March 28: Males and Females are Humanized in Loving Relationships
♫ Music:
Thursday, March 28
Males and Females are Humanized in Loving Relationships
Scripture: Mark 10:6-9
But from the beginning of creation, ‘God made them male and female.’ ‘Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.’ So they are no longer two but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate.
Poetry:
Mrs. Adam
by Kathleen Norris
I have lately come to the conclusion that I am Eve,
alias Mrs. Adam. You know, there is no account
of her death in the Bible, and why am I not Eve?
Emily Dickinson in a letter,
12 January 1846
Wake up,
This is not a dream,
but a woman who loves you, speaking.
She was there
when you cried out;
she brushed the terror away.
She knew
when it was time to sin.
You were wise
to let her handle it,
and leave that place.
We couldn’t speak at first
for the bitter knowledge,
the sweet taste of memory
on our tongues.
Listen, it’s time.
You were chosen too,
to put the world together.
MALES AND FEMALES ARE HUMANIZED IN LOVING RELATIONSHIPS
During Lent it’s important to meditate on the Genesis account of creation and remind ourselves of what God originally intended for mankind. 2nd century Christian, Irenaeus, Bishop of Lyons wrote, “The glory of God is the human being fully alive.” These days it’s difficult to get the picture of a perfect world on the screen of our minds when so much around us reflects a blatant disfigurement of a once sinless macrocosm.
When God formed male and female he fashioned them to complement each other. They were instructed to be fruitful and multiply, to create families and live in harmony together. Today we occupy a world where the stability of family life is threatened. Fewer people are getting married in the 21st century than at any time in record keeping history. Some nations are even incentivizing couples to have children. In the West, individualistic, self-centered, instant gratification lifestyles permeate every sector of society, often negating the idea of permanence.
We instinctively know that healthy families are the bedrock of great civilizations. Procreation is a terribly important component of marriage and family life. Yet God made two sexes and ordained the institution of marriage not only to guarantee continued generations but also to provide a safe training ground for sacrificial love. It is when we find ourselves in a profound relationship that we come to practically understand that there is someone in the world who is more important than me. When we operate from the context of love we do everything in our power to please the one who is the center of our affection. Males and females are humanized in loving relationships! A friend candidly quipped, “My messed up, selfish son was transformed when he got married.”
Marriage can be viewed as a kind of martyrdom. What does it mean to daily lay down your life for a spouse, or your children, siblings, parents or other relatives? In marriage and family life we die to self not only for our own growth and holiness but also for the salvation of those closest to us. And if we do not offer unconditional love to those in our family how can we hope to care for strangers or learn to love our enemies? Perhaps the greatest witness available to a skeptical, watching world is the power of Christian families operating from a place of deep, sacrificial love.
I was at a workshop recently where the presenter started the weekend by proclaiming that her spouse was “good, good, good, all the way through.” She went on to describe her first abusive marriage and then contrasted it with what it was like to be in relationship with a godly husband. A few days later a friend from church whispered, “I’ve been married for 45 years and my wife has never said a harsh word to me.”
There are those among us who are living saints.
Yet for many of us the work of familial love is difficult. We are often hardest on those we live with. Our relationships are fraught with the desire to correct each other’s flaws and inconsistencies instead of patiently, generously, caring for our relatives with the spirit of godly kindness. Relationship expert Alain de Botton writes, “The great enemy of love, good relationships, and good friendships is self-righteousness.” Botton goes on to say, “The course of true love is rocky and bumpy at the best of times. That’s the best we can manage as the creatures we are. It’s no fault of mine or fault of yours; it has to do with being human. And the more generous we can be towards that flawed humanity, the better chance we’ll have of doing the hard work of love.”
Botton’s view of humanity is one I naturally gravitate towards— the notion of weakness and depravity. It’s easy to equate being human with everything that’s wrong with the world. But Webster’s Dictionary defines humanity in noble terms like “compassionate, sympathetic, of generous behavior.” The gospels teach us that to experience abundant life, to be alive at the deepest level—to embrace our full humanity—we must learn to walk in the footsteps of Christ, who denied himself, took up his cross and gave his life for those he loved.
