March 15: The Death of Lazarus
♫ Music:
Day 22 - Wednesday, March 15
Title: THE DEATH OF LAZARUS
Scripture: John 11:1–16
Now there was a man by the name of Lazarus who became seriously ill. He lived in Bethany, the village where Mary and her sister Martha lived. (Lazarus was the brother of the Mary who poured perfume upon the Lord and wiped his feet with her hair.) So the sisters sent word to Jesus: “Lord, your friend is ill.”
When Jesus received the message, he said, “This illness is not meant to end in death; it is going to bring glory to God—for it will show the glory of the Son of God.”
Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. So when he heard of Lazarus’ illness he stayed where he was two days longer. Only then did he say to the disciples, “Let us go back into Judea.”
“Master!” returned the disciples, “only a few days ago, the Jews were trying to stone you to death—are you going there again?”
“There are twelve hours of daylight every day, are there not?” replied Jesus. “If a man walks in the daytime, he does not stumble, for he has the daylight to see by. But if he walks at night he stumbles, because he cannot see where he is going.”
Jesus spoke these words; then after a pause he said to them, “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but I am going to wake him up.
At this, his disciples said, “Lord, if he has fallen asleep, he will be all right.”
Actually Jesus had spoken about his death, but they thought that he was speaking about falling into natural sleep. This made Jesus tell them quite plainly, “Lazarus has died, and I am glad that I was not there—for your sakes, that you may learn to believe. And now, let us go to him.”
Thomas (known as the twin) then said to his fellow-disciples, “Come on, then, let us all go and die with him!”
Poetry & Poet:
“Dreams and Nightmares”
by Walter Bruggemann
Last night as I lay sleeping,
I had a dream so fair . . .
I dreamed of the Holy City, well ordered and just.
I dreamed of a garden of paradise,
well-being all around and a good water supply.
I dreamed of disarmament and forgiveness,
and caring embrace for all those in need.
I dreamed of a coming time when death is no more.
Last night as I lay sleeping . . .
I had a nightmare of sins unforgiven.
I had a nightmare of land mines still exploding
and maimed children.
I had a nightmare of the poor left unloved,
of the homeless left unnoticed,
of the dead left ungrieved.
I had a nightmare of quarrels and rages
and wars great and small.
When I awoke, I found you still to be God,
presiding over the day and night
with serene sovereignty,
for dark and light are both alike to you.
At the break of day we submit to you
our best dreams
and our worst nightmares,
asking that your healing mercy should override threats,
that your goodness will make our
nightmares less toxic
and our dreams more real.
Thank you for visiting us with newness
that overrides what is old and deathly among us.
Come among us this day; dream us toward
health and peace,
we pray in the real name of Jesus
who exposes our fantasies.
THE DEATH OF LAZARUS
How can the dark and light be both alike?
In Walter Brueggemann’s poem, he writes about a dream and a nightmare: a dream of a Holy City, and a well-ordered garden paradise; a nightmare of landmines exploding, and the dead left ungrieved.
Then the third stanza reads:
When I awoke, I found you still to be God,
presiding over the day and night
with serene sovereignty,
for dark and light are both alike to you.
Ilya Glasunov’s painting asks me to look at death and life at the same time. First, I am compelled by the gaze of the dying man, his eyes so tired. The white beard framing his face, his cheekbones more pronounced than they used to be. The worn, aged, and weak hand atop the blanket. On the table, a petal of the purple flower has fallen. Then, I follow the gaze of the young woman, her eyes looking out the window. The auburn hair framing her face, as she sits with her head poised. The delicate hand atop a book or journal. Is this her father? Birds are flying. Clouds are in the sky. There is the strip of orange at the center of the painting that aligns with the head of the man and the hand of the woman. At first glance, this seems like simply the horizon line, but with a closer look, it alludes to a city, perhaps a Holy City.
Part of the reason this painting resonates so much with me is because it feels familiar. It is approaching one year since the death of my own Dad. Like Mary and Martha wanted their brother to be healed, I wanted my Dad to be healed. This year has asked me to look at death and life at the same time. Grief, sadness, longing, and also feeling God encourage me to live fully and look forward with hope.
When I read our passage for today, I wonder why Jesus let Lazarus die. Why did he have to wait two days until he went back to Judea to see his friend? He could have healed him before he died. But Jesus said of Lazarus’ sickness: “This illness is not meant to end in death; it is going to bring glory to God—for it will show the glory of the Son of God.”
Psalm 139 tells us light and dark are both alike to the Lord. In the first part of this psalm, David is speaking to the Lord and acknowledging that God sees and knows him so intimately that He knows when he sits or stands up, He knows what he is going to say before he says it, He both precedes and follows David, and David can never hide from the Lord because darkness is as light to him. Like the disciples, we need light to walk by, in the dark we stumble (John 11:9). But to you, Lord, darkness is as light because both are light to You. We can never escape your presence (Psalm 139:7). In dark and light, death and life, illness and health, grief and hope, You are with us.
