March 31: “Whom Do You Seek?”
♫ Music:
Day 43 - Wednesday, March 31
Title: “WHOM DO YOU SEEK?”
Scripture: John 18:1-14
Then Jesus went forth with His disciples over the ravine of the Kidron, where there was a garden, in which He entered with His disciples. Now Judas also, who was betraying Him, knew the place, for Jesus had often met there with His disciples. Judas then, having received the Roman cohort and officers from the chief priests and the Pharisees, came there with lanterns and torches and weapons. So Jesus, knowing all the things that were coming upon Him, went forth and said to them, “Whom do you seek?” They answered Him, “Jesus the Nazarene.” He said to them, “I am He.” And Judas also, who was betraying Him, was standing with them. So when He said to them, “I am He,” they drew back and fell to the ground. Therefore He again asked them, “Whom do you seek?” And they said, “Jesus the Nazarene.” Jesus answered, “I told you that I am He; so if you seek Me, let these go their way,” to fulfill the word which He spoke, “Of those whom You have given Me I lost not one.” Simon Peter then, having a sword, drew it and struck the high priest’s slave, and cut off his right ear; and the slave’s name was Malchus. So Jesus said to Peter, “Put the sword into the sheath; the cup which the Father has given Me, shall I not drink it?” So the Roman cohort and the commander and the officers of the Jews, arrested Jesus and bound Him, and led Him to Annas first; for he was father-in-law of Caiaphas, who was high priest that year. Now Caiaphas was the one who had advised the Jews that it was expedient for one man to die on behalf of the people.
Poetry:
The House of Caiaphas
by Thomas Merton
Somewhere, inside the wintry colonnade,
Stands, like a churchdoor statue, God’s Apostle,
Good St. Peter, by the brazier,
With his back turned to the trial.
As scared and violent as flocks of birds of prey,
The testimonies of the holy beggars
Fly from the stones, and scatter in the windy shadows.
The accusations of the holy judge
Rise, in succession, dignified as rockets,
Soar out of silence to their towering explosions
And, with their meteors, raid the earth.
And the gates of night fall shut with the clangor of
arms.
The crafty eyes of witnesses, set free to riot,
Now shine as sharp as needles at the carved
Apostle’s mantle.
Voices begin to rise, like water, in the colonnade;
Fingers accuse him like a herd of cattle.
Then the Apostle, white as marble, weak as tin
Cries out upon the crowd:
And, no less artificial than the radios of his voice,
He flees into the freezing night.
And all the constellations vanish out of heaven
With a glass cry;
Cocks crow as sharp as steel in the terrible, clear
east,
And the gates of night fall shut with the thunder of
Massbells.
WHOM DO YOU SEEK?
Betrayal! Such an ugly act.
In the secluded evening quiet of a hillside garden—one used frequently for instruction and prayer by the Jewish Rabbi and His disciples—Judas brings a band of soldiers with lanterns, torches, weapons, and violence. The human drama is heartbreakingly intense: the Teacher and His followers on one hand, Judas the betrayer, and the High Priest’s servants with an armed detachment on the other.
Peter and Judas are major figures on the scene.
Both are disciples, both have spent years on the road with Jesus, having logged countless hours listening and praying and walking and eating and camping out with Him.
Luke, in his Gospel, says that Jesus still greeted Judas as “friend” when Judas walked up and betrayed Him with a kiss. Peter and Judas, once companions, are now on different sides.
Judas sided with Pharisees and chief priests, and the oppressors.
Peter sided with Jesus.
But Peter still got it wrong, spending his misplaced valor on a servant.
Matthew, speaking as an eyewitness, tells us that Peter has a sword—because, of course he did! Good old Peter the extrovert who acts first and thinks later!—so Peter having a sword, swings and misses. He does not cleave the head of his chosen opponent, but just swipes off the ear. (Note to self: keep swords away from fishermen! Flinging nets is different from wielding swords.) And Peter is rebuked. “Put the sword away,” says Jesus (“You are getting in the way of what God is doing”). And Jesus heals the servant, because He is sent to heal us sinners, not to destroy us. “What the Father is doing… shall I not do it?”
And here we suddenly come face to face with the main protagonist in the story—God the Father! God, the Lover of humans, who has sent His Son to save us. As Caiaphas the High Priest says, prophetically: “Is it not expedient for one man to die for the people?”
