March 27: On Mad Pride & Blasphemous Thoughts
♫ Music:
Day 31 - Friday, March 27
Rung #23: ON MAD PRIDE & BLASPHEMOUS THOUGHTS
Scriptures: 2 Timothy 3: 1-5; James 4:6
But understand this, that in the last days will come perilous times of great stress and trouble [hard to deal with and hard to bear]. For people will be lovers of self and [utterly] self-centered, lovers of money and aroused by an inordinate [greedy] desire for wealth, proud and arrogant and contemptuous boasters. They will be abusive (blasphemous, scoffing), disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy and profane. [They will be] without natural [human] affection (callous and inhuman), relentless (admitting of no truce or appeasement); [they will be] slanderers (false accusers, troublemakers), intemperate and loose in morals and conduct, uncontrolled and fierce, haters of good. [They will be] treacherous [betrayers], rash, [and] inflated with self-conceit. [They will be] lovers of sensual pleasures and vain amusements more than and rather than lovers of God. For [although] they hold a form of piety (true religion), they deny and reject and are strangers to the power of it [their conduct belies the genuineness of their profession]. Avoid [all] such people [turn away from them]. God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.
Poetry:
A Proud Man Walks in the Desert
by Howard McKinley Corning
Out of this desert only I –
Dung of the earth and spawn of the sky.
This sage lies down at the tread I make;
These blankets of the desert shake.
The rattler and the lizard crawl
To stony tunnels. I of all
This death in dust assume to be
The Godhead in identity.
I alone may walk and fling
My pride at earth for pride to sing;
And loudly on my chest declare
My selfhood through the desert air,
Beating to bid my courage thrive
And keep my very God alive.
ON MAD PRIDE & BLASPHEMOUS THOUGHTS
Of course I am a Christian and want God’s will in my life. Don’t we all? Of course I go to church when I have time and it’s good that the kids go. But I live in this world and I have to focus on getting ahead here and now, beating the competition and achieving success in my career. I am only responsible for ensuring my future, my security…and of course the well-being of my family.
And that requires the next promotion and whatever it takes to get it. When I do, it will be amazing the power and opportunities that will come with it! This is the doorway to the future I have always wanted. The path to wealth and security that it ensures is obviously the right next step!
To succeed I may have to tell a “white” lie here or there, or look the other way when a friend needs my help on something that’s not quite legal, so that I can have a favor from him next time, but that’s just normal in this crazy world. These are difficult times and my success depends on my own resourcefulness.
When success comes, I will need to do some more celebrating with those who helped make it possible. After all, I am pretty good at what I do but the stress is extremely high. It is just normal and healthy to “blow off a little steam” now and then. Everybody does it and I deserve this after all I have done to get to where I am.
It is not easy to do what I do when the competition is so tough. It’s brutal in the real world and to get ahead requires the same level of brutality. I have never actually used the phrase, “the end justifies the means” but when I think about it a bit, it makes sense. When it comes to achieving the kind of goals I have, it is inevitable that a few people will get hurt along the way. That’s what strong competition is about. Its either me or them. I am sure God understands that….
Paul clearly says however, that God does not understand that, and instead calls us to a very different standard that requires radical submission to Him. Giving Him total reign in all of my life. Giving up my independence for dependency on Him in every decision. Doing only what He says to do because He knows best. This is completely counter-cultural in the midst of our fear-filled, chaotic, self-absorbed culture. But this is the humility He desires. Not my will, but His be done, on this earth and in my life.
Prayer
Father forgive me. I have so often and so easily fallen for the lies of those around me and joined the race to win the wrong prize. I am so sorry. Forgive me for my pride. Help me to turn humbly back to you, to your goals, your priorities for my life. Help me to focus on your desires for me, rather than on my own lust for power, debauchery and money. You know what is best for me. You are the Almighty, and thankfully, loving and compassionate God of the universe, and I am not.
Amen
Jane Overstreet
President/CEO
Development Associates International
Colorado Springs, Colorado
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:
Sermon and Deeds of the Antichrist
Luca Signorelli
1499-1502
Fresco
Width 700 cm
Chapel of San Brizio
Duomo, Orvieto, Italy
The Sermon and Deeds of the Antichrist takes place in an Italian city and may have been inspired by the revolt and execution (May 23, 1498) of Savonarola in nearby Florence, who was condemned as Antichrist by the Church. Against a vast and desolate background, dominated on the right by an unusually large classical building depicted in distorted perspective, the false prophet is shown disseminating his lies and spreading his message of destruction. He has the features of Christ, but it is Satan (portrayed behind him) who tells him what to say. The people around him, who have piled up gifts at the foot of his throne, have clearly already been corrupted by the iniquities the Gospel has warned us of. Starting from the left, there is a brutal massacre, followed by a young woman selling her body to an old merchant, and then an accumulation of more aggressive and evil-looking men. In the background of this scene, all sorts of horrors and miraculous events are taking place. The Antichrist orders people to be executed and even resurrects a man, while a group of clerics, huddled together like a fortified citadel resist the devil's temptations by praying. Lastly, to the left, Signorelli shows us how the age of the Antichrist is rapidly reaching its inevitable epilogue, with the false prophet being hurled down from the heavens by the Angel and all his followers, defeated and destroyed by the wrath of God. Signorelli placed himself, together with a monk (traditionally identified as Fra Angelico), on the left-hand side of the composition. This scene marks the beginning of a massive fresco cycle (1499–1503) in Orvieto Cathedral that was initially begun by Fra Angelico fifty years prior. The works of Signorelli in the vaults and on the upper walls of the Chapel of San Brizio represent the events surrounding the Apocalypse and the Last Judgment. The events of the Apocalypse fill the space that surrounds the entrance to the large chapel. The Apocalyptic events begin with the The Sermon and Deeds of the Antichrist and proceed to Doomsday and The Resurrection of the Flesh. They occupy three vast lunettes, each of them a single continuous narrative composition. The events of the Last Judgment fill the facing vault and the walls around the altar. The series is composed of Paradise, the Elect and the Condemned, Hell, the Resurrection of the Dead, and the Destruction of the Reprobate.
