March 18: Rooted in Worship
♫ Music:
Day 22 - Wednesday, March 18
Rung #15: ON PURITY & CHASTITY
Scriptures: 1 John 15-17; Galatians 6: 7-8; Titus 1:15-16
Do not love or cherish the world or the things that are in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the lust of the flesh [craving for sensual gratification] and the lust of the eyes [greedy longings of the mind] and the pride of life [assurance in one’s own resources or in the stability of earthly things]—these do not come from the Father but are from the world [itself]. And the world passes away and disappears, and with it the forbidden cravings (the passionate desires, the lust) of it; but he who does the will of God and carries out His purposes in his life abides (remains) forever. For whatever a man sows, that and that only is what he will reap. For he who sows to his own flesh (lower nature, sensuality) will from the flesh reap decay and ruin and destruction, but he who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life. To the pure, all things are pure; but to those who are defiled and unbelieving, nothing is pure, but both their mind and their conscience are defiled. They profess to know God, but by their deeds they deny Him, being detestable and disobedient and worthless for any good deed.
Poetry:
A Dialogue between the Soul and the Body
by Andrew Marvell
SOUL
O who shall, from this dungeon, raise
A soul enslav’d so many ways?
With bolts of bones, that fetter’d stands
In feet, and manacled in hands;
Here blinded with an eye, and there
Deaf with the drumming of an ear;
A soul hung up, as ’twere, in chains
Of nerves, and arteries, and veins;
Tortur’d, besides each other part,
In a vain head, and double heart.
BODY
O who shall me deliver whole
From bonds of this tyrannic soul?
Which, stretch’d upright, impales me so
That mine own precipice I go;
And warms and moves this needless frame,
(A fever could but do the same)
And, wanting where its spite to try,
Has made me live to let me die.
A body that could never rest,
Since this ill spirit it possest.
SOUL
What magic could me thus confine
Within another’s grief to pine?
Where whatsoever it complain,
I feel, that cannot feel, the pain;
And all my care itself employs;
That to preserve which me destroys;
Constrain’d not only to endure
Diseases, but, what’s worse, the cure;
And ready oft the port to gain,
Am shipwreck’d into health again.
BODY
But physic yet could never reach
The maladies thou me dost teach;
Whom first the cramp of hope does tear,
And then the palsy shakes of fear;
The pestilence of love does heat,
Or hatred’s hidden ulcer eat;
Joy’s cheerful madness does perplex,
Or sorrow’s other madness vex;
Which knowledge forces me to know,
And memory will not forego.
What but a soul could have the wit
To build me up for sin so fit?
So architects do square and hew
Green trees that in the forest grew.
ROOTED IN WORSHIP
There is a profound tension between ourselves and the world. But we are not so very distant from the world, are we? My body is sustained by the produce of the land, which I only get through commerce and a host of systems in place. But the tension is closer still—it is a matter of our loves, our cherrishings, our cravings.
The root of this, Paul tells us, lies in our distorted worship. We, made in the image of God, were meant to image God forth to the world around us—an activity rooted in worship: our whole-being-ed act of proclaiming the worth and goodness of God in word and deed. Although we knew God, we did not honor him and give him thanks. And as a result, our hearts became dark, we became fools (Rom 1:21).
And what happened? God punished us in his wrath, right? Well, sort of, yes. But we do well to look carefully at the text of Romans 1:18-32. As an act of punishment, God gave us up to the lusts of our hearts, our dishonorable passions, debased minds and the ensuing dishonoring of our bodies through what ought not to be done (vv.24-26, 28): we are, as Marvell writes, a “soul enslav’d so many ways.” As punishment, in other words, God gave us what we wanted: he handed us over to our own hearts, and the world which we had made and would continue to make in our image.
As we continue to cherish this world we have made, making it further in our own image, we continue to unleash disorder, chaos and pain on ourselves—a reaping which knows not the ebbs and flows of the harvest season, but is a steady and monotonous reaping of decay, ruin and destruction. Every moment of sweet passion a tortured and twisting movement (as in Prescott’s artwork), leading anywhere but to the peace of heaven.
What does this have to do with Lent as it moves toward Easter? The God who handed us over to our hearts handed his Son over to us, for us. Why did God become man? Because punishing us, handing us over to our self’s, our passions, the world we had made, was never the final world. Because God wanted to have mercy. And how are we restored? How is the heart made one, body and soul united, and neighbor and neighbor brought together? Among other things, by the order introduced into creation by proper worship of the Creator.
Christ came not to do his will, not to pursue passion or desire, but to acknowledge the goodness and worth of God and his will by word and deed. And we are to join Christ, being transformed by the renewing of our minds as we worship the one by whom, through whom, and for whom, all things were made—LORD have mercy! And there will be fruit to harvest from the worship we sow—the ordering, taming and aligning of desires and passions which are in fact a good part of the redeemed life of the church, but in themselves and as guides, are nothing but punishment.
Prayer:
Lord, free us to worship.
Christ, be our worship.
Lord, help us to worship.