The primary relationship here is between Jesus and His Father, not Jesus and His disciples, not Jesus and the soldiers (whom He knocks down with mere words). Jesus’ path is clear because His commitment, intention, and allegiance are settled. Even when betrayed, Jesus does not betray. Even when attacked, Jesus does not attack. With His eyes on the Father, Jesus, “knowing all the things that were coming upon Him, went forth and said to them, ‘Whom do you seek?’” Jesus went forth and protected His friends. He went forth as the Lamb of God, sacrificed willingly for our redemption.
So what does this mean to us, we who are also disciples of the Lord Jesus, who sometimes follow and sometimes don’t?
Well, as we know, both Judas and Peter failed as disciples this day. After the arrest following the betrayal, Peter thrice denied even knowing Jesus. But their ends are so different: Judas ended up lost and suicidal, and Peter ended up as repentant, forgiven, restored, and recommissioned (see John 21 and the scene on the beach). The difference between these two is simple: at the end of the day, Peter still believed in Jesus as Lord and Messiah. Peter repented and wept and went back to the other disciples.
This is the freedom we have: we get to choose our side.
We get to choose what we believe about Jesus and whether we will receive His forgiveness. We have the freedom to choose to repent and to follow Him, along with His other disciples. This is our freedom: we can choose to acknowledge Him as Lord, because He has chosen us.
Prayer:
Lord Jesus, I choose You. And Lord, those times when I turn away and don’t choose You? Well, I repent, and I come back weeping. Receive me, Lord, because of Your steadfast love. Restore me and strengthen me like you did for the Apostle Peter, who grew much better at obeying and who suffered much for Your sake. Thank you, Lord ,for choosing to “do what the Father is doing,” and for saving me. I love You.
Amen.
Dr. Betsy Barber
Associate Director of the Institute for Spiritual Formation
Associate Professor of Spiritual Formation and Psychology
Talbot School of Theology, 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 Artwork:
Betrayal of Christ
Unknown Monvaerni Master
15th century
Made in Limoges, France
Painted enamel, copper
24.9 x 23.2 x 0.2 cm
Metropolitan Museum of Art
New York, New York
This enamel attributed to the “Monvaerni Master” is probably one of the oldest to display the enamel painting technique practiced in Limoges, France during the early Renaissance. In the Middle Ages, predominantly during the twelfth and the thirteenth centuries, Limoges was renowned for the production of champlevé enamels, notably used for religious and liturgical objects. The technique of painted enamel on copper appeared in Limoges in the last quarter of the fifteenth century, during the reigns of Louis XI (1461–1483) and Henri III (1574–1589). Rectangular plaques illustrating scenes of the life of Christ were generally part of house altars for private use. The Monvaerni Master, also called “Pseudo Monvaerni,” was active in Limoges between 1461 and 1485, and is considered to be one of the pioneers of enamel painting in the Renaissance. His oeuvre comprises around fifty enamels, all depicting religious subjects, which have been grouped together on the basis of his distinctive style. His work displays knowledge of perspective and a preference for painted contours, with a great talent in arranging colors, highlighted with gilding—all features which distinguish this plaque as a work by the Monvaerni Master. It has been suggested that he was originally an illuminator of manuscripts.
http://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O193192/plaque-monvaerni-master/
https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/463681?searchField=All&sortBy=Relevance&who=Monvaerni%24Monvaerni&ft=*&offset=0&rpp=20&pos=3
About the Artist:
The “Monvaerni” enamels are probably the oldest to display the technique of enamel painting as practiced in Limoges, France, during the early Renaissance. The enameller’s talent for dramatic narrative outweighs his somewhat awkward figure style and flat colors. This enamel is one of about fifty known extant pieces attributed to the hand of an early master in the technique of painted enamels. Active between about 1480–1500, the artisan may well have also practiced manuscript illumination. Although his identity is unknown, this artist is now commonly referred to as the “Monvaerni Master.” His enamel designs, many of which show scenes from the nativity and passion of Christ, rely heavily on 1460 woodcuts by German masters. There are also similarities to French and Flemish panel paintings and illuminated manuscripts, as is the case with this plaque and its companion.
