March 5: Humility
♫ Music:
Day 20 - Monday, March 5
Title: Humility
Scripture: Isaiah 58:3-7
‘Why have we fasted and You do not see?
Why have we humbled ourselves and You do not notice?’
Behold, on the day of your fast you find your desire,
And drive hard all your workers.
“Behold, you fast for contention and strife and to strike with a wicked fist.
You do not fast like you do today to make your voice heard on high.
“Is it a fast like this which I choose, a day for a man to humble himself?
Is it for bowing one’s head like a reed
And for spreading out sackcloth and ashes as a bed?
Will you call this a fast, even an acceptable day to the Lord?
“Is this not the fast which I choose,
To loosen the bonds of wickedness,
To undo the bands of the yoke,
And to let the oppressed go free
And break every yoke?
“Is it not to divide your bread with the hungry
And bring the homeless poor into the house;
When you see the naked, to cover him;
And not to hide yourself from your own flesh?
Poetry: The Poor
By Roberto Sosa
[Translated by Spencer Reece]
The poor are many
and so—
impossible to forget.
No doubt,
as day breaks,
they see the buildings
where they wish
they could live with their children.
They
can steady the coffin
of a constellation on their shoulders.
They can wreck
the air like furious birds,
blocking out the sun.
But not knowing these gifts,
they enter and exit through mirrors of blood,
walking and dying slowly.
And so,
one cannot forget them.
HUMILITY
When we think of fasting as a Spiritual discipline, we immediately turn to the example of Jesus fasting 40 days in the desert where He was also tempted by the Devil. The fasting of food renders Jesus both physically as well as emotionally weak, and in His full humanity susceptible to the alluring offerings of power and prestige that would ease that suffering and establish Jesus’ position. Has it ever occurred to us that what Jesus fasted was not just the physical, earthly sustenance but that His very coming to the earth in the form of a human being was in essence a fast. The scripture states that he shed his glory and clothed himself in humanity, but in this coming He humbled Himself to become one of us. He fasted for his time on earth the trappings of his Kingdom to become like us, taking on all of humanity so that He would be able to identify with us so that we in turn could become one with Him.
What a profound sacrifice. It changes the way that we view humility. To humble ourselves is not a modest view of our own importance. It is not just the state of being humble. Those things are temporary, momentary. But if we are to follow the example of Christ, we are to live a life of fasting the alluring offerings of power and prestige in service of one another just as Christ humbled Himself and fasted.
As I gaze upon the image of Mother Teresa, it strikes me that she is likely one of the most ubiquitous figures of recent history. Famous—certainly. Powerful—indeed. But these things were added to her because she sought first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness. She wielded the power and the fame she was afforded to bring attention not to herself or her “brand,” but to those she served—the lowliest of humanity, the most humble. They were her treasure, her wealth, and her prestige. This is the example of Christ in us, the hope of glory.
Fasting is not just seasonal or momentary. As those who are called of the Christ, the living God, we are to live a life of fasting. A life of humility where any of the influence or prestige that comes in this world is fasted so that when we experience it, it is not our glory that is proclaimed, but the glory of the One for whom we are named. May it be said of us.
Prayer:
Father, as we are intentional in this season of fasting, let the example of Your humility be that which creates in us a lifestyle of sacrifice, a shedding of the trappings of this world, and a casting off of those things that draw attention to us and not to You. Thank you for taking on flesh and fasting the glory of your Kingdom so that we may not be limited to this world, but that we will inherit Your Kingdom. As I decrease, may You increase. Not to us, but to Your name be Glory!
Joy E. A. Qualls, PhD
Chair and Associate Professor
Department of Communication Studies
Biola University
About the Artwork:
Mother Teresa
Maqbool Fida Husain
1989
Acrylic on canvas
129.54 x 231.14 cm
Artist Maqbool Fida Husain was deeply moved by meeting Mother Teresa and subsequently he depicted her in a series of paintings. He explained: “I have tried to capture in my paintings what her presence meant to the destitute and the dying, the light and hope she brought by mere inquiry, by putting her hand over a child abandoned in the street. I did not cry at this encounter. I returned with so much strength and sadness that it continues to ferment within.” Husain emulated the composition of Michelangelo’s early Pieta, with Mother Teresa holding a young boy, possibly an orphan, on her lap. While often depicted as a faceless entity, these paintings explore notions not only of the Mother Teresa herself, but of motherhood in general, from the biblical Virgin Mary to Husain’s own mother who died when he was very young.
