March 22: “I Am the Way, the Truth & the Life”
♫ Music:
Day 34 - Monday, March 22
Title: “I AM THE WAY, THE TRUTH & THE LIFE”
Scripture: John 14:1-6;11-15;27
“Do not let your heart be troubled; believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father’s house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you. If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also. And you know the way where I am going.” Thomas said to Him, “Lord, we do not know where You are going, how do we know the way?” Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me. Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father is in Me; otherwise believe because of the works themselves. Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do, he will do also; and greater works than these he will do; because I go to the Father. Whatever you ask in My name, that will I do, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask Me anything in My name, I will do it. “If you love Me, you will keep My commandments. Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful.”
On Another’s Sorrow
by William Blake
Can I see another's woe,
And not be in sorrow too?
Can I see another's grief,
And not seek for kind relief?
Can I see a falling tear,
And not feel my sorrow's share?
Can a father see his child
Weep, nor be with sorrow fill'd?
Can a mother sit and hear
An infant groan, an infant fear?
No, no! never can it be!
Never, never can it be!
And can he who smiles on all
Hear the wren with sorrows small,
Hear the small bird's grief & care,
Hear the woes that infants bear,
And not sit beside the nest,
Pouring pity in their breast;
And not sit the cradle near,
Weeping tear on infant's tear;
And not sit both night & day,
Wiping all our tears away?
O no! never can it be!
Never, never can it be!
He doth give his joy to all;
He becomes an infant small;
He becomes a man of woe;
He doth feel the sorrow too.
Think not thou canst sigh a sigh
And thy Maker is not by;
Think not thou canst weep a tear
And thy maker is not near.
O! he gives to us his joy
That our grief He may destroy;
Till our grief is fled and gone
He doth sit by us and moan.
DO NOT LET YOUR HEART BE TROUBLED
Surrounding these words of direction and encouragement in John 14, Christ repeats a gentle command to his disciples—Do not let your heart be troubled. Do not let your heart be troubled. The hour of Christ’s arrest and crucifixion is almost at hand, and the deep affection He has for his disciples overflows from his words, affection as both their sovereign Lord and as their gentle Friend.
Victor Vasnetsov and William Blake each reveal a piece of this wondrous mystery of Christ’s incarnation: He is at once judge of the universe, yet He sits with a nest of sparrows; He orders the heavens, yet He mourns with us in our grief. Miraculously overall and in all, this same Christ said to his disciples, Do not let your heart be troubled—He who sees the whole and end of our pain, yet weeps with us while we are in it.
Throughout the Lenten season, we are invited to a time of reflection and repentance, where we are reminded of our mortality and where we confront our sinfulness. But, with this time of repentance may come feelings of discouragement, hopelessness, or shame, as the weight of our sin feels more than we can bear. Despite our best efforts, we just keep on sinning, and even repentance can feel wearisome, as we yet again confess the ways that we have failed. In those moments, we do well to remember the words of Christ—Do not let your heart be troubled. Do not let your heart be troubled. For Christ has overcome the world, and clothes the lilies of the field; He triumphed over death, and called the little ones to Him; He paved the road of our salvation, and forgives each sin, no matter how often we fail.
When the object of our faith is not before our eyes, when the cycle of repentance feels insurmountable, and when the burden of our sin is more than we can bear—Do not let your heart be troubled. Do not let your heart be troubled.
Prayer:
Sovereign Lord, quiet our hearts, bring us peace, and show us the way of righteousness. Christ Pantocrator, forgive us our sins, and have mercy upon us. Savior, give us the courage to repent, and to make a habit of repentance.
Amen
Ellie Martin
Assistant Director of Academic Programming
Torrey Honors College
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 Art:
Christ Pantocrator
Viktor Mikhaylovich Vasnetsov
1896
Oil on canvas
State Russian Museum
St. Petersburg, Russia
The Christ Pantocrator is one of the most recognized depictions of Jesus. The Greek term “Pantocrator,” often translated as “All Powerful,” also means “to hold all things.” Christ’s left hand holds an open book, which traditionally represents the Gospels. The nuance of expression and sensitivity in this depiction of Christ is drawn from the ancient traditions of Christian iconography across both the East and West. In Vasnetsov’s painting, Christ is surrounded by symbolic representations of the four evangelists: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. In Christian iconography, the evangelists are often represented by symbols originating from the four “living creatures” found in the apocalyptic visions of Ezekiel (Ezekiel 1–2) and also in the book of Revelation (4:6–9), though neither passage links the creatures to the evangelists. The four creatures—collectively called the Tetramorph—represent different aspects of Christ’s nature. Matthew is symbolized by a winged man, or angel. Matthew’s gospel starts with Joseph’s genealogy from Abraham, a sign pointing to Jesus’ incarnation, and so to Christ’s human nature. Mark is symbolized by a winged lion—a figure of courage and monarchy, and represents Jesus’ resurrection. Luke is symbolized by a winged ox or bull—a figure of sacrifice, service, and strength. John is symbolized by an eagle—a figure of the sky. The Gospel of John presents Jesus’s ascension and Christ’s divine nature. The symbolism of representing the Four Evangelists as the four “living creatures” has developed over time, so that by the High Middle Ages it was extremely common to find these symbols in Christian art. It would later be more common to see the evangelists depicted as humans flanked by symbolic representation of their “creature.”
