March 30: “For This Purpose I Came to This Hour”
♫ Music:
Day 42 - Tuesday, March 30
Title: “FOR THIS PURPOSE I CAME TO THIS HOUR”
Scripture: John 12:23-36
“The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. He who loves his life loses it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it to life eternal. If anyone serves Me, he must follow Me; and where I am, there My servant will be also; if anyone serves Me, the Father will honor him. “Now My soul has become troubled; and what shall I say, ‘Father, save Me from this hour’? But for this purpose I came to this hour. Father, glorify Your name.” Then a voice came out of heaven: “I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again.” So the crowd of people who stood by and heard it were saying that it had thundered; others were saying, “An angel has spoken to Him.” Jesus answered and said, “This voice has not come for My sake, but for your sakes. Now judgment is upon this world; now the ruler of this world will be cast out. And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to Myself.” But He was saying this to indicate the kind of death by which He was to die. The crowd then answered Him, “We have heard out of the Law that the Christ is to remain forever; and how can You say, ‘The Son of Man must be lifted up’? Who is this Son of Man?” So Jesus said to them, “For a little while longer the Light is among you. Walk while you have the Light, so that darkness will not overtake you; he who walks in the darkness does not know where he goes. While you have the Light, believe in the Light, so that you may become sons of Light
Poetry:
The Pulley
by George Herbert
When God at first made man,
Having a glass of blessings standing by,
“Let us,” said he, “pour on him all we can.
Let the world’s riches, which dispersèd lie,
Contract into a span.”
So strength first made a way;
Then beauty flowed, then wisdom, honour, pleasure.
When almost all was out, God made a stay,
Perceiving that, alone of all his treasure,
Rest in the bottom lay.
“For if I should,” said he,
“Bestow this jewel also on my creature,
He would adore my gifts instead of me,
And rest in Nature, not the God of Nature;
So both should losers be.
“Yet let him keep the rest,
But keep them with repining restlessness;
Let him be rich and weary, that at least,
If goodness lead him not, yet weariness
May toss him to my breast.”
FOR THIS PURPOSE I CAME TO THIS HOUR
A pulley can be the difference between life and death. Firefighters will often use a pulley system to rescue someone who is trapped. It offers life; in layman’s terms the weight applied downwards on a rope can more easily raise up an object attached to the other end giving traction that would be humanly impossible.
In our passage today, taken from John’s Gospel, we see Jesus interacting with Greeks who seek him out. The pull of the gospel proclaimed by Jesus through his words and actions draws close those from outside the Jewish faith. Jesus’ message is for more than one people group; his message challenges all around him to turn upside down the natural desires of the heart. Someone who has little regard for this world and who values loving God to the point of sacrifice is someone who walks in step with Jesus. As we read Jesus’ words, so too the pulley is at work drawing us away from this world and towards himself.
Today’s poem by George Herbert considers this imagery. Herbert describes the creation of man; how God purposefully withholds true rest so that man is always drawn to seek after him. Rest found in God alone is the leverage that draws a person back to their maker. It is this leverage that unites today’s artwork, poetry, music, and scripture. It is the leverage of the Son of Man, who alone has the power to draw mankind into a restful relationship with God by being himself fully God and fully human. This all-God and all-man has the final triumphant say over death.
Take a look at Gangi’s artwork and listen to the Mississippi Mass Choir, listen and regard the glorious elevation of the Son of Man who in one fell swoop tramples death and offers rest. He dies that we might live. An image of the person of Jesus is not captured in Gangi’s paper collage, but the power of this divine pulley in the movement and weight of color most certainly is. The cross is central and elevated, and death lies defeated at its base.
Praise God for the willingness of our savior to experience death on a cross to bring us life, and praise God for the opportunity to experience restlessness in this world, so that we may be tossed into the breast of God where we will find absolute rest and eternal joy.
Prayer:
You are great, O Lord, and greatly to be praised.
Great is your power, and infinite is your wisdom.
You are worthy of our praise,
though we are but a speck in your creation.
We wear our mortality,
the witness of our sin,
the evidence that you resist the proud.
Yet you are worthy of our praise.
You awaken our hearts to delight in your praise.
You made us for yourself,
and our heart is restless until it rests in you.
-Augustine of Hippo
Sian Draycott
Instructor
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.
Artwork & Artist:
Redemption Accomplished
Nicora Gangi
2009
Paper collage with digital additions
16 x 20 in.
Inspired by the accomplished work of Jesus on the cross, artist Nicora Gangi’s work recalls one of the “Seven Last Words from the Cross”: when Jesus said, “It is finished.” This pronouncement marks the end of the earthly life of Jesus. Pastor Adam Hamilton writes: “These last words are seen as a cry of victory, not of dereliction. Jesus had now completed what he came to do. A plan was fulfilled; a salvation was made possible; a love shown. He had taken our place. He had demonstrated both humanity’s brokenness and God’s love. He had offered himself fully to God as a sacrifice on behalf of humanity. As he died, it was finished. With these words, the noblest person who ever walked the face of this planet, God in the flesh, breathed his last.”