Prayer
Lord, we thank you for your presence with us in all things.
We thank you that we can never be anywhere where you are not with us.
In dark and in light, You are there.
In death and in life, You are there.
In illness and in health, You are there.
In grief and in hope, You are there.
Lord, we thank you for your presence with us in all things.
Amen
Kari Dunham, M.F.A.
Adjunct Professor of Art
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 Translation of the Bible for the 2023 Lent Project:
J.B. Phillips New Testament Translation of the Bible
J.B. Phillips (1906-1982) was well-known within the Church of England for his commitment to making the message of truth relevant to today's world. Phillips' translation of the New Testament brings home the full force of the original message. The New Testament in Modern English was originally written for the benefit of Phillips' youth group; it was later published more widely in response to popular demand. The language is up-to-date and forceful, involving the reader in the dramatic events and powerful teaching of the New Testament. It brings home the message of Good News as it was first heard two thousand years ago.
https://www.biblegateway.com/
About the Artwork:
Dying Man
Ilya Glazunov
1960
Oil on canvas
148 x 118.5 cm
Moscow State Art Gallery of the People's Artist of the USSR
Moscow, Russia
About the Artist:
Ilya Glazunov (1930–2017) was a Soviet and Russian artist from Saint Petersburg. Glazunov's paintings primarily feature historic or religious themes. In the 1960s, he traveled to Italy for the first time to paint the portraits of several famous actors and actresses, including Gina Lollobrigida and Anita Ekberg. He also painted portraits of many political leaders, including Indira Gandhi, Leonid Brezhnev, Urho Kekkonen, Yury Luzhkov, and Andrei Gromyko. In 1978, Glazunov started teaching in the Moscow University of Art, where he founded the Russian Academy of Painting, Sculpture, and Architecture. During the 1970s, he stood against the general plan for restoration of Moscow that threatened to ruin part of the historic center of Moscow. Together with prominent scientific and cultural figures, Glazunov sent a letter of protest to the Politburo, sparking wide criticism and resulting in the cancellation of the project. Glazunov was one of the main advocates behind the restoration of the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour and one of the co-founders of the All-Russian Society for Protection of Historical and Cultural Monuments.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ilya_Glazunov
About the Music: “Now a Certain Man was Sick” from the album The Gospel According to the Other Mary
Lyrics:
Now a certain man was sick,
named Lazarus, Lazarus of Bethany,
the town of Mary and her sister Martha.
Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus
Therefore his sisters sent unto him, saying,
Lord, behold, he whom thou lovest is sick.
He whom thou lovest is sick.
He’s sick. (4x)
When Jesus heard that, he said
This sickness is not unto death,
but for the glory of God,
This sickness is not unto death,
This sickness is not unto death,
When he had heard therefore that Lazarus was sick,
He abode two days still in the same place where he was.
The Gospel According to the Other Mary is an opera-oratorio by the American composer John Adams. The world premiere took place in 2012, at the Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles with Gustavo Dudamel conducting the Los Angeles Philharmonic. The work focuses on the final few weeks of the life of Jesus, including his passion, from the point of view of "the other Mary” (Mary of Bethany), her sister Martha, and her brother Lazarus. The libretto by Peter Sellars draws its texts from the Old Testament and New Testament of the Bible and from other sources including Rosario Castellanos, Rubén Darío, Dorothy Day, Louise Erdrich, Hildegard von Bingen, June Jordan, and Primo Levi. The Gospel According to the Other Mary was a finalist for the 2014 Pulitzer Prize for music. Focusing on the perspectives of Mary Magdalene and Martha, the opera-oratorio sets biblical characters and events, including the resurrection of Lazarus and the passion of Christ, in a contemporary light.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Gospel_According_to_the_Other_Mary
https://www.laphil.com/about/watch-listen/la-phil-recordings/othermary
About the Composer:
John Coolidge Adams (b. 1947) is one of America’s most admired composers. His compositions, both classical music and opera, have strong roots in minimalism. His works include Harmonielehre (1985); Short Ride in a Fast Machine (1986); On the Transmigration of Souls (2002), a choral piece commemorating the victims of the September 11, 2001, attacks (Pulitzer Prize for Music, 2003); and Shaker Loops (1978), a minimalist four-movement work for strings. His operas include Nixon in China (1987), which recounts Richard Nixon's 1972 visit to China; and Doctor Atomic (2005), which covers Robert Oppenheimer, the Manhattan Project, and the building of the first atomic bomb. The Death of Klinghoffer was his most controversial opera and it is based on the hijacking of the passenger liner Achille Lauro by the Palestine Liberation Front in 1985 and the hijackers' murder of wheelchair-bound sixty-nine-year-old Jewish American passenger Leon Klinghoffer. In 2000 Adams premiered El Niño, an opera-oratorio at the Théatre du Chatelet in Paris. Featured were soloists Dawn Upshaw, Lorraine Hunt Lieberson, and Willard White, the vocal ensemble Theatre of Voices, the London Voices, La Maîtrise de Paris, and the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, with Kent Nagano conducting. Described as a "nativity oratorio," it retells the Christmas story, with the first half focusing on Mary's thoughts before the birth in the stable in Bethlehem, and the second half covering the aftermath of the birth, Herod's slaughter of the Holy Innocents, and the early life of Jesus.