April 3: The Imprecatory Psalms: The Passion of Christ
♫ Music:
WEEK SIX INTRODUCTION
TITLE: THE IMPRECATORY PSALMS: THE PASSION OF CHRIST
April 3–April 9
Ephesians 6:12 is a stark reminder of the spiritual warfare that is taking place all around us: “For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.” While the Psalter manifests the full range of human emotions, one thing is certain: almost everywhere we turn in the Psalms there are graphic descriptions of evil, enemies, and conflict. For Christians, the Psalter is a powerful resource for praying against the vicious forces of darkness!
This week we begin focusing on Christ’s passion by looking at some of the imprecatory psalms—psalms that contain curses or prayers for the demise of the psalmists’ enemies. These psalms were not composed out of personal hatred or animosity. Instead, they are prayers begging God that his justice, truth, protection, and righteousness prevail. It is appropriate for the psalmist as well as believers today to pray for the defeat of evil and the destruction of those entities and their lawless leaders who are hellbent on destroying the work and lives of God’s people. While in prison for participating in a plot to kill Adolf Hitler, Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote, “I pray the imprecatory psalms in the certainty of their marvelous fulfillment. I leave the vengeance to God and ask him to execute his righteousness to all his enemies, knowing that God has remained true to himself and has himself secured justice in his wrathful judgment on the cross, and that this wrath has become grace and joy for us.”
While Sunday’s beautiful meditation deals with the Last Supper and Psalm 116, “I will take up the cup of salvation and call on the name of the Lord,” the focus very quickly changes to descriptions of Christ’s sufferings in the ensuing days of this week. Monday’s Psalm 35 describes the world’s hatred and persecution of Christ and his followers. Although Psalm 102 is listed as a penitential psalm, it has been included on Tuesday because it proclaims both the human and divine natures of Christ. Wednesday’s Psalm 13 can be heard as the prayer Christ uttered in Gethsemane on the night of his betrayal. Psalm 109 is perhaps the most unsettling, because it speaks of Christ’s enemies and their eternal loss. In Psalm 109, as well as the psalm portions for Friday’s meditation, Christ specifically references Judas, his friend and betrayer. Psalm 31:9–16 is often read on the Sunday of the Passion, the beginning of Holy Week. We have included it as Saturday’s reading so that we can focus on the triumphal entry on Sunday. As we go through this challenging week of readings, may the Lord give us renewed spiritual insight into and understanding of what he has endured for our salvation.
Day 33 - Sunday, April 3
Title: THE CUP
Scripture: Psalm 116:12-19
What shall I render to the Lord
For all His benefits toward me?
I will take up the cup of salvation,
And call upon the name of the Lord.
I will pay my vows to the Lord
Now in the presence of all His people.
Precious in the sight of the Lord
Is the death of His saints.
O Lord, truly I am Your servant;
I am Your servant, the son of Your maidservant;
You have loosed my bonds.
I will offer to You the sacrifice of thanksgiving,
And will call upon the name of the Lord.
I will pay my vows to the Lord
Now in the presence of all His people,
In the courts of the Lord’s house,
In the midst of you, O Jerusalem.
Praise the Lord!
Poetry:
The Last Supper
by Jack Stewart
Pieces of torn bread on the tablecloth.
Plates empty in front of them as if they
have just removed the halos they will wear
in a few years. Jesus holds out his arms
like he is scolding them for such a mess.
They look startled, like they are seeing it
for the first time: it couldn’t be their fault.
Leonardo claimed this is the moment
of Christ’s announcement of betrayal,
and of course it is not clear who Judas is.
But what I notice is the wine—or seeming
lack of it. No goblets. No chalice.
The grail no bigger than a shot glass.
Yet somehow that makes sense.
That makes sense. A bartender measures
as reminder of the power that he serves.
We sip liqueurs between our fingertips.
It takes so little to be satisfied.
It takes so little to linger
in camaraderie. Only a heartbeat
of belief is necessary.
By small increments we learn to taste.