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sayings_of_Jesus_on_the_cross#6._It_is_finished
About the Artist:
Nicora Gangi (b. 1952) is an American artist educated at the Hartford Art School, Montclair State College, and Syracuse University where she was a professor of art for twenty-nine years. In 2010, she also taught for Gordon College in Orvieto, Italy. Gangi’s work has been featured in Artist Magazine, Pastel Artist International Magazine, Design Magazine, American Art Collector, and CMYK Magazine. In 2001, she was awarded the highly prized and honorable Harris Popular Award from the Memorial Art Gallery in Rochester, New York. She also received the Pollock-Krasner Foundation Award in the summer of 2006. Gangi has lectured regionally and nationally as a visiting artist at colleges, universities, and artist’s guilds.
www.nicoragangi.com
About the Music:
“If I Be Lifted Up” from the album Not By Might, Not By Power
Lyrics:
If I be lifted up,
I will draw all men unto me
Jesus came with all his glory;
To reveal the heavenly marvelous story
Jesus said If I be lifted up
I will draw all men unto me.
Jesus laid down the price for you and me,
But he got up with all power in his hand
About the Lyricists/Composers:
Donald Taylor, Tracy Carter, and William Z. Harmon
Choir director Donald Taylor has a passion for gospel music and choir directing that developed at a very young age. The first community choir he sang in was directed by his godfather, Harrison Johnson. Being under Johnson’s wings encouraged Taylor to start directing the youth choir at his own church when he was seventeen. Taylor went on to form the gospel group Friends, which later became Donald Taylor and the L.A. Mass Choir, and then L.A. Mass: Next Generation. Taylor is also the choir director for One Voice and Men of Praise, two groups at the Faithful Central Church where he has been a member for over twenty years.
https://lasentinel.net/donald-taylor-and-the-l-a-mass-choir-bring-the-gospel-to-taste-of-soul.html#:~:text=Taylor%20went%20on%20to%20form,member%20for%20over%2020%20years.
Tracy Carter is a gifted and talented producer, singer/songwriter, keyboardist, music director, vocalist, percussionist, and philanthropist. With a combination of hands-on experience, formal education, and mentoring, Tracy developed his talent, skills, and passion into a brand and musical style that is unique and captivating. In 1996, Tracy relocated to Los Angeles to begin a career as a professional musician and recording artist. He was the head musician/MD at Faith Central Bible Church for twenty-two years. Tracy has toured as a music director, keyboardist and/or vocalist for the following: Chaka Khan, Gerald Albright, Dave Koz, and Euge Groove—just to name a few. In addition to performing and touring, Tracy has recorded on multiple CD projects for Grammy-nominated artists. After producing successful projects for multiple musicians of various genres, Tracy began to focus his energy on completing a product of his own. Tracy released his debut smooth jazz CD, titled Dimensions of a Musician, in 2015. This CD showcased his multilevel facets as a songwriter, musician, lyricist, vocalist, producer, and entrepreneur.
https://www.traycarmusic.com/
William Zach “Zac” Harmon is an American blues musician from Mississippi. While in high school and college, Harmon played guitar for blues musicians Z. Z. Hill, Dorothy Moore, and Sam Myers. He moved to Los Angeles in the 1980s in the pursuit of a career in the music industry. He worked as a studio musician, and later became a writer/producer. Harmon produced tracks for Black Uhuru’s album The Mystical Truth, which received a Grammy nomination in 1994, as well as crafting songs for The O’Jays, The Whispers, Karyn White, and Alexander O’Neal. Compelled by his dream of recording his own blues record, he created his first solo work, Live at Babe and Ricky’s Inn (2002).
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zac_Harmon
About the Performers:
The Mississippi Mass Choir is an American gospel choir based in Jackson, Mississippi. After wrestling with the idea of forming a mass choir, Frank Williams, a member of The Jackson Southernaires and an executive in the gospel music division of Malaco Records, decided to form The Mississippi Mass Choir. He selected David R. Curry Jr., who became the choir’s music director until his death in 1993. Three albums were released since Williams’ death: I’ll See You in Rapture, Praise the Lord, and Emmanuel (God With Us). Jerry Mannery, Executive Director of the choir, states, “We are all about our Father’s business. We are not entertainers, we are ministers for Christ. Our mission remains constant: to serve the Lord and spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ.” The choir has ministered in song in over forty states and has traveled to Japan, Italy, Spain, Bahamas, and Greece, becoming the first gospel group to perform at the Acropolis. While attending the Umbria Jazz Gospel and Soul Easter Festival in Terni, Italy, the choir was invited to sing for Pope John Paul II at his summer residence.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mississippi_Mass_Choir
About the Poet:
George Herbert (1593–1633) was a Welsh-born English poet, orator, and Anglican priest. Herbert’s poetry is associated with the writings of the metaphysical poets and he is recognized as “a pivotal figure: enormously popular, deeply and broadly influential, and arguably the most skillful and important British devotional lyricist.” He was born into an artistic and wealthy family and was primarily raised in England. He received his education at Trinity College, Cambridge, in 1609. He went there with the intention of becoming a priest, but he became the University’s Public Orator and attracted the attention of King James I. Herbert served in the Parliament of England in 1624 and briefly in 1625. After the death of King James I, Herbert gave up his secular ambitions and took holy orders in the Church of England, spending the rest of his life as the rector of St Andrew’s Church in Salisbury. Throughout his life, Herbert wrote Christian poetry with a precision of language and a masterful use of imagery. Some of Herbert’s poems have been turned into hymns and are still in use today.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Herbert
About the Devotion Author:
Sian Draycott
Instructor
Torrey Honors College
Biola University
Sian Draycott grew up in Wales and graduated from Oxford University with an M.A. in Theology. While doing an M.A. in Classical Studies from the Open University (UK), she developed her research in Greek tragedy and comedy as seen in the relationship between Euripides and Aristophanes. In addition to team-leading with IFES (International Fellowship of Evangelical Students) in Portugal, Sian has experience as a high school teacher in the UK and an ESL tutor. She loves talking to people about Jesus and watching Wales play rugby.