February 18: A Witness Forever
♫ Music:
WEEK TWO - REPENTANCE
February 18 - February 24
An Eastern Orthodox spiritual elder once said, “Repentance is the renewal of life.” In truth, we were not made to live in sin as sinners. No, God made us sinless, hoping that we would, in our freedom, continue to choose him and not rebel against him. Our first parents did, in fact, rebel and we and the creation continue to suffer the consequences. But what we are is not who we were meant to be and it is in repenting of our sins that we begin again to regain what we lost. Repentance is an important first step in becoming fully human, and it is the natural consequence of self-examination. For when we see that we sin we throw ourselves onto the mercy of God asking him to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness (1 John 1:9). And he graciously responds and we are forgiven. Repentance gives us life.
Day 5 - Sunday, February 18
Title: A Witness Forever
Scripture: Isaiah 30:8-17
Now go, write it on a tablet before them
And inscribe it on a scroll,
That it may serve in the time to come
As a witness forever.
For this is a rebellious people, false sons,
Sons who refuse to listen
To the instruction of the Lord;
Who say to the seers, “You must not see visions”;
And to the prophets, “You must not prophesy to us what is right,
Speak to us pleasant words,
Prophesy illusions.
“Get out of the way, turn aside from the path,
Let us hear no more about the Holy One of Israel.”
Therefore thus says the Holy One of Israel,
“Since you have rejected this word
And have put your trust in oppression and guile, and have relied on them,
Therefore this iniquity will be to you
Like a breach about to fall,
A bulge in a high wall,
Whose collapse comes suddenly in an instant,
Whose collapse is like the smashing of a potter’s jar,
So ruthlessly shattered
That a sherd will not be found among its pieces
To take fire from a hearth
Or to scoop water from a cistern.”
For thus the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel, has said,
“In repentance and rest you will be saved,
In quietness and trust is your strength.”
But you were not willing,
And you said, “No, for we will flee on horses,”
Therefore you shall flee!
“And we will ride on swift horses,”
Therefore those who pursue you shall be swift.
One thousand will flee at the threat of one man;
You will flee at the threat of five,
Until you are left as a flag on a mountain top
And as a signal on a hill.
Poetry: The Man of Double Deed
By Anonymous
There was a man of double deed,
Who sowed his garden full of seed;
When the seed began to grow,
'Twas like a garden full of snow;
When the snow began to melt,
'Twas like a ship without a belt;
When the ship began to sail,
'Twas like a bird without a tail;
When the bird began to fly,
'Twas like an eagle in the sky;
When the sky began to roar,
'Twas like a lion at my door;
When my door began to crack,
'Twas like a stick across my back;
When my back began to smart,
'Twas like a penknife in my heart;
And when my heart began to bleed,
'Twas death, and death, and death indeed.
DOUBLE DEALING WITH GOD
Isaiah’s audience and the “Man of Double Deed” have both believed that they can be perpetrators of double dealing and get away with it. Who is the person of double deed? The definition has two elements: the first is that she injures others; the second is that the injury is disguised so that she still appears to be good or trustworthy. Isaiah accuses his listeners of this dual state. They have put their trust in oppression and guile, but they want their prophets to speak pleasant words to them. They want to be able to take what they want without being told that their acts are unjust. In wanting this, they are double dealing, but not in the self-conscious manner of a common thief or trickster. Rather, they want their oppression hidden not only from others, but also from themselves and even from God. Theirs is a massive self-deception, and anyone trying to enlighten them to the reality of their own actions is treated as an enemy.
It may seem that these hypocrites are getting away with their sin, but both Isaiah and the poet of “The Man of Double Deed” affirm that the world that God has created has its own internal mechanism for justice. In the poem, the first consequence of the man’s double dealing is that his garden is not flowering, but covered with snow. Dead. Likewise, his bird is without a tail - his double dealing has made him impotent in his ventures. But then, the consequences grow more stark. Dead gardens and flightless birds become the eagles and lions at the door, and the impersonal ‘his’ is exchanged for a personal ‘my’. The man of double deed is being pursued for the injustice of his acts, and his state is approaching a crisis. Finally, predators are exchanged for weapons themselves and the man of double deed finds himself confronted with sticks and knives until death itself finds him. Like Isaiah’s audience, his double dealing is not hidden from God and eventually he faces the consequence for his sin. Suddenly, in an instant he, too, will be ruthlessly shattered because of his failure to recognize his iniquity.