I have observed a friend of mine for many years. He is the full-time breadwinner but also does much of the cooking and caregiving for a multigenerational family living under one roof with grace and good will. He is sacrificially giving his life for those he loves. What a spirit-filled witness he has been to me. Whether married or single, “Let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works” (Hebrews 10:24). When we become Christ to others, the ordinary is transfigured and water is turned into wine.
Prayer
Lord,
Thanks for the complex and intriguing world you have created—a diverse world made up of human beings with various personalities, gifts and weaknesses. Help me to understand others the way you see them. Replace my self-righteousness with full-throttled, Spirit-filled, kingdom living. Foster in me a godly desire to give myself in love to those you put in my way. Give me grace to be a servant even when it’s difficult. Help me to learn to live with your ideal of human flourishing ever before me.
In Jesus’ Name.
Amen.
Barry Krammes
Artist and Arts Educator
Professor Emeritus, Art Department
Biola University
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:
The Kiss, 1916
Constantin Brancusi
Limestone
23 × 13 1/4 × 10 inches, 208 lb.
The Louise and Walter Arensberg Collection, 1950
Philadelphia Museum of Art
Constantin Brancusi's series of works titled The Kiss constitutes one of the most celebrated depictions of love in the history of art. This version is the fourth and perhaps most sophisticated of the several sculptures Brancusi created around the theme. Utilizing a limestone block, the artist employed the method of direct carving to produce the incised contours that delineate the male and female forms. The juxtaposition of smooth and rough surfaces paired with the dramatic simplification of the human figures may suggest Brancusi's awareness of African sculpture and perhaps the Cubist works of his contemporaries.
About the Artist:
Constantin Brancusi (1876-1957) was a Romanian sculptor, painter, and photographer who made his career in France. Considered a pioneer of modernism and one of the most influential sculptors of the 20th-century, Brancusi has been called the patriarch of modern sculpture. His art emphasizes clean geometrical lines that balance forms inherent in his materials with the symbolic allusions of representational art. His visionary sculptures often exemplify ideal and archetypal representations of their subject matter. Bearing succinct titles such as Fish, Princess X, and Bird in Space, his sculptures are deceptively simple, with their reduced forms aiming to reveal hidden and universal truths. Brancusi's work was largely fueled by Romanian art, myths, folklore, and "primitive" cultures. These traditional, old-world sources of inspiration formed a unique contrast to the often-sleek appearance of his works, resulting in a distinctive blend of modernity and timelessness.
About the Music:
“Water Into Wine” from the album Speechless
About the Composer and the Performer:
Bruce Cockburn (b. 1945) is a Canadian folk-rock guitarist and singer-songwriter who, for the past 40 years, has been traveling to the corners of the globe doing humanitarian work and writing songs on the way. Those songs have brought Cockburn a long list of honors, including 13 Juno Awards, an induction into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame, a Governor General’s Performing Arts Award, and several international awards. In 1982, he was made a Member of the Order of Canada and was promoted to Officer in 2002. His early work features rural and nautical imagery as well as biblical metaphors, while his later work has become increasingly more political.
About the Poet:
Kathleen Norris (b. 1947) is a best-selling poet and essayist. After graduating from Bennington College in Vermont in 1969, Norris became arts administrator of the Academy of American Poets, and published her first book of poetry two years later. She is the author of The New York Times bestsellers The Cloister Walk, Dakota: A Spiritual Geography, Amazing Grace: A Vocabulary of Faith, and The Virgin of Bennington. Exploring the spiritual life, her work is simultaneously intimate and historical, rich in poetry and meditations, brimming with exasperation and reverence, deeply grounded in both nature and spirit, sometimes funny and often provocative.
About the Devotional Writer:
Barry Krammes
Artist and Arts Educator
Professor Emeritus, Art Department
Biola University
Artist Barry Krammes received his BFA in printmaking and drawing from the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire and his MFA in two-dimensional studies from University of Wisconsin, Madison. An assemblage artist and arts educator who taught in the Department of Art at Biola University for 35 years, Krammes’ work has been featured in both solo and group exhibitions, regionally and nationally. For the last five years of his time at Biola, he was the planning coordinator for the CCCA. Krammes was the originator of the Advent and Lent Projects.