.