March 18: We Lepers
♫ Music:
Day 18 - Saturday, March 18
The Sacrifice of Praise
Scripture: Hebrews 13:15
Through him then let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that acknowledge his name.
Poetry:
"Due Praise"
by Scott Cairns
Glory to You, Only Lover of mankind!
Glory to You, O Merciful!
Glory to You, O Longsuffering!
Glory to You, who forgive every error!
Glory to You, who descended to save our souls!
Glory to You, made flesh in the Virgin’s womb!
Glory to You, who were bound!
Glory to You, who were torn!
Glory to You, who were crucified!
Glory to You, who were buried!
Glory to You, who did rise!
Glory to You, who were proclaimed!
Glory to You, who were believed!
Glory to You, who were taken up!
Glory to You, who are gloriously enthroned
at the Father’s right hand, soon to return
with the glory of the Father and the holy Angels
to measure every soul that has reviled
Your holy sufferings.
In that fearful hour,
when the powers of heaven will be shaken;
when Angels, Archangels, Cherubim, and Seraphim
will arrive together with fear and trembling
before Your glory; when the foundations
of creation will shudder, and everything
that has breath will tremble at Your great,
unendurable glory.
In that hour, Your hand will cover me
as a great protecting wing, and my soul
will be rescued from the fire, the gnashing
teeth, the swirling chaos without light,
the endless weeping,
so that, blessing You, I may say,
Glory to the One who sank to save the sinking sinner.
WE LEPERS
Endless Hallelujahs was a piece of art I fabricated a number of years ago. In the mixed media process, a sculptural technique I have employed for three decades, disparate found objects are manipulated and fused together to create something bigger than the individual parts. One of my students was working at a wax museum near Knott’s Berry Farm at the time, and one day delivered a box of wax hands to my office. “I thought you might be able to do something with these” he said, “since my boss at the museum has no use for fingerless hands.” For some reason I began to think of those hands as diseased leprous appendages. Eventually they became a potent symbol to me of my own imperfect spirit.
Christian leader Nancy DeMoss writes, “Brokenness is a continuous, ongoing lifestyle. It’s a lifestyle of agreeing with God about the true condition of my heart and life as He alone can see it. It’s a lifestyle of unconditional, absolute surrender of my will to God. Brokenness is the shattering of my self-will so that the life, the Spirit, the fragrance of Jesus may be released through me.” We all acknowledge that sanctification is a lifelong process; that flawed human beings this side of heaven will never be completely whole. In Endless Hallelujahs, I envision imperfect believers raising their digitless hands heavenward in ceaseless praise to the Christ of Calvary, awaiting the day when they will be made complete in Him. Charles Wesley had the same idea when he penned “O For a Thousand Tongues to Sing my Great Redeemer’s Praise.” He used oxymorons to make his point: “Hear him, ye deaf; his praise, ye dumb, your loosened tongues employ; ye blind, behold your saviour come, and leap, ye lame, for joy.”
Overwhelmed by the chaos besieging humanity, I sometimes lay awake at night ruminating about the state of the world as well as my own feeble existence. I pound my breast and raise my voice with Saint Paul, “I am the chief of sinners.” Remembering my sorry state and then what Christ has done for me invokes the deepest possible response. Author Rob Smith says, “The triune God who is our creator and redeemer, our savior and sanctifier, deserves every bit of praise we can muster, and then a whole lot more! Praise is his due, it is what he deserves: for he is infinitely worthy and therefore it is entirely fitting that we praise him at all times.” (Psalm 34:1) Indeed, there are over 250 commands in scripture encouraging us to “Praise God!”
Sometimes the most wonderful opportunities for praise are found in corporate worship. When believers join together in adoration there can be a profound sense of oneness with Christ. Seeing an entire congregation prostrate on their faces before God; with their hands raised in submissive gratitude; proclaiming a psalm, prayer or statement of faith as a community; or partaking together of the body and blood of Christ; these are actions where heaven and earth unite to magnify the One who alone is worthy to be praised.
For me the sacrifice of praise is intrinsically linked to the gift of music. There’s something about the physical action of singing that draws me into that most intimate place of communion with Christ. In preparing this meditation, I have repeatedly sung along with Fernando Ortega as he recounts the Gospel story in his rendition of “I Will Sing of My Redeemer.” Moments like these are precious private times when I’m able to adore Christ “in spirit and in truth.” Sometimes during these experiences (both public and private), I’m caught up in “wonder, love, and praise,” words Wesley used in another hymn to describe the glories of heavenly worship. And it is that moment when we see Christ face to face for which we long and pray. Until then we lepers continue offering our broken beings in adoration to the only God who can make us perfect in Him. “Glory to the One who sank to save the sinking sinner.”