THE CUP OF SUFFERING AND SALVATION
As we anticipate the death of Jesus Christ on Good Friday, our attention even now turns towards he who sacrificed everything for us. Lent, as a season of preparation, is always about the condescension and self-sacrifice of Jesus Christ but the last stages of our Lenten journey focus in particular on Jesus: his triumphal entry into Jerusalem, his Last Supper with the disciples, his agony in the Garden of Gethsemane, his bloody Cross, and his glorious resurrection. Today’s reading from Psalm 116 makes us recalls episodes from late in Jesus’ life:
“And [Jesus] took a cup, and when he had given thanks he gave it to them, saying, ‘Drink of it, all of you, for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.’” (Matt. 26:27-28)
“Then Jesus went with them to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to his disciples, ‘Sit here, while I go over there and pray’… [and] he began to be sorrowful and troubled. Then he said to them, ‘My soul is very sorrowful, even to death; remain here, and watch with me.’ And going a little farther he fell on his face and prayed, saying, ‘My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will.’” (Matt. 26:36-39; cf. Matt. 20:23)
The cup that Jesus is referring to is the cup of his suffering, the cup of his literal blood. In the words of the psalmist it is “the cup of salvation” for with it Jesus paid the debt of his saints “with his own blood, the blood he first shed for the salvation of his servants, that they might not shrink from shedding theirs for the name of the Lord” (Augustine of Hippo). But it is also the life-giving cup of the Eucharist (notice that Stewart’s poem points us to Leonardo’s Last Supper), wherein Jesus offers himself again and again, so that “as often as [we] drink it” we “proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes” (1 Cor. 11:25-26).
The psalmist took up the “cup of salvation” and called “upon the name of the Lord.” As we take up this cup of suffering and salvation we too call upon the name for the Lord as we “proclaim the Lord’s death.” The cup of suffering, the cup of salvation leads to proclamation of the finished work of Jesus on the cross. As Jesus offers us this cup (eloquently depicted by artist Gary Smith), we take it up too––both the cup of suffering and the Eucharistic cup.
Prayer:
Holy and gracious Father, in obedience to your will, Jesus took up his cup of suffering and stretched out his arms upon the Cross, offering himself once for all, that by his suffering and death we might be saved. Help us to take up our cross in imitation of he who died for us so that we too will proclaim his precious death and sacrifice, until his coming again.
Amen
Dr. Greg Peters
Professor of Medieval and Spiritual Theology
Torrey Honors College
Biola University
Rector of Anglican Church of the Epiphany
La Mirada. California
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:
Last Supper
Gary Ernest Smith
Oil on canvas
Jesus instituted the Holy Eucharist or Communion at the Last Supper. When we take Communion, we are asked to remember His sacrifice on the cross. The bread is broken to represent the Lord’s body broken for us on the cross, and the wine is offered to remind us of the Lord’s blood that was poured out for our sins (Matthew 26:28). These elements remind us that just as we depend on food and drink to sustain us physically but it is Christ who sustains us spiritually. The Lord’s Supper serves as a celebration of the grace of God and the incredible gift of forgiveness. Artist Gary Earnest Smith paints a radiant Christ looking directly into the eyes of the viewer. He holds his hands in a gesture invitation––inviting us to participate and partake in the life He has given us through His sacrificial death and resurrection. Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst (Matthew 6:11).
About the Artist:
Gary Ernest Smith (b. 1942) is an American artist. He completed a bachelor’s degree and was pursuing a master’s degree when he was drafted into the Vietnam War. Gary broke onto the national art scene in 1983 with paintings and sculpture that deal with his rural American roots. He has had more than forty one-man and group shows in galleries and museums in the US and throughout the world. His paintings have been displayed in such museums as the Brooklyn Museum of Art in New York; Butler Institute of American Art, Youngstown, Ohio; Eiteljorg Museum of American Art, Indianapolis, Indiana; Denver Museum of Art; and the Phoenix Museum of Art. His work is represented in private and museum collections throughout the world and has been written up in numerous publications such as South West Art Magazine, Art of the West Magazine, Western Art Collector Magazine, and Western Art and Architecture Magazine. A book on his life and work was published in the late 90s. It’s entitled Holding Ground: the Art of Gary Ernest Smith, and it was written by Donald Hagerty.
