March 20: The Great Mystery of the Gospel
♫ Music:
Day 20 - Monday, March 20
The Passover Lamb
Scripture: Exodus 12:21-27
Then Moses called all the elders of Israel and said to them, “Go and select lambs for yourselves according to your clans, and kill the Passover lamb. Take a bunch of hyssop and dip it in the blood that is in the basin, and touch the lintel and the two doorposts with the blood that is in the basin. None of you shall go out of the door of his house until the morning. For the Lord will pass through to strike the Egyptians, and when he sees the blood on the lintel and on the two doorposts, the Lord will pass over the door and will not allow the destroyer to enter your houses to strike you. You shall observe this rite as a statute for you and for your sons forever. And when you come to the land that the Lord will give you, as he has promised, you shall keep this service. And when your children say to you, ‘What do you mean by this service?’ you shall say, ‘It is the sacrifice of the Lord's Passover, for he passed over the houses of the people of Israel in Egypt, when he struck the Egyptians but spared our houses.’” And the people bowed their heads and worshiped.
Poetry:
"Christ Jesus Lay in Death’s Strong Bands"
by Martin Luther
Christ Jesus lay in death’s strong bands
For our offenses given;
But now at God’s right hand he stands
And brings us life from heaven.
Therefore let us joyful be
And sing to God right thankfully
Loud songs of alleluia!
It was a strange and dreadful strife
When life and death contended;
The victory remained with life,
The reign of death was ended.
Holy Scripture plainly says
That death is swallowed up by death,
Its sting is lost forever.
Here the true Paschal Lamb we see,
Whom God so freely gave us;
He died on the accursed tree
So strong his love to save us.
See, his blood now marks our door;
Faith points to it; death passes over,
And Satan cannot harm us.
So let us keep the festival
To which the Lord invites us;
Christ is himself the joy of all,
The sun that warms and lights us.
Now his grace to us imparts
Eternal sunshine to our hearts;
The night of sin is ended.
THE GREAT MYSTERY OF THE GOSPEL
The ethereal glow of the Shekinah Glory illuminated the stony shepherds’ fields. The frantic bleating of the terrified lambs, newly separated from the ewes, was almost unbearable. Their cries filled the air as the shepherds, dirty and overworked, tried to calm them, speaking to each one, but the lambs, not recognizing their voices, only panicked all the more.
From the watchtowers, the Temple priests responsible for gathering the Passover lambs ignored the din below, marveling instead at the strange light that separated this night from any other. In the distance, the pretender’s palace loomed over the scene, pinnacled on the mountain that bore his name. The old tyrant had reshaped it to commemorate his greatest victory, proclaiming his right to rule Judea for Rome. Herod the Great had achieved unsurpassed worldly power. He was known for the monstrous cruelty that was the consequence of his quest for Caesar’s favor, a quest that began on the twisted path that had led the Maccabees to coerce his people, the Idumeans, to be circumcised in order to unite them with Israel for once and always. This ancient people, the lords of the fabulous spice trade of antiquity, had recognized the God of Israel long before, but under the Greeks had fallen in thrall to the pagans. The powerful Seleucids based in Syria overturned their late commander Alexander the Great’s policy of respect for Judaism, and acted to destroy the worship of the Lord in Jerusalem. The Maccabees forcibly aligned the Idumeans with Israel, incorporating them into the nation. The Jewish fight against Hellenism began with a violent act of adoption. And so the stage was set for another kind of power to enter into history: the Way of the Cross.
For two centuries the Hellenized Jews had been anticipating the Messiah, whom they called Christ in their translation of the Hebrew Scriptures known to us as the Septuagint. Everyone was talking about the Messiah, the Branch of Jesse, who would soon appear. Herod was watching. He jealously protected his throne, killing off his own sons and beloved wife because he feared their motives.
He too saw that strange glow, and prepared his men to go to make sure that Jesse’s family would no longer threaten his reign. He interviewed his business partners in the trade in frankincense and myrrh, wise men who still believed in the One God, about the strange light and asked them what it meant. These kings from the East, recognizing the Pretender’s threat to the Righteous One demurred, and headed to Bethlehem, where the light beckoned.
The rightful King of Israel was born into the sheepfold among the other lambs destined to be sacrificed on the Passover, where they would be prepared and eaten for the Passover Feast, in the national celebration of the liberation of their nation from four hundred years of slavery. The cruel pharaoh who had oppressed their people was now personified by Herod, who would soon kill their sons in his mad attack on the sons of David. Messiah Yeshua, the Anointed Savior, was born to save His people, Israel, not merely from a human tyrant, but from the great Adversary of humankind, the source of all tyranny, Satan. This savior was no mere human; he was Emmanuel, God-is-with-Us. In His self-sacrifice, the God of Israel was claiming His sovereignty over the Cosmos. In His humanity, Yeshua was a nobody, the Lamb of God, born in a cave in the city of David.
Our Lord had no palace, no mountain, no men to assert his rightful claim to the throne of David. The other young boys of his ancestral hometown would soon be wiped out, forgotten by history, inscribed only in the story of the nativity. The Davidic family would flee to Egypt, and when the old tyrant was gone, the refugees would resettle far to the north, in Nazareth, out of the reach of the authorities ruling Judea. There they would rejoin those who had been waiting and watching, knowing that He would come, and redeem Israel. Yet the great mystery of the gospel was still to be revealed.