http://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O193192/plaque-monvaerni-master/
https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/463681?searchField=All&sortBy=Relevance&who=Monvaerni%24Monvaerni&ft=*&offset=0&rpp=20&pos=3
About the Music:
“Christ on the Mount of Olives (Christus Am Olberge), Op. 85: No. 1a. Introduzione. Grave - Adagio” (Single)
About the Composer:
Ludwig van Beethoven (1770–1827) was a German pianist and one of the most admired composers in the history of Western music. His works rank amongst the most performed of the classical music repertoire. Beethoven’s personal life was marked by a struggle against deafness, and some of his most important works were composed during the last ten years of his life, when he was unable to hear. He is considered the crucial transitional figure connecting the Classical and Romantic ages of Western music. His musical talent was obvious at an early age and, at age twenty-one, he moved to Vienna to study piano and composition with composer Joseph Haydn and vocal composition with Antonio Salieri. During his life he composed nine symphonies, five piano concertos, one violin concerto, thirty-two piano sonatas, sixteen string quartets, two masses, and the opera Fidelio. Other works, like Für Elise, were discovered after his death and are also considered historic musical achievements. Beethoven’s legacy is characterized by his innovative compositions, including avant-garde combinations of vocals and instruments, and by the way he widened the scopes of sonatas, symphonies, concertos, and quartets.
https://www.biography.com/musician/ludwig-van-beethoven
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ludwig_van_Beethoven
https://www.biography.com/musician/ludwig-van-beethoven
About the Performers:
London Symphony Orchestra conducted by Sir Simon Rattle
The London Symphony Orchestra (LSO), founded in 1904, is the oldest of London’s symphony orchestras. As a self-governing body, the orchestra selects the conductors with whom it works. At some stages in its history, it has dispensed with a principal conductor and worked only with guests. Among the conductors with whom it is most associated are Pierre Monteux, André Previn, Claudio Abbado, Sir Colin Davis, and Valery Gergiev. Since 1982, the LSO has been based in the Barbican Centre in the City of London. The LSO claims to be the world’s most recorded orchestra; it has made gramophone recordings since 1912 and has played on more than two hundred soundtrack recordings for the cinema. It is probably best-known for recording John Williams’ score for the Star Wars movies. This film and its sequels attracted a new group of admirers and consolidated the period of film music activity for the orchestra, which continues unabated to this day. The LSO also recorded other Williams’ film scores including Superman, Harry Potter, and Raiders of the Lost Ark.
https://lso.co.uk/
Sir Simon Rattle OM CBE (b. 1955) is a British conductor. He rose to international prominence during the 1980s and 1990s while music director of the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra (1980–1998). Rattle was principal conductor of the Berlin Philharmonic from 2002 to 2018. In 2017, Rattle became music director of the London Symphony Orchestra. As a passionate supporter of music education, Rattle is also the patron of Birmingham Schools’ Symphony Orchestra, arranged during his tenure with CBSO in mid 1990s. Sir Rattle has had a long-standing relationship with the leading orchestras in London, Europe, and the USA; initially working closely with the Los Angeles Philharmonic and Boston Symphony Orchestra, and more recently with The Philadelphia Orchestra. He regularly conducts the Wiener Philharmoniker, with whom he has recorded the complete Beethoven symphonies and piano concertos with Alfred Brendel and is also a principal artist of the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment and founding patron of Birmingham Contemporary Music Group.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simon_Rattle
https://www.warnerclassics.com/artist/sir-simon-rattle
About the Poet:
Thomas Merton (1915–1968) was a Roman Catholic monk, poet, and prolific writer on spiritual and social themes and one of the most important American Roman Catholic writers of the twentieth century. After a year at the University of Cambridge, he entered Columbia University, where he earned B.A. and M.A. degrees. Following years of agnosticism, he converted to Catholicism and entered the Trappist Abbey of Gethsemani in Kentucky. The Trappists are considered to be one of the most ascetic of the Roman Catholic monastic orders and it was there that Merton grew as a mystic, pursuing spiritual quests through his writing. Merton’s first published works were collections of poems: Thirty Poems (1944), A Man in the Divided Sea (1946), and Figures for an Apocalypse (1948). With the publication of the autobiographical Seven Storey Mountain (1948), he gained an international reputation. His early works are strictly spiritual, but his writings of the early 1960s tend toward social criticism, civil rights, pacifism, and nonviolence.
https://www.britannica.com/biography/Thomas-Merton
About the Devotion Author:
Betsy Barber
Associate Director of the Institute for Spiritual Formation
Associate Professor of Spiritual Formation and Psychology
Talbot School of Theology
Biola University
Dr. Betsy Barber has a clinical practice with specialization in the soul care and mental health of Christian workers. She teaches courses in spiritual formation, soul care, missions, maturity, and marital relationships. She has particular interest in spiritual formation and supervision of students in spiritual direction and mentoring. She has worked with her husband as a missionary in Bible translation and counseling ministries for twenty-four years. In addition to being a licensed clinical psychologist, she has background and training in spiritual direction.