March 7: Protection of God Invoked
♫ Music:
Day 22 - Wednesday, March 7
Title: Protection of God Invoked
Scripture: Ezra 8:21-23
Then I proclaimed a fast there at the river of Ahava, that we might humble ourselves before our God to seek from Him a safe journey for us, our little ones, and all our possessions. For I was ashamed to request from the king troops and horsemen to protect us from the enemy on the way, because we had said to the king, “The hand of our God is favorably disposed to all those who seek Him, but His power and His anger are against all those who forsake Him.” So we fasted and sought our God concerning this matter, and He listened to our entreaty.
Poetry: By Night When Others Soundly Slept
By Anne Bradstreet
1
By night when others soundly slept
And hath at once both ease and Rest,
My waking eyes were open kept
And so to lie I found it best.
2
I sought him whom my Soul did Love,
With tears I sought him earnestly.
He bow’d his ear down from Above.
In vain I did not seek or cry.
3
My hungry Soul he fill’d with Good;
He in his Bottle put my tears,
My smarting wounds washt in his blood,
And banisht thence my Doubts and fears.
4
What to my Saviour shall I give
Who freely hath done this for me?
I’ll serve him here whilst I shall live
And Love him to Eternity.
OPEN-BOWLED GESTURES OF GRATEFULNESS
Ezra, priest and scribe, a man whose very name means "help," was called by God to help rebuild the Temple. Favored by King Ataxerxes, Ezra had the power to request human protection on his way to fulfill the task to which God had called him. Not wanting to provide a false witness to the King, and knowing that the protection of his people was not in earthly soldiers and horses, Ezra took the wisest course of action: he fasted and prayed for the protection of the God, who is more than enough, rather than relying on the assistance of the Persian King. Fasting is not something our contemporary culture appears to put much stock in. Rather, we are a people of excess and gluttony, of "all we can eat" and frequently advertised "decadent" cuisine. The practice of fasting allows us to slow down and concentrate on the great blessings that we receive in abundance, and should cause us to reflect that everything we have comes from God, and the provision is always more than enough.
Australian artist Mel Brigg uses evocative images of empty bowls to represent the moment after eating, the moment when the bowls once more become vacant vessels. In Empty Bowl 1, a clean chicken bone appears to hover over the bowl, representing a previously consumed meal. The subsequent image, The Empty Bowl (2011), displays a red bowl surrounded by two faded gray bowls. In this painting, the chicken bone in our view is most definitely a wishbone. To connect this to Ezra's situation, the wishbone could represent an attempt to garner "luck" without relying on God. The third bowl in our sequence, The Empty Bowl 2 (2010), presents a more peaceful atmosphere than the previous bowls and might be seen as a moment of faithful reliance on providence, an open-handed (open-bowled) gesture of expectant gratefulness.
North America's first great published English poet, Anne Bradstreet, in her poem "By Night When Others Soundly Slept," finds herself in a state most of us have experienced at one point or another, the state of insomnia brought on by worrying about the cares of life. Bradstreet's speaker assumes that those around her sleep peacefully while her "waking eyes were open kept." Bradstreet is too wise not to know this is foolishness, well aware that saints are explicitly called to "be anxious for nothing," and that we have a God who desires our thanksgiving and our prayers (Philippians 4:6). She is prudent enough to seek God "earnestly." Bradstreet knows that her true sustenance comes from the Lord, and that He wants to feed the starving Souls that He created. She realizes that she has nothing of any value to offer the God of love, of mercy, the Lord who allows us to sleep in tranquility despite the storms that surround us. We should follow Bradstreet's example of trusting in God's free gift by offering the sacrifice of lives lived in honor of the gracious, caring Lord who provides life in abundance.
Prayer:
Lord, please help us to be mindful that every good and perfect gift comes from You. Allow us to recognize our own emptiness and poverty, and give us the humility to seek Your face when trouble strikes. Thank you for the spiritual, emotional, and physical providence promised to Your followers.
