April 24: Thanks Be to God!
♫ Music:
Day 55 - Monday, April 24
Thanks Be to God!
Scripture: I Corinthians 15:57-58
But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.
Poetry:
"We Rest on Thee"
by Edith G. Cherry
We rest on Thee, our Shield and our Defender,
We go not forth alone against the foe.
Strong in Thy Strength, safe in Thy keeping tender,
We rest on Thee, and in Thy name we go.
Yea, in Thy name, O Captain of Salvation,
In Thy blest name, all other names above,
Jesus our Righteousness, our sure Foundation,
Our Prince of Glory, and our King of Love.
We go in faith, our own great weakness feeling,
And needing more each day Thy grace to know,
Yet from our hearts a song of triumph pealing,
We rest on Thee, and in Thy name we go.
We rest on Thee, our Shield and our Defender,
Thine is the battle, Thine shall be the praise.
When passing through the gates of pearly splendor,
Victors, we rest with Thee through endless days.
THROUGH THE FRAME OF HIS SACRIFICE
What do you think of when you look at the sea? Like so many, I look at the sea and am mesmerized. It goes on and on and on. Endless. The swooshing of the waves, waiting in line to greet the shore, then falling back into the ocean. The fact that you could sit there and see the same thing, with slight variation, for hours, for days…
Kris Martin built an altar at the sea. Or maybe he framed the sea itself as an altar. Maybe he saw in it a place of holiness, a place of sacrifice, a place to meet with God. Perhaps it’s a secular altar. A window rather than a picture, the would-be worshiper has no image of Christ to contemplate. There is only the sea.
And yet, there is more; there is the frame. It’s a famous frame, reproducing that of the Ghent Altarpiece. That altarpiece enfolds all of history with it. On its outer wings, our first parents, who invited sin into the world and made a reason for altars, stand covering their nakedness, looking towards the center, where they see Christ in majesty at the top and the Lamb who was slain at the bottom. The Lamb is surrounded by worshipers, praising him for his victory, praising the One who was dead, but who lives again.
What do you think of when you look at the sea through this frame?
What do you think of when you look not just at the crucified and risen Christ, the victorious One, but through him at the world God so loved?
It’s still the world, just like the sea is still the sea. It’s beautiful in places, even as the southern California desert in bloom has surprised us all after the winter rains. It’s ugly, too, littered with death, divorce, debt, disgust, disillusion. There are all the small complaints we make in this world. There are the small thanks we utter, too. It’s all the same world.
Except that this same world is one in which Christ has died, in which Christ has risen, and in which Christ will come again. It’s a world in which Christ has already defeated sin, death, and the devil, and so a world in which we have good reason to be of good cheer, knowing that he has overcome the world and our labor is not in vain.
The risen and reigning King, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, invites us to see and savor this world through the frame of his sacrifice. It’s his sacrifice that means our labor is not in vain. It’s his sacrifice that means nothing is lost, that all shall be well and all manner of things shall be well.
Brothers and sisters, Christ has conquered! May you endure with faith and, on the last day, conquer with him. Go in the joy and confidence and hope and strength of the Lamb who was slain!
“Worthy is the Lamb who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing! To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be blessing and honor and glory and might forever and ever!” (Revelation 5:11-13)
PRAYER
May the cross of our Risen and Conquering Savior, which is mightier than all the hosts of Satan and more glorious than all the hosts of heaven, abide with you in your going out and your coming in. By day and night, at morning and at evening, at all times and in all places may it protect and defend you. From the wrath of evildoers, from the assaults of evil spirits, from foes visible and invisible, from the snares of the devil, from all passions that beguile the soul and body: may it guard, protect and deliver you. And the blessing of God Almighty, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, be upon you, and remain with you for ever.
Amen.