PRAYER
“We continue, therefore, strongly to affirm the need for the whole Church to share the good news of Jesus as Messiah, Lord and Savior with Jewish people. And in the spirit of Romans 14-15, we urge Gentile believers to accept, encourage and pray for Messianic Jewish believers, in their witness among their own people.”
The Cape Town Commitment, Lausanne Congress on World Evangelism
Lord, I pray that the Church would comfort the Jewish people at this time by standing up for them as our nation grapples with the evils of racism and hatred. I thank you, God of my fathers, for reconciling the world through your great sacrifice, by which you redeemed us and made us joint heirs to the promises you made to Israel and the Nations. Whenever Christians use the word “shalom” may you move their hearts to pray for the Jewish people and Israel. You are our Savior, our King, and our Lord.
Hallelujah.
Amen.
Judith Mendelsohn Rood, PhD
Professor of History and Middle Eastern Studies
About the Artwork #1:
And There Was a Great Cry In Egypt
Arthur Hacker
Oil on canvas (1897)
Bridgeman Art Library, London
About the Artist #1:
Arthur Hacker (1858-1919) was perhaps the most versatile of late Victorian artists. Hacker’s regular exhibits at the Royal Academy and New Gallery include paintings of contemporary drama, mythological and Biblical narrative, landscapes and still lifes, made him famous. In 1886 Hacker helped to found the progressive New English Art Club, an association which tended to be critical of the academic ideals of the day. Paintings like And There was a Great Cry in Egypt of 1897 made Hacker popular in the 1890s but as the taste for grand subject pictures began to wain in the early twentieth century, he concentrated upon portraiture and modern genre subjects
About the Artwork #2:
Angus Dei
Francisco de Zurbarán
Oil on canvas (1635-40)
Prado Museum, Madrid, Spain
About the Artist #2:
Francisco de Zurbarán (1598 –1664) was a Spanish Baroque artist known for his paintings depicting monks, nuns, and martyrs, and primarily for his marvelous still-lifes. Zurbarán gained the nickname the “Spanish Caravaggio,” owing to the forceful, realistic use of chiaroscuro he employed. Zurbarán painted his figures directly from life. His Agnus Dei (Lamb of God), is simply rendered, yet complex in its subject matter. The lamb references Jesus and his sacrifice for humanity. There is an inscription in Latin at the bottom of the work which reads, “He was led as a sheep to the slaughter, and like a lamb voiceless before his shearer, so opened he not his mouth” (Isaiah 53:7).
About the Music:
“Christ Our Passover”
Lyrics:
[Refrain:]
Alleluia x3
[Verse 1:]
Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us
Therefore let us keep the feast;
Not with the old leaven, nor with the leaven of malice and wickedness;
But with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.
[Refrain]
[Verse 2:]
Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more;
Death hath no more dominion over Him;
For in that He died, he died unto sin once;
But in that He liveth, he liveth unto God.
Likewise, reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin,
But alive unto God, through Jesus Christ our LORD.
(But alive unto God, through Jesus Christ our LORD.)
[Refrain]
[Verse 3:]
Christ is risen from the dead
And has become the first fruits of them that slept.
For since by man came death,
By man came also the resurrection of the dead.
For as in Adam all die,
Even so in Christ, shall all be made alive.
[Refrain x2]
About the Composer/Conductor:
Paul Halley (b. 1952) is Director of Music at both the Chapel of the University of King's College and the Cathedral Church of All Saints, Halifax, NS. Paul is Creative Director and Co-Founder of Pelagos Music with his wife, Margaret Race. The winner of multiple Grammy Awards as principal composer and keyboardist for the Paul Winter Consort, Paul was Director of Music of The Cathedral of St. John the Divine, New York, NY and then Founder and Director of the choirs, Chorus Angelicus and Gaudeamus, Torrington, CT. Paul relocated to Halifax, NS in 2007 to become Director of Chapel Music at the University of King's College.
http://paulhalley.com/
About the Performers:
University of King’s College Chapel Choir comprises 24 choristers from the King’s College and Dalhousie University communities, many of whom are students receiving choral or organ scholarships. The choir’s primary function is to sing at the weekly evensong and eucharistic services in the King’s College Chapel, as well as other major services throughout the academic year. Directed by five-time Grammy winner Paul Halley, the choir also tours and records. Their concerts are consistently top picks of choral events to attend across Canada.
http://ukings.ca
About the Poet:
Martin Luther (1483-1546) was a German theologian, composer, poet, priest, monk and a seminal figure in the Protestant Reformation. Luther came to reject several teachings and practices of the Roman Catholic Church especially regarding indulgences, and a host of other serious cleric abuses. Luther became known in particular for three things: the doctrine of salvation by faith alone, the belief that Scripture should be translated into the people's language, and the birth of congregational singing. So strong were his beliefs about music and worship that he wrote these fiery words: "Next to the word of God, the noble art of music is the greatest treasure in the world. It controls our hearts, minds and spirits. A person who does not regard music as a marvelous creation of God does not deserve to be called a human being; he should be permitted to hear nothing but the braying of asses and the grunting of hogs!" His passionate beliefs led Luther to write both words and music for several hymns, including "A Mighty Fortress is Our God." Working with skilled musicians, Luther also created new music for church choirs, organ, and other instruments during his life.