https://www.wga.hu/html_m/s/signorel/brizio/1/1antich1.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luca_Signorelli
About the Artist:
Luca Signorelli (active 1470-1523, sometimes called Luca da Cortona) was born Luca d'Egidio di Ventura in Cortona, Tuscany. He was an Italian Renaissance painter who worked primarily in central Italy. His work is noted for its superb draftsmanship, crisp contours, and the dramatic poses and athleticism of his figures. Signorelli was called to Rome to work on the Sistine Chapel frescoes initiated by Perugino on the Life of Moses in 1483 and again by Pope Julius II, although his specific contributions are now in dispute. His frescoes for the Chapel of San Brizio in Orvieto Cathedral depicting the Apocalypse described in the book of Revelation, painted between 1499 and 1503, are considered his masterpiece. Michelangelo is said to have been influenced by Signorelli's figures in his own contributions to the Sistine Chapel.
About the Music:
“The Beatitudes” from the album Music of Vladimir Martynov
About the Composer:
Vladimir Martynov (b. 1946) is a Russian composer known for his music in the concerto, orchestral music, chamber music, and choral music genres. Martynov is also known as an ethnomusicologist, specializing in the music of the Caucasian peoples, Tajikistan, and other ethnic groups in Russia. He studied Medieval Russian and European music, as well as religious musical history, philosophy, and theology. Since the fall of the Soviet Union, he has written works that take on large Christian themes, such as “Apocalypse” (1991), “Lamentations of Jeremiah” (1992), and “Requiem” (1998). “The Beatitudes” was featured in the 2013 film La Grande Bellezza and has been arranged and performed by many different ensembles.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vladimir_Martynov
About the Performer:
The Kronos Quartet is an American string quartet based in San Francisco, California. They have been in existence with a rotating membership of musicians for over forty years. The quartet covers a very broad range of musical genres including the following: Mexican folk, experimental, pre-classical early music, movie soundtracks, jazz, tango, and contemporary classical music. More than 900 works have been written for them. Violinist David Harrington from Seattle, Washington, founded the quartet in 1973. With almost forty studio albums to their credit and having performed worldwide, they have been called "probably the most famous 'new music' group in the world" and have been praised in philosophical studies of music for the inclusiveness of their repertoire. They have worked with many minimalist composers including John Adams, Arvo Pärt, George Crumb, Henryk Górecki, Steve Reich, Philip Glass, Terry Riley, and Kevin Volans.
https://www.kronosquartet.org/
About the Poet:
Howard McKinley Corning (1896-1977) was a native Nebraskan who moved to Oregon while in his early twenties. He worked for the Federal Writers Project in the 1930s and became widely known as a poet, publishing several collections of poetry and serving as poetry critic and editor for The Oregonian. In the 1920s he began to find a steady market for his poetry, appearing in such prestigious publications as The Saturday Review, Chicago-based Poetry Magazine, and The New York Times. His first book of poetry, These People, was published in 1926. Four years later it was followed by The Mountain in the Sky: A Book of Oregon Poems. Later in his life, Corning’s accomplishments in poetry received substantial recognition. In 1965 his poem “Wild Horse Country” won an award from the Poetry Society of America. The same year he received the PSA award, Corning was appointed poetry editor for The Oregonian, a position he held until his death. He also served as president of the Oregon State Poetry Association. Corning was a master of traditional verse forms, including the sonnet.
https://nebraskaauthors.org/authors/howard-mckinley-corning
http://www.oregonpoets.org/sites/default/files/OR%20poets%20Howard%20McKinley%20Corning.pdf
About the Devotion Writer:
Jane Overstreet
President / CEO
Development Associates International (DAI)
Colorado Springs, CO
https://daintl.org/
Jane Overstreet is the President / CEO of Development Associates International (DAI), a non-profit organization providing training and consulting in leadership and organizational management to more than 50,000 Christian leaders annually in over 82 countries. The main focus of DAI is equipping those Christian leaders who have the least access to formal education. Prior to joining DAI, Jane served for many years as the Director of Legal Services for Youth with A Mission International while living in the Middle East and Europe. She serves on the boards of several non-profit organizations and was an adjunct professor at Eastern University. Overstreet is also a member of the Lausanne Leadership Development Working Group. Mrs. Overstreet received her Bachelor’s degree from Oral Roberts University, and a Juris Doctorate from the University of Tulsa, College of Law.