(Church of India, Pakistan, Myanmar, and Sri Lanka. Book of Common Prayer)
Matt Jenson
Associate Professor of Theology
Torrey Honors Institute
About the Artwork:
Altar Installation (2015)
Kris Martin
Metal
Ostend, Belgium
About the Artist:
Kris Martin (b. 1972) is a Belgian conceptual artist. He completed a metal frame that exactly mimics the form of the framework of the multi-paneled Ghent Altarpiece or the Adoration of the Mystic Lamb (1432) by the Van Eyck brothers. Altar is an empty frame that stands erected on the beach of Ostend in Belgium, and invites the visitor to cast a view on the sea through the “window.” Martin says: “This is an open window, a window to the sea in this case. The outline changes with respect to whether you stand close-by or far away. It creates a sort of tableau vivant. It is ever changing, the colors are always different, because the sea is always different: untamed and unpredictable.” Martin’s work is poetic and contemplative, and reminds us of the brevity and impermanence of the human condition. A monumental sculpture, six meters high and five meters wide, it is an open window to the endless sea, a glimpse of eternity in its sweeping scope and timeless quality.
About the Music:
"Guide Me, O Thou Great Redeemer"
Lyrics:
Guide me, O thou great Redeemer,
pilgrim though this barren land;
I am weak, but thou art mighty;
hold me with thy powerful hand;
Bread of heaven, Bread of heaven,
feed me till I want no more,
feed me till I want no more.
Open now the crystal fountain,
whence the healing stream doth flow;
let the fire and cloudy pillar
lead me all my journey through;
strong Deliverer, strong Deliverer.
be thou still my Strength and Shield,
be thou still my Strength and Shield.
When I tread the verge of Jordan,
bid my anxious fears subside;
bear me through the swelling current,
land me safe on Canaan's side;
songs of praises, songs of praises,
I will ever give to thee,
I will ever give to thee.
About the Composer and the Hymm:
“Guide Me, O Thou Great Redeemer” has been used for worship in congregations around the globe and across denominational lines. It was also incorporated in two of the most televised services of the last two decades, the funeral of Princess Diana of Wales (1997) and the royal wedding of Prince William and Catherine Middleton (2011). The author of this widely popular hymn is William Williams (1717-1791) who became known as the most famous hymn writer of Welsh Methodism. Williams beautifully interweaves imagery and references from the Old Testament book of Exodus to evoke a sense of God’s guidance through strife. One of the reasons this hymn has had such enduring influence is it's universal subject of struggle and God's provisional grace.
About the Performer:
Charlotte Church (b. 1986) is a Welsh soprano, actress and television performer. She rose to fame in childhood as a classical singer before branching into pop music in 2005. By 2007, she had sold more than 10 million records worldwide, including over 5 million in the United States. Church continues to perform to this day.
About the Poet:
Edith G. Cherry (1872-1897) was an English poet. She was stricken with polio in infancy, most of her poems were written before she was 15 years old. A deeply spiritual young woman ever conscious of her spiritual failings, Cherry gave the glory to God for her rich and insightful poetry. When she lay dying, after suffering a stroke, she said, “It all seems so small, all I have tried to do, so small to Him.” Her mother answered, “There are your songs, dear, they will carry on your work.” But Edith quickly replied, “Ah, but they were not mine at all, they were just given to me all ready, and all I had to do was write them down.” Cherry’s beautiful hymn, "We Rest on Thee," was sung on January 8th, 1956, by the five missionaries about to make contact with the Auca Indians of Ecuador. Shortly afterward, they were martyred. Elisabeth Elliot, wife of Jim Elliot, one of the five, drew the title for her book, Through Gates of Splendour from a line of Edith Cherry’s poem.
About the Devotion Author:
Matt Jenson is Associate Professor of Theology in the Torrey Honors Institute at Biola University. He is the author of The Gravity of Sin: Augustine, Luther, and Barth on ‘homo incurvatus in se’ and (with David Wilhite) The Church: A Guide for the Perplexed. He is ordained in the Evangelical Covenant Church.