https://illumegalleryoffineart.com/illume-artists/gary-ernest-smith/
https://www.medicinemangallery.com/western-fine-art/southwestern-contemporary-painters/smith-gary-ernest
About the Music:
“Potirion Sotiriu” from the album Illuminations on Byzantine Chant I
This piece of music represents over twenty years of creative collaboration between pianist Paul Barnes and composer Victoria Bond. After chanting in Orthodox churches for the last quarter of a century, Barnes wanted to select several Byzantine hymns that reflected the wide emotional range and spiritual message of Orthodox Christianity. While recording composer Victoria Bond’s first piano concerto “Black Light,” Barnes related to her his ecstatic experiences chanting in the Greek Orthodox Church: “She asked me to sing one of my favorite melodies and I sang the communion hymn ‘Potirion Sotiriu,’ ‘The Cup of Salvation,’ which is sung on the feasts of the Theotokos. Bond was moved by the hymn and thus began her exploration into the mystical world of Byzantine chant. The work begins with a beautifully voiced statement of the original melody in its entirety and then goes through a journey and discovery of the various components of the chant. In a loosely constructed set of variations, the work concludes with an exciting coda revealing the innate power of the chant itself.”
https://www.victoriabond.com/artist.php?view=prog&rid=3395
https://www.victoriabond.com/artist.php?view=bio
About the Performer:
Paul Barnes (b. 1961) is an American virtuoso pianist who has electrified audiences with his intensely expressive playing and cutting-edge programming. He has been featured seven times on APM’s Performance Today, America's most popular classical music radio program, and on the cover of Clavier Magazine. Celebrating his twenty-five-year collaboration with Philip Glass, Barnes commissioned and gave the world premiere of Glass' Piano Quintet "Annunciation." The work is Glass' first piano quintet and first work based on Greek Orthodox chant. Barnes' recording of the quintet with string quartet superstars Brooklyn Rider was released in 2019 to critical acclaim. Barnes’ latest recital, Illumination, features a contemplative program of piano works inspired by the mystical world of chant. Barnes, a Greek Orthodox chanter, has collaborated most recently with Philip Glass and Victoria Bond to create piano works based on ancient Byzantine and Jewish chants. Barnes gave the world premiere of Victoria Bond’s Illumination on Byzantine Chant at New York’s Symphony Space in April 2021. Barnes released his fourteenth recording in the fall of 2021. It was entitled Illumination: The Piano Works of Victoria Bond, and included the world-premiere recording of Illuminations on Byzantine Chant. Barnes is Marguerite Scribante professor of music at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln Glenn Korff School of Music.
http://www.paulbarnes.net/
About the Composer:
Victoria Bond (b. 1945) is an American composer and conductor, the daughter of operatic bass and medical doctor Philip Bond (a vocalist with the New York City Opera) and concert pianist Jane Courtland. Her grandfather was a composer, conductor, and double bass player named Samuel Epstein. Her first foray into conducting was as a guest conductor for the Senior Citizens Orchestra of Los Angeles, California. She continued her studies in composition with Ingolf Dahl and voice with William Vennard at the University of Southern California. She was accepted into the Juilliard School of Music, where she studied composition with Roger Sessions and conducted with teachers that included Herbert von Karajan. She graduated with a doctoral degree in orchestral conducting. She also assisted film composer Paul Glass in creating film scores for Universal and Metromedia Studios. Bond became an Exxon/Arts Endowment conductor with the Pittsburgh Symphony in 1978, and in 1986 was invited to conduct the Houston Symphony for the premiere of her work Ringing. She has served as artistic director of the Bel Canto Opera Company in New York; the music director and conductor of the Roanoke Symphony Orchestra; and the artistic director of the Southwest Virginia Opera, the Harrisburg Opera, and the New Amsterdam Symphony.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Victoria_Bond
About the Poet:
Jack Stewart was educated at the University of Alabama and Emory University. From 1992 to 1995, Stewart was a Brittain Fellow at The Georgia Institute of Technology. His first book, No Reason, was published by the Poeima Poetry Series in 2020. His work focuses on aesthetic and religious themes and has appeared in Poetry, Image, The American Literary Review, The Journal of the American Medical Association, The Southern Humanities Review, and other journals and anthologies, most recently in A New Ulster and Military Experience and the Arts. Jack lives in Coconut Creek, Florida, and works at Pine Crest School. https://www.sequestrum.org/three-poems-by-jack-stewart
https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/jack-stewart
About the Devotion Author:
Dr. Greg Peters
Professor of Medieval and Spiritual Theology
Torrey Honors College
Biola University
Rector of Anglican Church of the Epiphany
La Mirada, California
Greg Peters is professor of medieval and spiritual theology in the Torrey Honors College at Biola University. He is also rector of the Anglican Church of the Epiphany in La Mirada and author of The Monkhood of All Believers: The Monastic Foundation of Christian Spirituality.