April 23: An Everlasting Relationship
♫ Music:
Tuesday, April 23
An Everlasting Relationship
Scripture: Hosea 2:18-20
In that day I will also make a covenant for them, with the beasts of the field, the birds of the sky and the creeping things of the ground. And I will abolish the bow, the sword and war from the land, and will make them lie down in safety. “I will betroth you to Me forever; Yes, I will betroth you to Me in righteousness and in justice, in lovingkindness and in compassion, and I will betroth you to Me in faithfulness. Then you will know the Lord.
Poetry:
Nurture
by Maxine Kumin
From a documentary on marsupials I learn
that a pillowcase makes a fine
substitute pouch for an orphaned kangaroo.
I am drawn to such dramas of animal rescue.
They are warm in the throat. I suffer, the critic proclaims,
from an overabundance of maternal genes.
Bring me your fallen fledgling, your bummer lamb,
lead the abused, the starvelings, into my barn.
Advise the hunted deer to leap into my corn.
And had there been a wild child—
filthy and fierce as a ferret, he is called
in one nineteenth-century account—
a wild child to love, it is safe to assume,
given my fireside inked with paw prints,
there would have been room.
Think of the language we two, same and not-same,
might have constructed from sign,
scratch, grimace, grunt, vowel:
Laughter our first noun, and our long verb, howl.
AN EVERLASTING RELATIONSHIP
Both Christ and taxonomy agree that every species is a part of a shared kingdom. Genesis tells us that mankind bears a sixth-day brotherhood to the beasts, and it is through our connection with Animalia that we understand so much of our own story: as serpents and doves, lions and lambs. In Hosea that intimacy is radically imparted as a covenant with “the beasts of the field, the birds of the heavens, and the creeping things of the ground.” God’s intended unity for all of creation is so vast He promises an abolishment of bow, sword, and war between animal and man; every living thing is told that they will be made “to lie down in safety”—tooth and claw brought inside His overwhelming covenant of peace.
We can see a picture of that covenant day in the work of Canadian Inuit textile artist, Elizabeth Angrnaqquaq. The colorful figures share the space that makes up the tapestry, rather than battling for it. The piece forsakes the portrayal of habitat or hierarchy, but rather utilizes the difference in forms as an advantage to fill the canvas as a harmonious whole.
Consider the power of that same unity-in-diversity as found in “All Creatures of Our God and King.” The return to the chorus, Alleluia, throughout the song is vital enough that the refrain is sung after each verse. Like a conductor extending invitations to different sections of the orchestra, each chorus represents a different voice singing that utterance of pure adoration. Water, now fire—let us hear the sounds of your praise. Rising moon, lights of evening—we invite you to sing your Alleluia. May we have the eyes to see how these bodies do sing of His nature: God has laid in place a hundred thousand million stars, that we might contemplate the infinitude of His power and majesty. But he has brought near the sun alone, that we might know His intimacy—never failing, His warmth abides.
Three times in Hosea 2 God states that he will betroth us to Himself. Forever. In righteousness. In justice. In steadfast love. In mercy. In faithfulness. We are not wedded in the haggardness of our own character, but are lastingly bound by the splendor of His own.
Even more profoundly, the text goes on to say that we shall know Him. In a passage of safely lying down and wedding promises, we cannot deny that the context of the word “know” bears the same usage as when, for example, Adam knew Eve (Gen 4:1). As we push past the initial discomfort of the metaphor, we discover that God’s desire to know us and be known by us is unfathomably complete. The intimacy he desires with us and between us—all of His Glory, all of His Creation—all encompassing, and everlasting. O Praise Him. Alleluia. Alleluia.
Prayer:
Father, grant us curiosity, that we might see you.
Grant us humility, that we might receive you.
Grant us grace, that we might know you.
Timothy Weaver
Artist
Co-Founder of Broken Dishes
For more information about the artwork, music, and poetry selected for this day, we have provided resources under the “About” tab located next to the “Devotional” tab.
About the Artwork:
Two People with Birds, Fish, and Dogs, 1996
Elizabeth Angrnaqquaq
Duffel, felt, and embroidery floss
18” x 15”
Inuit artist Elizabeth Angrnaqquaq became well known for her textile work. This embroidered image of two people surrounded by animals shows an abundance and connectedness to life. It also celebrates an underlying covenant of togetherness.