Am I double dealing? As a good Christian I’d like to think these verses and warnings don’t apply to me. I like to think that I am the one who listens to God and finds the quietness and rest that Isaiah promises. But if I am honest with myself, I find that I am willing to brook plenty of oppression and guile, so long as I continue to appear good. I know that the conveniences of my life - the cheapness of my clothing, the ease with which I can buy food, the house that shelters me, the beautiful grounds I walk around in public spaces - are built on the backs of those who are not well-treated or cared for. I know, somewhere in my heart, that I enjoy these pleasures at the expense of other people’s suffering. And I know that bringing attention to this fact makes me a voice that other Christians don’t want to hear from. But in the season of Lent, let us entertain the possibility that we are guilty of double dealing as well. Let us consider our own need not only to feel pity, but also to repent our willingness to profit off of the suffering of other people, which requires a change in behavior. Can we find a quietness and rest that is not built on stopping our ears to God’s requirements for justice and mercy, but rather a quietness and rest that comes from knowing in our soul we are not brooking oppression for our own convenience?
Prayer:
Almighty God, who hast created us in thine own image: Grant us grace fearlessly to contend against evil and to make no peace with oppression; and, that we may reverently use our freedom, help us to employ it in the maintenance of justice in our communities and among the nations, to the glory of Thy holy Name,
Amen
Book of Common Prayer
Janelle Aijian, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Philosophy
Torrey Honors Institute
Biola University
Information about the artists, poets, lyrics, artwork, composers, and musicians in the Lent Project may be found on the “About” tab located next to the “Devotional” tab.
About the Artwork:
Vessel
Scott Conary
2017
Oil on panel
35.5 x 42.1 cm
About the Artist:
Scott Conary is a painter living and working in Portland, Oregon. Conary paints landscapes, animals, figurative works, and still lifes. Conary’s still life subjects include common objects like fruit, but also less commonly explored items like wrenches, spark plugs, and cuts of meat. All are handled with brusque, painterly textures, and subtle variations in color. He received a BFA from the Rhode Island School of Design and has been profoundly influenced by the artwork of N.C. Wyeth, Richard Diebenkorn, Wilhem De Kooning, and Alberto Giacometti. Those artistic influences, coupled with Conary’s personal experiences later in life including the difficulty of watching his young daughter battle congenital heart defects, fuel his desire to create work that shows the beauty in brokenness.
About the Music:
“6 Bagatelles: No. 2. Rubato - Lamentoso” from the album Schauspiel
About the Composer:
György Ligeti (1923–2006) was a Hungarian composer of contemporary classical music. He has been described as "one of the most important avant-garde composers in the latter half of the twentieth century." In 1973 he became professor of composition at the Hamburg Hochschule für Musik und Theater until he retired in 1989. Restricted by the authorities of Communist Hungary, it was only when he reached the West in 1956 that he could fully realize his passion for avant-garde music. After experimenting with electronic music in Cologne, his breakthrough came with orchestral works such as Atmosphères, for which he used a technique he later dubbed “micropolyphony,” a kind of polyphonic musical texture that consists of many lines of dense canons moving at different tempos or rhythms. He is best-known by the public for the use of his music in film soundtracks. Although he did not directly compose any film scores, excerpts of pieces composed by him were taken and adapted for film use. This occurred most famously in the films of Stanley Kubrick, particularly in the movie 2001: A Space Odyssey.
About the Performers:
Five young virtuoso wind players who shared a vision for perfecting and developing the performance of wind chamber music started Ensemble Carion in 2002. From the birth of the ensemble, the members of Ensemble Carion have sought to convert the traditions of conventional chamber music into an up-to-date and appealing experience in a way that is accessible to a wide variety of audiences. To accomplish this, Ensemble Carion has developed a unique style where all works are performed completely from memory. The absence of music stands gives the musicians greater freedom to communicate with one another and with the audience. It also allows a musically-based choreography that reveals the inner architecture of the pieces, adding a dimension to the concert experience that makes even the avant-garde part of the repertoire seem readily accessible. Ensemble Carion has worked with classical artists such as the flute legend Sir James Galway and the Leipziger Streichquartett.
About the Poet:
Anonymous
About the Devotional Writer:
Janelle Aijian is a joyful teacher of the Great Books tradition in the Torrey Honors Institute and a perpetual student of Blaise Pascal and the Seven Deadly Sins tradition, specifically the sin of acedia. In focusing on these works, she is seeking to understand the Christian experience of doubt, anxiety, and avoidance in the face of God’s call. She holds a B.A. in philosophy from Biola University and a Ph.D. in philosophy from Baylor University. Janelle lives in Fullerton with her husband, Phillip, two adorable kids, and a cat named Cleopatra.