February 28: The Least of These
♫ Music:
Day 3 - Friday, February 28
Lenten Lesson #3: THE FINAL JUDGEMENT
Scripture: Matthew 25:31-46
But when the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, then He will sit on His glorious throne. All the nations will be gathered before Him; and He will separate them from one another, as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats; and He will put the sheep on His right, and the goats on the left. Then the King will say to those on His right, “Come, you who are blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry, and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me something to drink; I was a stranger, and you invited Me in; naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick, and you visited Me; I was in prison, and you came to Me.” Then the righteous will answer Him, “Lord, when did we see You hungry, and feed You, or thirsty, and give You something to drink? And when did we see You a stranger, and invite You in, or naked, and clothe You? When did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?” The King will answer and say to them, “Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me.” Then He will also say to those on His left, “Depart from Me, accursed ones, into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels; for I was hungry, and you gave Me nothing to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me nothing to drink; I was a stranger, and you did not invite Me in; naked, and you did not clothe Me; sick, and in prison, and you did not visit Me.” Then they themselves also will answer, “Lord, when did we see You hungry, or thirsty, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not take care of You?” Then He will answer them, “Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.” These will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.
Poetry:
[F126A] I bring an unaccustomed wine
by Emily Dickinson
I bring an unaccustomed wine
To lips long parching
Next to mine,
And summon them to drink;
Crackling with fever, they essay,
I turn my brimming eyes away,
And come next hour to look.
The hands still hug the tardy glass –
The lips I w’d have cooled, alas,
Are so superfluous Cold –
I w’d as soon attempt to warm
The bosoms where the frost has lain
Ages beneath the mould –
Some other thirsty there may be
To whom this w’d have pointed me
Had it remained to speak –
And so I always bear the cup
If, haply, mine may be the drop
Some pilgrim thirst to slake –
If, haply, any say to me
"Unto the little, unto me,"
When I at last awake –
THE LEAST OF THESE
Jesus Christ calls us to care for “the least of these” (Matthew 25.40), but what does this mean? Who are “the least of these '' in your life, and how are you attending to them? This verse could include people very close to you, such as your elderly neighbor or a vulnerably isolated student. Who are the people, in Emily Dickinson’s words, whose parched “lips” are right “next” (“I bring and unaccustomed wine” lines 2 & 3) to yours? What unexpected emotional, spiritual, or physical drink can you offer them?
Recently, an old friend of mine who has been struggling to heal after a concussion asked me to drive her to a hospice where her aunt was staying. This friend cannot drive herself because of the ways her sensory perceptions have been impacted by her concussion. I realized she needed me to drive her to the place of her aunt’s palliative care, but I also sensed she needed my spiritual support as she said goodbye to this person so dear to her. She wanted to sing a Taizé song to her aunt. The lyrics of the song are: “Stay with me; remain here with me; watch and pray; watch and pray.” My friend and I sang the song in the hospice room with “brimming eyes” (Dickinson line 6). It was a deeply touching honor to offer the spiritual drink of music and words from monks in Taizé, France, to someone approaching the end of her life. My friend’s beautiful little daughter also watched and listened to us as we sang, and her eyes were full of wonder.
In her poem “We Are the Poor Who Are Always With Us”, Canadian poet Margaret Avison draws on her life’s work of serving the homeless population in downtown Toronto. Within her poem’s title, she reflects on Christ’s call to serve the least of these, but she also turns the image back on her poem’s reader. She implicitly reminds us we will all find ourselves among the “least of these” at some point in our lives. Avison celebrates what she terms “the freedom to love / past use where none survive” (lines 12-13). Here she speaks of the equalizing effect of death, which we will all face, but she also finds joy in the gratuitousness of love, which offers itself with no expectation of return or profit. Her image of loving someone past their usefulness to oneself or to one’s society boldly challenges the growing utilitarianism of our times.
Of what economic or material use was the song sung by my friend and I for an audience of one woman taking her final breaths? None. However, it was a beautiful, Holy, peaceful moment, weighty with glory.
Prayer:
Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, Have Mercy on us, for we are sinners.
Amen.
Dr. Natasha Duquette
Chair and Professor of English
Tyndale University College
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
For more information about the artwork, music, poetry, and devotional writer selected for this day, we have provided resources under the “About” tab located next to the “Devotional” tab.
To learn more about the themes of this year’s Lent Project, please go to:
https://ccca.biola.edu/lent/2020/#day-feb-25
About the Art:
The Final Judgment
Lorenzo Monaco
Historiated Capital, Antiphonary
(Cod. Cor. 7, folio 124v)
1406
Tempera and gold on parchment
315 mm x 265 mm
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
Robert Lehman Collection, 1975
This miniature was excised from an antiphonary (one of the principal choir books of Catholic devotion) painted by Lorenzo Monaco for the Camaldolese convent of Santa Maria degli Angeli, Florence. The initial C introduces one of the responses for the celebration of the Office of the Dead: "Credo quod redemptor meus vivit, et novissimo die terra resurrecturus sum, et in carnee mea videbo Deum, Salvatorem meum" (I believe that my Redeemer lives, and that on the last day I shall rise from the earth and in my flesh I shall see God, my Savior). Inside the initial, the bust-length figure of Christ, his right hand raised in judgment, emerges from a bank of clouds set against a burnished gold background. To his right, an angel blows the trumpet of the Last Judgment. Below them, the dead emerge from cracks in the rocky ground, their hands clasped in prayer.