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Four_Evangelists
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tetramorph
https://iconreader.wordpress.com/2010/09/17/the-tetramorph-in-christian-art/
About the Artist:
Viktor Mikhaylovich Vasnetsov (1848–1926) was a Russian artist who specialized in painting mythological and historical subjects. He is considered one of the founders of the Russian folklorist and romantic painting movement. From the 1880s on, Vasnetsov’s main theme was the world of folk poetry: tales, epics, and legends. Dark forest wilds, fiery sunsets, and stormy clouds—all these elements of his work helped make the legendary episodes depicted in his paintings seem like actual events in Russian history. For that reason, his paintings were extremely popular in Russia. They became, in a sense, surrogates for Russian history, and during the Soviet era many were reproduced in school books and on consumer goods. Vasnetsov also designed costumes and stage sets for Nikolay Rimsky-Korsakov’s opera Snegurochka (The Snow Maiden) in 1886.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Viktor_Vasnetsov
https://www.britannica.com/biography/Viktor-Mikhaylovich-Vasnetsov
About the Music:
“The Way (New Horizon)” from the album We Say Yes
Lyrics:
I believe You are
The way, the truth, the life
I believe You are
The way, the truth, the life
I believe
Through every battle
Through every heartbreak
Through every circumstance
I believe that You are my fortress
You are my portion
You are my hiding place
Through every blessing
Through every promise
Through every breath I take
I believe that You are Provider
You are Protector
You are the One I love
And it’s a new horizon and I’m set on You
And You meet me here today with mercies that are new
All my fears and doubts, they can all come too
Because they can’t stay long when I’m here with You
I believe You are
The way, the truth, the life
And I believe You are
The way, the truth, the life
I believe You are
About the Composers/Lyricists:
Pat Barrett, Daniel Bashta, and Ben Smith
With popular songs such as “Build My Life,” “The Way (New Horizon),” and “Good Good Father,” Pat Barrett is a key songwriter and artist in the broader worship music community. Barrett, a worship leader based in Atlanta, Georgia, and former singer/songwriter with the band Housefires, released his solo debut album in 2018. He was first to sign on to Chris Tomlin’s label imprint, Bowyer & Bow, in partnership with Capitol CMG.
Daniel Bashta has written songs that have been recorded and sung all over the planet by the Newsboys, Third Day, David Crowder, Passion Band, Jesus Culture, and Bethel Music. Perhaps best known for penning the worship anthem “Like a Lion” (God’s Not Dead), Relevant Magazine has said, “Bashta’s music is simultaneously organic and arena-ready, filled with both intimacy and soaring cries to God.” Worship Leader Magazine gave five stars to his last recording, “The Invisible,’’ saying, “There is something that comes alive in your soul when you hear something clearly outside the popular and proven approaches to worship music.”
https://www.danielbashta.com/
Songwriter Ben Smith and his wife Kelly are worship pastors at Bethel Atlanta, a church plant of Bethel Redding. Together, they head up what has been described as the “intimate, spontaneous, anthemic and authentic” worship band Bread & Wine. The duo has co-written and produced songs with friends such as Matt Redman (“10,000 Reasons”), Jason Upton (“In Your Presence”), Pat Barrett (“Good Good Father”), and Aaron Keyes (“Sovereign Over Us”).
https://pathmegazine.com/news/christian-contemporary/bethel-atlanta-worship-pastors-ben-and-kelly-smith-of-bread-wine-to-release-second-album-two/
About the Performers:
Housefires is an American worship band originating from Grace Midtown Church in Atlanta, Georgia, formed in 2014. With the addition of Kirby Kaple as a worship pastor at Grace Midtown, the church’s musical style shifted toward a more stripped-down style reminiscent of artists such as United Pursuit and All Sons & Daughters. Pat Barrett and Kaple were joined by fellow Atlanta worship leader Tony Brown, Grace Athens, and worship pastor Nate Moore. Additional members included violinist Vicki Schmidt, keyboardist Jonathan Jay, percussionist Zac Brooks, and drummer Harold Brown. Housefires often hosts monthly worship nights at Grace Midtown’s campus. In 2020, Donald Hart joined Housefires as their bassist. The band has released five albums and is best known for Barrett and Brown’s “Good Good Father,” which attained massive popularity after Chris Tomlin recorded the song and released it as a single. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Housefires
http://www.housefires.org/
About the Poet:
William Blake (1757–1827) was an English poet, painter, and printmaker. Largely unrecognized during his lifetime, Blake is now considered a seminal figure in the history of the poetry and visual arts of the Romantic Age. Blake was a nonconformist who associated with some of the leading radical thinkers of his day, such as Thomas Paine and Mary Wollstonecraft. In defiance of eighteenth-century neoclassical conventions, he appreciated imagination over reason in the creation of both his poetry and images and asserted that ideal forms should be constructed not from observations of nature, but from inner visions. Although Blake was considered possibly mad by contemporaries for his idiosyncratic views, he is held in high regard by later critics for his expressiveness and creativity, and for the philosophical and mystical undercurrents within his work.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Blake
https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/william-blake
About the Devotion Author:
Ellie Martin
Assistant Director of Academic Programming
Torrey Honors College
Biola University
Ellie Martin, Assistant Director of Academic Programming for the Torrey Honors College, graduated summa cum laude from Biola University and is pursuing a Masters of Liberal Arts from Johns Hopkins University. Her research interests center around interdisciplinary education and intellectual history, with an emphasis on the role of the liberal arts in the 21st century.