PRAYER
O Lord Most High, who is so great a God as our God? You alone are the God who performs amazing wonders! I will praise You, O LORD, with my whole heart; I will show forth all Your marvelous works. I will be glad and rejoice in You; I will sing praise to Your name; for with Your strong arm You have redeemed Your people. Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in Your sight, O LORD, my Strength, and my Redeemer.
Amen.
Barry Krammes
CCCA Staff
About the Artwork:
Endless Hallelujahs
Barry Krammes
Mixed media with wooden figure & wax hands
About the Artist:
Barry Krammes (b. 1950) has been employed at Biola University in La Mirada, California since 1983, where he was art chairman for 15 years and is currently planning coordinator at the Center for Christianity, Culture and the Arts. For over a decade Krammes was the editor of the CIVA SEEN Journal for Christians in the Visual Arts, a national arts organization. Mr. Krammes is an assemblage artist whose work has been featured in both solo and group exhibitions, regionally and nationally. He has taught assemblage seminars at Image Journal's annual Glen Workshop in Santa Fe, New Mexico.
About the Music:
“I Will Sing of My Redeemer”
Lyrics:
[Verse 1:]
I will sing of my Redeemer
and his wondrous love to me;
on the cruel cross he suffered,
from the curse to set me free.
[Chorus:]
Sing, O sing of my Redeemer!
With his blood he purchased me;
on the cross he sealed my pardon,
paid the debt, and made me free.
[Verse 2:]
I will tell the wondrous story,
how my lost estate to save,
in his boundless love and mercy,
he the ransom freely gave.
[Chorus]
[Verse 3:]
I will praise my dear Redeemer,
his triumphant power I'll tell:
how the victory he gives me
over sin and death and hell.
[Chorus 2X]
About the Composer:
The lyrics to “I Will Sing of My Redeemer,” were found in a piece of baggage rescued from a fiery train accident on December 20, 1876. After receiving a request by telegram from D.L. Moody, the author, 38-year-old Philip P. Bliss (1838-1876) and his wife Lucy left their two children with grandparents and traveled by train to attend an evangelistic meeting in Chicago to help in D. L. Moody Tabernacle services. The winter snow and ice made the journey dangerous. As their train crossed over a river in Ashtabula, Ohio, the bridge gave way and all the carriages fell into the freezing waters below. Bliss escaped through a window, only to find that his wife had somehow been left behind in the burning wreckage. Although he was advised against it, Bliss headed back into the fire, saying: “If I cannot save her, I will perish with her.” The young couple did not survive. In 1877, the hymn was set to music by composer and evangelist James McGranahan (1840 -1907). That same year, singer and musician George Cole Stebbins (1846-1945), made a recording of “I Will Sing of My Redeemer” – one of the first songs ever to be recorded on Thomas Edison’s new invention, the phonograph.
About the Performer:
Fernando Ortega is an evangelical Christian singer-songwriter and worship leader, heavily influenced by traditional hymns as well as his family’s Albuquerque, New Mexico heritage. Much of his current inspiration comes from the North American Anglican liturgy. From the late 70′s to the mid 90’s, he served in music ministry at a number of churches in New Mexico and Southern California. From 1993 to the present, Ortega has worked as a concert/recording artist, and has released 14 albums.
www.fernandoortega.com
About the Poet:
Scott Cairns (b. 1954) is an American poet, memoirist and essayist. Cairns earned a B.A. from Western Washington University, an M.A. from Hollins University, an MFA from Bowling Green State University, and a Ph.D. from the University of Utah. Cairns has served on the faculties of Kansas State University, Westminster College, University of North Texas, Old Dominion University, and University of Missouri. While at North Texas, Cairns served as editor of the American Literary Review. Cairns is the author of eight collections of poetry, one collection of translations of Christian mystics, one spiritual memoir, a book-length essay on suffering, and the co-editor of The Sacred Place with Scott Olsen, an anthology of poetry, fiction and nonfiction. Dr. Cairns is currently the program director of Seattle Pacific University’s MFA in Creative Writing.