Written and illuminated over a period of 135 years beginning in 1370, the choir books of Santa Maria degli Angeli represent the crowning achievement of the art of illumination in early Renaissance Florence. The early fifteenth-century campaign of decoration was led by Lorenzo Monaco, a monk in Santa Maria degli Angeli, and the preeminent painter and illuminator in Florence until his death in 1423 or 1424. The convincing presence of the figures and spatial recession within this miniature, reflecting the newest Renaissance style of painting, are typical of the artist's illuminations throughout the series. According to the sixteenth-century biographer Giorgio Vasari, who described them as the most beautiful in all of Italy, the choir books were so admired by the Medici Pope Leo X (r. 1513–21) that he had contemplated taking them for the Basilica of Saint Peter's. The entire series originally consisted of around twenty volumes. Following the suppression of the monastery at the beginning of the nineteenth century, eighteen volumes were transferred to the Biblioteca Laurenziana in Florence (where they remain at present). By then, many of them had already been deprived of miniatures, presumably cut out and sold to collectors, who often framed them as independent paintings. At some unknown date, the Lehman fragment was pasted onto another piece of parchment that was then glued on cardboard and the areas around it were filled in with pen-work decoration.
https://www.metmuseum.org/toah/works-of-art/1975.1.2485/
About the Artist:
Lorenzo Monaco (b. ca. 1370 - d. ca. 1425) was an Italian painter who was probably born in Siena, but seems to have spent all his professional life in Florence. In 1391 he took his vows as a monk of the Camaldolese monastery of Santa Maria degli Angeli. He rose to the rank of deacon, but in 1402 he was enrolled in the painters' guild under his lay name, Piero di Giovanni (Lorenzo Monaco means “Laurence the Monk”), and was living outside the monastery. The monastery was renowned for its manuscript illuminations and several miniatures in books in the Laurentian Library in Florence have been attributed to him. He was primarily a painter of altarpieces, good examples of which are in the National Gallery in London and the Uffizi in Florence. His main works in fresco are the scenes of the Life of Mary in the Bartolini Chapel of Santa Trinita, Florence. His style is distinguished by luminous beauty of coloring and a graceful, rhythmic flow of line. He stands in complete contrast to his great contemporary, Masaccio, and represents the highest achievement of the last flowering of Gothic art in Florence. Lorenzo Monaco was an artist whose work bridged the 14th and 15th centuries, between the Trecento art of Duccio and Giotto and the Quattrocento painting of Masaccio and Fra Angelico - upon whom Monaco was an important influence. His art was a synthesis of the Sienese and Florentine Trecento styles and was also one of the most important examples of International Gothic in Italy.
https://www.wga.hu/frames-e.html?/bio/l/lorenzo/monaco/biograph.html
About the Music:
“He Is Among Us” (The Least of These) from the album Neighbor Songs
The Lyrics:
You’ll find Me with the broken and the weak
In the spaces in between
You’ll hear My voice cry out with those who weep
Only if you’re listening
Whatever you do for the least of these
You do it unto Me
You’ll find Me with the ones without a voice
The forgotten and ignored
My blessing is on those who love the poor
Will you open up the door?
Whatever you do for the least of these
You do it unto Me
Hallelujah, hallelujah
He is among us, He is among us
By this the world will know the Father’s love
We will know the Father’s love
About the Composers/Lyricists:
Andy Piercy, Isaac Wardell, John Swinton, Orlando Palmer and Paul Zach
Andy Piercy is a singer-songwriter who came to prominence in the Gospel beat acoustic guitar duo, Ishmael and Andy, together with Ian Smale (Ishmael). In 1974 he toured and recorded as lead singer and songwriter with the rock band, After The Fire, who had a number 5 hit single in the USA with Der Kommissar. They also toured with Queen, ELO, and Van Halen. Subsequently, Piercy has been a record producer for many British Christian musicians, including Delirious?, Matt Redman, Rita Springer, Soul Survivor, and Graham Kendrick.
https://andypiercy.com/
Isaac Wardell is an American 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 and frequently performs at Christian universities and conferences. 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.
https://www.rightnowmedia.org/Content/Speaker/1000184
John Swinton (b. 1957) is a Scottish theologian. He is the Chair in Divinity and Religious Studies and Professor in Practical Theology and Pastoral at the University of Aberdeen, Scotland, United Kingdom. For 16 years he worked as a registered mental health nurse and as a community mental health chaplain. He has published widely within the area of disability theology, spirituality and health, qualitative research and mental health. His book Dementia: Living in the Memories of God won the Archbishop of Canterbury’s Ramsey Prize for excellence in theological writing in 2016.