About the Artist:
Elizabeth Angrnaqquaq (1916-2003) was an innovative Canadian Inuit textile artist active from the 1970s to early 2000s. Her embroidery style has been described as painterly for the way in which she fills the space between her figures and animals. She lived a traditional Inuit lifestyle until she and her family moved to Baker Lake, Nunavut, in the 1950s to avoid poverty and starvation. In Baker Lake, Angrnaqquaq explored textiles and mixed media using stitching as a method for creating figures in fabrics. After establishing the art practice in which she explored figures, landscapes, animals, and textures, she began showing her works at Art Institutions around Canada. She was commissioned to create a public art commission for the Post Office at Wakefield, Ontario, through the Public Works Department in 1976. Her work has been exhibited throughout North America, specifically in Toronto, San Francisco, New York, Los Angeles, and Winnipeg in both private and public commissions.
About the Music:
“All Creatures of Our God and King” from the album Downtown Church
Lyrics:
All creatures of our god and king
Lift up your voice and with us sing
Alleluia, alleluia
Thou rising moon, in praise rejoice
Ye lights of evening, find a voice
Alleluia, alleluia
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
Thou rushing wind that art so strong
Ye clouds that sail in heaven along
Alleluia, alleluia
Thou rising moon, in praise rejoice
Ye lights of evening, find a voice
Alleluia, alleluia
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
Thou flowing water, pure and clear
Make music for thy lord to hear
Alleluia, alleluia
Thou fire so masterful and bright
That givest man both warmth and light
Alleluia, alleluia
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
About the Composer:
William Henry Draper (1855–1933) was an English hymnodist and clergyman who composed about sixty hymns during his lifetime. He is most famous for "All Creatures of Our God and King," his translation of "Canticle of the Sun" by Francis of Assisi. St Francis of Assisi initially wrote the words of “All Creatures of Our God and King” in 1225 in the Canticle of the Sun poem, which was based on Psalm 148. The words were translated into English by William Draper, who at the time was rector of a Church of England parish church at Adel near Leeds. Draper paraphrased the words of the Canticle and set them to music. It is not known when Draper first wrote the hymn but it was between 1899 and 1919. The hymn is currently used in 179 different hymnbooks. The words written by St. Francis are some of the oldest used in hymns after "Father We Praise Thee," written in 580 AD.
About the Lyricist:
Saint Francis of Assisi (c. 1181–1226) gave up a life of wealth and social position to embrace an ascetic life of poverty, chastity, and humility. With the approval of the Pope in 1209, St. Francis founded a new monastic order known as the Franciscans. St. Francis is considered one of the greatest saints in the Christian tradition and an example of a life lived in imitation of Jesus Christ. Francis was known for his love of nature and animals; there are many stories about St. Francis preaching to animals. Francis set up the first known nativity scene to celebrate Christmas in 1220. He believed that actions were louder than words and is reported to have said, "Preach the Gospel at all times and when necessary use words."
About the Performer:
Patricia Jean Griffin (b. 1964) is an American singer-songwriter and musician. Griffin is among the most consequential singer-songwriters of her generation, a quintessentially American artist whose wide-ranging canon incisively explores the intimate moments and universal emotions that bind us together. She is known for her stripped-down songwriting style in the folk music genre. Her songs have been covered by numerous musicians including Linda Ronstadt, Emmylou Harris, Kelly Clarkson, Jeff Beck, Martina McBride, Melissa Etheridge and Susan Boyle, and the Dixie Chicks. In 2011, Griffin's album Downtown Church won the Grammy Award for Best Traditional Gospel Album.
About the Poet:
Maxine Kumin (1925-2014) was an American poet and author. She received her B.A. and her M.A. from Radcliffe College. She was the recipient of prestigious awards such as the Pulitzer Prize, the Ruth Lilly Poetry Prize, and an American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters Award. She was the poetry consultant for the Library of Congress (now known as the US poet laureate position) in 1981-1982, and taught at many of the country’s most prestigious universities, including MIT, Princeton University, and Columbia University. Throughout her career Kumin struck a balance between her sense of life's transience and her fascination with the dense physical presence of the world around her. Because her verse is deeply connected to her native New England, Kumin is often referred to as a regional pastoral poet. In other efforts to classify her work, critics have also described her as a transcendentalist, like Henry David Thoreau, or a confessional poet, like Kumin’s friend, the late Anne Sexton.
About the Devotional Writer:
Timothy Weaver
Artist, Co-founder of Broken Dishes
Timothy Weaver is an artist currently living and working in Los Angeles. He is the co-founder of Broken Dishes, a studio in East Hollywood, which showcases textiles, art, and other theses of design (www.brokendishes.la).