Amen
Adam Johnson
Associate Professor of Theology
Torrey Honors Institute
Biola University
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.
About the Art: (2 sculptural pieces)
Dirty Thought
Ted Prescott
2009
Applewood with oil pigment
13'6" x 2' x 2'
Straight Line to Heaven
Ted Prescott
2008
Applewood, polyurethane truck bed liner
20' x 16" x 16"
These two works were, according to the artist, “constructed from apple limbs, which were harvested, dried, joined, and shaped. The original forms of the limbs were the result of pruning, as well as each tree’s responses to wind, weight, and light. In the assemblies, these innate characteristics are used for sculpturally expressive and evocative purposes.” The twisted, prone acid yellow form of Dirty Little Thought perfectly captures the “bentness” of human nature, as C.S. Lewis might put it, that leads nowhere if left to itself. It contrasts with the crooked, convoluted and halting, but nevertheless upward movement of Straight Line to Heaven that conveys the reality of the spiritual life which can be full of obstacles. It is a battle against the Fall, which the apple wood references.
About the Artist:
Theodore Prescott is a sculptor and writer who lives near Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. He has completed several commissions, including one for Biola University, and has work both in private and public collections. He chaired the art program at Messiah College in Grantham, PA, and retired as a Distinguished Professor of Art. Prescott was one of the founders of CIVA, Christians in the Visual Arts. He served as its president for two terms and edited its triennial publication for more than a decade. His articles on art have appeared in several publications, including American Arts Quarterly, Image Journal, and The New Criterion. Prescott’s sculpture is characterized by an interest in material substances and their poetic and associative nature. He is versatile in the use of traditional sculptural materials like stone, wood and metals, but also employs unconventional materials like coal, honey, and salt. The forms of his work are derived from modern and contemporary sculpture, but his subject matter is often drawn from the Christian tradition. He and his wife Catherine live in an old farmhouse in rural PA and love having their four grandchildren visit.
tedprescottsculpture.com
About the Music:
“Mass in B Minor, BWV 232: Kyrie - Kyrie eleison II (Chorus)” from the abum Mass in B Minor
The Lyrics:
Kyrie eléison
Translation:
Lord, have mercy
About the LyrIcist:
Traditional Greek and Latin
About the Composer:
Johannes Sebastian Bach (1685-1750) was a German composer, organist, harpsichordist, violist, and violinist of the Baroque period. He established German styles through his skill in counterpoint, harmonic and motivic organization, and the adaptation of rhythms, forms, and textures from abroad, particularly from Italy and France. Bach's compositions include the Brandenburg Concertos, the Mass in B Minor, The Well-Tempered Clavier, two Passions, keyboard works, and more than 300 cantatas, of which nearly 100 cantatas have been lost to posterity. His music is revered for its intellectual depth, technical command, and artistic beauty.
https://www.musicabaltica.com/en/composers-and-authors/johann-sebastian-bach/
About the Performers:
The Sixteen and Harry Christophers
The Sixteen is a UK-based music ensemble, hallmarked by its tonal richness, expressive intensity, and compelling collective artistry. The Sixteen’s choir and period-instrument orchestra stands today among the world’s greatest ensembles, peerless interpreters of Renaissance, Baroque, and modern choral music. The Sixteen arose from its Founder/Conductor Harry Christophers’ formative experience as cathedral chorister and choral scholar. Since 2000, their annual Choral Pilgrimage has brought the ensemble to Britain’s great cathedrals and abbeys to perform sacred music in the spaces for which it was originally conceived. The Sixteen makes regular visits to major concert halls and festivals throughout Europe, Asia, Australia, and the Americas.
https://thesixteen.com/about-us/
About the Poet:
Andrew Marvell (1621–1678) was an English metaphysical poet, satirist, and politician who sat in the House of Commons at various times between 1659 and 1678. Due to the inconsistencies and ambiguities within his work and the scarcity of information about his personal life, Marvell has been a source of fascination for scholars. He spent most of the 1650s working as a tutor and scholars believe that Marvell's greatest lyrics were written during this time. A well-known politician, Marvell held office in Cromwell's government. His very public position—in a time of tremendous political turmoil and upheaval—almost certainly led Marvell away from publication of his work. No faction escaped Marvell's satirical eye as he criticized and lampooned both the Court and Parliament. After serving 18 years in Parliament, Marvell died rather suddenly of a fever. Now considered one of the greatest poets of the seventeenth century, Marvell published very little of his scathing political satire and complex lyric verse in his lifetime. It wasn't until after his death that a collection of his work appeared.
https://poets.org/poet/andrew-marvell
About the Devotion Writer:
Adam Johnson
Associate Professor of Theology
Torrey Honors Institute
Biola University
Adam Johnson is a theologian and a professor for the Torrey Honors Institute who focuses on the doctrine of the atonement; exploring the many ways in which the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ affect the reconciliation of all things to God. His most recent book is: The Reconciling Wisdom of God: Reframing the Doctrine of the Atonement. He and his wife, Katrina, have three sons. Their family loves camping and exploring America's National Parks.