https://www.regent-college.edu/faculty/part-time-and-visiting/john-swinton
Orlando "IAMSON" Palmer is an American producer, songwriter, singer, and musician. Based in Richmond, Virginia, he is taking the industry by storm with his intelligent, yet moving musical style. IAMSON has transformed inspirational Christian music with his highly acclaimed 2017 self-titled, debut album, IAMSON. In one of his most requested songs, “Easy to Love,” IAMSON describes the freedom found in full devotion to the Christian journey, “I’m finally breathing, you make it easy to love.” Palmer continues to expand his abilities and talents by taking on production and film scoring projects. He is currently engaged in scoring a documentary that details the lives of Christians around the globe.
https://commonhymnal.com/orlando-palmer
https://iamsonmusic.com/
Paul Zach (b. 1986) is the Director of Worship at Portico Church located in Charlottesville, Virginia. He describes his musical journey, saying, “I used to describe myself as having a pretty big allergy to a lot of church music. By that I mean I felt like a lot of songs were making me say things to God that I didn’t want to say, or didn’t believe, so I think early on I perhaps spent time writing songs and picking songs for the church with a real chip on my shoulder. But I’ve gotten over a lot of that now, and actually since working for a church I feel much more creatively fulfilled than I ever did touring with a rock band, I think there’s something fun about writing songs that are meant to be sung together and if people aren’t singing with you then you aren’t doing your job right. It’s grounded me in a different way that’s really helpful for me. I’ve found that through seasons of doubt and facing those fears, songwriting for me has actually been one of my main ways to commune with God.”
https://www.paulzachmusic.com/
About the Performers:
The Porter's Gate and Zach Bolen
In June 2017, a diverse group of Christian leaders and musicians met in New York City for the inaugural conference of the Porter’s Gate Worship Project. Spanning cultures, denominations, and traditions, the Project’s purpose was to engage culture and offer hospitality to the world, particularly through the unifying power of music. For three days, this group of artists, pastors, and scholars - including Josh Garrels, Audrey Assad, David Gungor, Aaron Niequist, Liz Vice, Latifah Alattas, Diana Gameros, Ekemini Uwan, and Stuart Townend - engaged in meaningful conversation about the vocation of hospitality: “bringing work into worship and taking our worship to work.” In culmination, the group recorded a live, full-length album entitled Work Songs. The sacred ecumenical arts collective reconvened in January 2019 to discuss challenges in the church and cross lines of communication to facilitate healthy conversations about loving one another, a process which birthed their sophomore album, Neighbor Songs.
https://www.theportersgate.com/
Zach Bolen is best known as the lead singer of internationally known rock act Citizens. In recent years, Citizens has become a household name to many worship leaders, as numerous songs they’ve written have made their way into church gatherings throughout the country, including Made Alive, You Brought Me Back To Life, Oh God, Father You Are All We Need, just to name a few. Zach’s unique songwriting has been reshaping the way songwriters who write for the church are approaching their own music.
https://www.newreleasetoday.com/artistdetail.php?artist_id=5268
https://wearecitizens.net/
About the Poet:
Emily Elizabeth Dickinson (1830–1886) was an American lyric poet who lived in seclusion and commanded a singular brilliance of style and integrity of vision. Dickinson is widely considered as one of the two leading 19th-century American poets, alongside Walt Whitman. After studying at the Amherst Academy, she briefly attended the Mount Holyoke Female Seminary before returning to her family's home in Amherst, Massachusetts. By the 1860s, Dickinson lived in almost complete isolation from the outside world, but actively maintained many correspondences and read widely. Dickinson’s poetry was heavily influenced by the metaphysical poets of seventeenth-century England, her reading of the Book of Revelation, and her upbringing in a Puritan New England town, all of which encouraged a conservative approach to Christianity. While Dickinson was extremely prolific as a poet and regularly enclosed poems in letters to friends, she was not publicly recognized for her poetry during her lifetime. It was not until after her death, when Lavinia, Dickinson's younger sister, discovered her cache of poems, that the breadth of Emily’s work became apparent. A complete collection of her poetry became available for the first time when scholar Thomas H. Johnson published The Poems of Emily Dickinson in 1955.
https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/emily-dickinson
About the Devotion Writer:
Dr. Natasha Duquette
Chair and Professor of English
Tyndale University College
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Natasha Duquette is Chair and Professor of English at Tyndale University College in Toronto, Canada. She is the author of Veiled Intent: Dissenting Women’s Aesthetic Approach to Biblical Interpretation (Pickwick, 2016). Her 30-Day Journey with Jane Austen is a series of meditations, based on Austen’s novels and prayers and is forthcoming in March 2020 by Fortress Press.