February 20: The One Who Loves Us
♫ Music:
Saturday, February 20
Scripture: Revelation 1:5-6
And from Jesus Christ the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of kings on earth. To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood and made us a kingdom, priests to his God and Father, to him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.
THE ONE WHO LOVES US
Consider Robert Wagner’s The Redemption depicting the compassionate love between our servant king and the needy sinner. Christ is kneeling to meet the seeker on his level. Jesus’ countenance is gently turned in a loving gaze towards a figure who does not feel worthy to look up at his face. The artist situates the intimate, tender meeting in a simple composition highlighting the meeting of humanity and divinity in an unforgettable moment of grace.
Contemplate our Savior, Jesus —He who was, and is, and is to come. Faithful witness. First born from the dead. Ruler of the kings of this earth. And HE LOVES US. Ponder this—the One who created the universe, the living WORD, our Eternal King--- reaching down to redeem us and cleanse our hearts today.
It has been suggested that the most important questions you must answer during your lifetime are, “Do you really believe that Jesus loves you,” and “Do you love him in return?” Lots of us have intellectually embraced the notion but how many of us know this to be profoundly true in the depths of our beings? Head knowledge alone is not sufficient. We must fully experience and be transformed into his image by a continuously enlarging relationship with the Lord. St. Augustine writes of his romance with Christ:
When I love my God there is a light, voice, odor, food, embrace of my
innerness, where my soul is floodlit by light which space cannot contain,
where there is sound that time cannot seize, where there is perfume which
no breeze disperses, where there is a taste for food no amount of eating can
lessen, where there is a bond of union that no satiety can part. That’s what
I love when I love my God.
The sensorial description of love for Christ that St. Augustine offers, helps us put into words what are often very private, intimate, hard to articulate experiences that may not always be at the forefront of our consciousness. It is frequently through the writings of acknowledged saints from across the ages that we receive models for developing our own unique walk with the Lord. Poet Scott Cairns has written a rich volume called Love’s Immensity in which he constructs original poetry based on the writings of Christian mystics. The last poem in the book is based on the writings of Saint Thérese of Lisieux (1873-1897), affectionately known as the “Little Flower.”
We end our thoughts with it.
The Holy Face
And when, Lord Jesus, I chance to glimpse
Your Holy Face it sets me once again
upon the way, both my Path and my sole Beckoning.
Your brow becomes my Paradise on earth,
Your gaze reveals--as radiant, lucent gems--Your eyes
still glistening with tears, and through my own
fresh tears I smile to You, and find Your grief
has suddenly eclipsed my own small pain.
I would delight to live precisely thus,
utterly effaced, if it would then
console Your Heart’s longsuffering.
This subtle beauty is sweetly shown to all
who live unattached to mundane care.|
I would abandon all to dwell with You
In this way Your Face becomes my home,
the radiance of my days, my realm
and sunlit land, where--all my life--
I raise a murmur, uttering Your praise. As lilies
carpeting the valley floor, You fill
the air with mystic scent, which I breathe in
whenever I grow faint; it gives sufficient
foretaste of the peace that is to come.
Your Visage bearing this immortal grace
is like most holy myrrh to me. It is my
music and my instrument, my rest
and resting place, my all and everything--Your Face.|
Therefore my sole desire is Your Face, and so
I wish nothing more than this: that as I contemplate Your Holy Mystery,
I grow more fully to resemble You. O Jesus, press
upon me now some lasting trace
of Your sweet, humble, ever-patient Face.
PRAYER
Jesus, I come to you on bended knee in full need of forgiveness. Thank you that you LOVE ME, demonstrated in freeing me from sin by your shed blood. I offer you my life to expand your kingdom. Help me to be your hands and feet and to intercede for the needs of others before your throne. All glory, honor, power and praise belong to you, GREAT LOVER of mankind.
Amen.
Suzanne M. Welty, Associate Professor, Communication Sciences and Disorders
Rachelle W. Chuang, Biola Alumni Board
The Redemption
Roger Wagner
Oil on board
About the Artist and Art
Roger Wagner (b. 1957) read English at Oxford University before studying at the Royal Academy School of Art. He has been represented in London since 1985 by Anthony Mould Ltd. His solo shows include retrospectives at the Ashmolean Museum in 1994 and 2010. He has produced several books of illustrated poems and poem translations. His major work, Menorah was acquired by the Ashmolean Museum in 2010 and hangs in St Giles Church Oxford. The artwork featured in today’s devotional, The Redemption, consists of a simple, abstract composition with the figures suspended in space, capturing a poignant moment of grace and reconciliation.
www.rogerwagner.co.uk
About the Poet
Scott Cairns (b. 1954) is a librettist, memoirist, translator, and author of seven poetry collections. His poems and essays have appeared in Poetry, Image, Paris Review, The Atlantic Monthly, The New Republic, Prairie Schooner, etc., and both have been anthologized in multiple editions of Best American Spiritual Writing. He is a regular blogger for the Religion Section of The Huffington Post, and contributes a podcast, Flesh Becomes Word, for Ancient Faith Radio. His most recent books are Idiot Psalms (2014), Compass of Affection: Poems New and Selected (2007), Short Trip to the Edge (spiritual memoir, 2006), Endless Life (translations and adaptations of Christian mystics, 2007 & 2014), and a book-length essay, The End of Suffering (2009). He received a Guggenheim Fellowship in 2006, and the Denise Levertov Award in 2014. His new projects include Descent to the Heart, a verse adaptation of selections from the writings of Saint Isaak of Syria. His Slow Pilgrim: The Collected Poems was published by Paraclete Press in 2015. He is Professor of English at University of Missouri, and is founding director of Writing Workshops in Greece: Thessaloniki/Thasos, a program bringing graduate and undergraduate students to Greece every June for engagement with literary life in modern Greece. Cairns also serves on the faculty of Seattle Pacific University’s Creative Writing M.F.A. Program.
About the Music
“Before the Throne of God Above”
Lyrics
Before the throne of God above|
I have a strong, a perfect plea.
A great high Priest whose Name is Love,
Who ever lives and pleads for me.
My name is graven on His hands,
My name is written on His heart.
I know that while in heaven He stands,
No tongue can bid me thence depart;
No tongue can bid me thence depart.
When Satan tempts me to despair
And tells me of the guilt within,
Upward I look and see Him there,
Who made an end to all my sin.
Because the sinless Savior died
My sinful soul is counted free,
For God the just is satisfied
To look on Him and pardon me;
To look on Him and pardon me.
Behold Him there the risen Lamb,
My perfect spotless righteousness,
The great unchangeable I am,
The King of glory and of grace.
One with Himself I cannot die,
My soul is purchased by His blood,
My life is hid with Christ on high,
With Christ my Savior and my God!
With Christ my Savior and my God!
About the Musicians
From their inception, Selah has been synonymous with the singing of hymns. The understated beauty of the trio’s 1999 debut, Be Still My Soul, helped initiate a hymn revival in Christian music that continues today. Selah’s discography has significantly re-popularized the church’s greatest songs while decorating the ensemble with numerous Dove Awards, number one singles, sold-out concert tours and over two and half million sold albums.
selahonline.com