February 16: You Shall Dwell in the Land
♫ Music:
Tuesday, February 16
Scripture: Ezekiel 36: 24-28
I will take you from the nations and gather you from all the countries and bring you into your own land. I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleannesses, and from all your idols I will cleanse you. And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules. You shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers, and you shall be my people, and I will be your God.
YOU SHALL DWELL IN THE LAND
What does it mean to truly dwell in the land? Although potentially disorienting, Steve Prince's Plant in Me takes its own title very literally: the compelling engraved image reveals a woman of color in a state of ecstasy gazing upward as vines and flowers erupt through her body. We are viewing a moment of spiritual photosynthesis, as the enraptured figure allows the God who surely calls her from outside the frame of the picture to blossom within this organically invigorated devotee. The picture is captivating because the woman herself looks entirely captivated, pulled upward by forces that overwhelm her. The connections with today's verses from Ezekiel resonate powerfully here. "I will sprinkle clean water on you," the prophet tells us, "and you shall be cleaned from all your uncleannesses" (Ezekiel 36:25). We are God's creation, and as His children we can also be fruitfully appreciated as plants in His garden. We need the clean waters of God's spirit to wash us completely, to help us to grow toward the light. In these passages, God promises to put His spirit within the Israelites and bring them from all across the globe to dwell in the land long promised them. Importantly, God tells the followers of Yahweh that they are, uniquely, His people, and He will be their God. Ezekiel confirms God's promise to the Israelites that, despite their unfaithfulness, their homeland will be restored, from the mountains, to the trees and crops and fields (Ezekiel 36:30). One day God's people will be purified, will flourish exponentially, like the woman in Prince's print.
Equally concerned with restoration, healing, and dwelling in the goodness of the Lord, the musical accompaniment to today's devotional, "There Is Balm in Gilead," implants in ours minds the beautiful gospel lyrics that speak of the curative power of God's transforming mercy:
"There is a balm in Gilead
To make the wounded whole;
There is a balm in Gilead
To heal the sin sick soul."
Without wanting to take things too far afield, this song always reminds me of Marilynne Robinson's Gilead, and the buried history of emancipation and civil rights that serve as a significant thematic thread throughout it. As a work that dives right into the pride and self righteousness to which even the best of us are prone, its title resonates with the wisdom of Ezekiel, and with this enduring African American hymn. We do well to listen to these shared harmonies, for the cloud of witnesses that proclaim our faith can sometimes get drowned out in a culture eager to turn our hearts away from God's grace, and straight toward the vain temple of our own desires. It is encouraging to know that God will lift us up out of ourselves, help us transcend the sin that so easily ensnares us, and restore, heal and purify hearts that have turned to stone.
PRAYER
Living Christ,"Sometimes I feel discouraged and think my words in vain, but then the Holy Spirit revives my soul again." Come upon us that new life may course within our veins, new love bind us together,and a new vision of the kingdom of God spur us on to serve you with fearless passion.
Amen.
Marc Malandra, Associate Professor, Department of English
Artwork
Plant In Me
Steve Prince
Linocut
About the Art and Artist
Steve A. Prince is a native of New Orleans, Louisiana, and currently resides in Meadville, Pennsylvania, where he is an assistant professor of art and artist in residence at Allegheny College. He received his BFA from Xavier University of Louisiana and his MFA in printmaking and sculpture from Michigan State University. He uses the language of line to create narratives rich in metaphor and movement, expressed in the mediums of printmaking, drawing, and sculpture. He is represented by Eyekons Gallery in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and ZuCot Gallery in Atlanta, Georgia, and is the owner of One Fish Studio LLC.
About the Music
“There is a Balm in Gilead”
Lyrics
There is a balm in Gilead
To make the wounded whole;
There is a balm in Gilead
To heal the sin sick soul.
Sometimes I feel discouraged,
And think my work in vain,
But then the Holy Spirit
Revives my soul again.
If you cannot preach like Peter,
If you cannot pray like Paul,
Just tell the love of Jesus,
And say He died for all.
About the Composer
“There is a Balm in Gilead” is a traditional African-American spiritual. The first appearance of the spiritual in its current form is uncertain. A version of the refrain can be found in Washington Glass's 1854 hymn "The Sinner's Cure," which takes phrases from John Newton's Olney Hymns from 1779. In the Old Testament, the “balm of Gilead” is interpreted as spiritual medicine that is able to heal Israel, first appearing in Jeremiah 8:22: "Is there no balm in Gilead? Is there no physician there? Why then is there no healing for the wounds of my people?" This prophecy anticipates the New Testament message of ultimate healing through Jesus Christ.
About the Performers
Chanticleer is known around the world as “an orchestra of voices” for the seamless blend of its twelve male singers ranging from soprano to bass and for its original interpretations of vocal literature from Renaissance to jazz to contemporary composition. In this recording, guest performer Yvette Flunder (also an active bishop who ministers to the poor) contributes a voice remarkable for its range, power, and flexibility.
www.chanticleer.org