Amen
Marc Malandra
Associate Professor of English
Biola University
About the Artwork:
Empty Bowls (3 of a series of 6)
Mel Brigg
2010-2011
Mixed media on panel
72 cm, 99 cm, 100 cm
These exquisite paintings go beyond just being still life studies, especially when placed in the context of fasting and the voluntary emptying of a bowl as an offering to God. To be aware of emptiness, to empty the bowl, to ask God to fill our emptiness - all of these conditions are evoked in these images that stir one’s emotions as well as contemplation.
About the Artist:
Mel Brigg (b. 1950) is an artist based on the Sunshine Coast of Queensland, Australia. Born in South Africa, Mel is a self-taught artist who began his painting career in 1970. He migrated to Australia in 1993. As well as having exhibited in England, Portugal, and Singapore, he has had numerous solo and group exhibitions in South Africa and Australia. He is noted for his support of organizations such as Child Welfare, Wildlife Trust, and Save the Rhino Foundation. Brigg states: “I have always been moved by the complexities of the human condition and my paintings are reflective of turbulent times that the human race may endure in countries with conflict. I also reflect on harmony and peace once proactive personal change has occurred.”
About the Music:
“The Lost Lamb” from the album Song of the Traveling Daughter
Lyrics:
Zai na yaoyuan de guxiang
Wo shiluo liao yi ge gulao de meng
Yi ge youshang de meng
Zai na yangyu wo de difang
Wo fenbian buliao muse he chenguang
Wo yanjuanliao chenmo he sixiang
Feng nanchui you zhuanxiang beifang
Jianghe ben hai, hai que bu zhang
Wo xin manliao choucheng
Yu lai you shi qing bu jiuchang
Fuzu tianbuman linghun de kewang
Zhihui dangbukai yongsheng de shuangjiang
Wo,
Wo shi
Yi zhi
Mitu de gaoyang
Shei neng ying wo zouchu mimang
O, muyangren ah
Ni zai hefang?
[Translation]:
In that far distant land I call home
I lost the ancient dream
A sorrowful dream
In that place that raised me
I cannot discern the growing shadows of dusk
and (first light) the first faint rays of the morning sun
I’ve wearied in the silence and searching
Wind blows south and turns again north
River flows to the sea, yet the sea does not rise
My heart is filled with melancholy
The rains come, clear skies will follow soon
Even fortune and good blessings cannot quench the soul’s thirst
Wisdom cannot relieve us our eternal lot
I am a lost lamb
Who will lead me from this haze?
What will bring me hope again?
Oh, shepherd
Where are you?
About the Composer/Performer:
Innovative American folk artist Abigail Washburn (b. 1977) sings, as well as plays clawhammer banjo as a soloist, a band member, and in a duo with her husband banjo player Béla Fleck. In addition to her passion for music, Washburn has spent much of her life studying and living in China, and in 2013 became Vanderbilt University’s first US-China Center Fellow due to her work as an ambassador building intercultural relationships through music. Her second solo album City of Refuge was completed as she launched “The Silk Road Tour,” in which she performed throughout China, Mongolia, and Tibet.
About the Poet:
Anne Bradstreet (1612–1672) was the most prominent of early English poets of North America and the first writer in England's North American colonies to be published. She is the first Puritan figure in American literature, and is notable for her large body of poetry, as well as personal writings published posthumously. Born to a wealthy Puritan family in Northampton, England, Bradstreet was a well-read scholar. A mother of eight children and the wife of a public officer in the New England community, Bradstreet wrote poetry in addition to her many other responsibilities. Her writing developed into a unique style of poetry which centered on her role as a mother, her struggles with the sufferings of life, and her Puritan faith.
About the Devotional Writer:
Marc Malandra is an Associate Professor of English at Biola University. Malandra teaches courses in American literature, composition, and creative writing at Biola University. His poetry and scholarship have appeared in over three-dozen publications. He attends EV Free Fullerton, and lives in Brea, California, with his wife Junko, college-aged children Noah and Sasha, and their cat Tora.