About the Artist:
Magbool Fida Husain (1915-2011), born in Pundharpur, Maharashtra, India, is the most celebrated and internationally recognized Indian artist of the 20th century. He developed his painting skills in the 1930s by painting billboards for the growing Bollywood film industry. Husain is primarily known for his paintings, but was also a printmaker, photographer, and filmmaker. In 1966, he was awarded the prestigious Padma Shri Award, an honor conferred by the Indian government to individuals for their outstanding contribution to Indian culture. In 1967, he received the National Film Award for Best Experimental Film for Through the Eyes of a Painter.
About the Music:
“O God, Will You Restore Us?” from the album Lamentations
Lyrics:
O God, will You restore us, and grant us Your salvation?
I will hear what God proclaims
The Lord our God proclaims peace
Kindness and truth shall meet
Justice and peace shall kiss
“Here is the fast I choose –
To loosen the bonds of the oppressed and break their chains
Let righteousness and justice go out before you
Then you will call out and I will hear”
Near indeed is His salvation to those who call on Him
He will incline is ear and hear their prayers
Truth shall spring out of the earth
and Justice will rain down from heaven
The Lord will guide you on a righteous path
His vindication will shine down forth as the dawn
Your people will be called repairers of broken walls
making straight the path to proclaim His reign!
About the Composer and Performer:
BiFrost Arts is an ecumenical religious organization closely linked to the Presbyterian Church in America that produces written and recorded religious music and frequently performs at Christian Universities and conferences. BiFrost Arts is unique in its approach to religious music in that it generally employs musicians whose success exists outside of the mainstream Christian music industry. Notable contributors to BiFrost Arts recordings have included Sufjan Stevens, David Bazan, Rosie Thomas, Leigh Nash, Damien Jurado, The Welcome Wagon, Derek Webb, Denison Witmer, Devon Sproule, Shara Worden, Laura Gibson, The Gregory Brothers, Mason Neely, J. Tillman, Trent Dabbs, Isaac Wardell, and Diane Birch.
Isaac Wardell is a record producer and composer who primarily writes sacred music. He is the director of BiFrost Arts, an ecumenical organization closely linked to the Presbyterian Church in America, that produces written and recorded religious music. Wardell founded BiFrost Arts in 2008 "to enrich the Church and engage the world with beauty and truth through music beautiful enough that non-Christians are attracted to it." He is also currently the Director for Worship Arts at Trinity Presbyterian Church in Charlottesville, Virginia.
About the Poet:
Robert Sosa (1930 -2011) was an author and poet born in Honduras. He spent his early life working hard to help provide for his poor family. Sosa published Los Pobres in 1969, which won the Adonais Prize in Spain. Un Mundo Para Todos Dividido, published in 1971, won the Casa de las Americas Prize in Cuba. By 1990, he had published six books of poetry, three of prose, and two anthologies of Honduran literature. In 1990, he published Obra Completa. At the time of his death, Sosa lived in Tegucigalpa, the capital city of Honduras. He was the editor of a magazine, Presente and the president of the Honduras Journalists’ Union. He also taught literature at the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de Honduras
About the Devotional Writer:
Joy Qualls is the Chair and an Associate Professor of the department. Qualls is an alumna of Vanguard University and Regent University, where she earned her bachelor’s, master’s and doctorate, respectively in communication studies, with research emphasis in religious and political rhetoric. Joy is active in the National Communication Association and the Religious Communication Association. She is also a member of the Society for Pentecostal Studies. Her research agenda includes studies on gender and church leadership, evangelical political rhetoric, and rhetoric in the age of tolerance. Joy has been married to her husband Kevin for 10 years, and they have two children.