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Adams_(composer)
https://www.earbox.com/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/El_Ni%C3%B1o_(opera)
About the Performers: Los Angeles Master Chorale and the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Gustavo Dudamel
The Los Angeles Philharmonic, commonly referred to as the LA Phil, is an American orchestra based in Los Angeles, California. It has a regular season of concerts at the Walt Disney Concert Hall, and a summer season at the Hollywood Bowl. Gustavo Dudamel is the current music director, Esa-Pekka Salonen is conductor laureate, Zubin Mehta is conductor emeritus, and Susanna Mälkki is principal guest conductor. John Adams is the orchestra's current composer-in-residence. Music critics have described the orchestra as the most "contemporary minded" and the most "venturesome and admired" orchestra in America. Since the opening of the Walt Disney Concert Hall in 2003, the Los Angeles Philharmonic has presented fifty-seven world premieres, one North American premiere, and twenty-six US premieres, and has commissioned or co-commissioned sixty-three new works. Gustavo Dudamel began his official tenure as music director of the Los Angeles Philharmonic in 2009 with concerts at both the Hollywood Bowl and the inaugural gala at Walt Disney Concert Hall.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Los_Angeles_Philharmonic
https://www.laphil.com/about/la-phil
Gustavo Dudamel (b. 1981) is a Venezuelan conductor and violinist who is the music director of the Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra, the Los Angeles Philharmonic (LA Phil), and the Paris Opera. Dudamel studied music from an early age, becoming involved with El Sistema, the famous Venezuelan musical education program, and took up the violin at age ten. He attended the Jacinto Lara Conservatory, where José Luis Jiménez was among his violin teachers. He then went on to work with José Francisco del Castillo at the Latin-American Violin Academy. Dudamel began to study conducting in 1995, first with Rodolfo Saglimbeni, then later with José Antonio Abreu. In 1999, he was appointed music director of the Orquesta Sinfónica Simón Bolívar, the national youth orchestra of Venezuela, and toured several countries. He attended Charles Dutoit's master class in Buenos Aires in 2002 and worked as assistant for Simon Rattle in Berlin and Salzburg in 2003.
https://www.gustavodudamel.com/us-en/adams-the-gospel-according-to-the-other-mary
Los Angeles Master Chorale is a professional chorus in Los Angeles, California, and one of the resident companies of both the Los Angeles Music Center and Walt Disney Concert Hall. It was founded in 1964 by Roger Wagner. Grant Gershon has been its music director since 2001. The Master Chorale performs about ten times per year in its own season. It has presented more than 450 concerts, including everything from early choral music to contemporary compositions. Noted for presenting numerous world, US, and West Coast premieres, the chorus has commissioned twenty-four and premiered forty new works.The Master Chorale regularly performs with the Los Angeles Philharmonic and the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra in the summer.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Los_Angeles_Master_Chorale
https://www.lamasterchorale.org/
About the Poetry and Poet:
Walter Brueggemann (b.1933) is William Marcellus McPheeters Professor Emeritus of Old Testament, Columbia Theological Seminary, Georgia. An American Protestant who earlier taught at Eden Seminary, St. Louis, his many books and scores of articles focus on the Hebrew prophetic tradition to stimulate the sociopolitical imagination of the church, arguing that the church must provide a counter-narrative to the dominant forces of consumerism, militarism, and nationalism.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walter_Brueggemann
https://www.walterbrueggemann.com/about/
About Devotion Author:
Kari Dunham
Adjunct Professor of Art
Biola University
Kari Dunham is an adjunct art professor at Biola University, Concordia University in Irvine, and Irvine Valley College. Dunham earned her M.F.A. in painting from Laguna College of Art + Design. Through her practice of painting ordinary inanimate objects, she gives voice to the quiet corners and objects of the home, describing the “thingness” that is these objects and how they embody human presence and absence. Kari has also written for SEEN, the semiannual publication of CIVA (Christians in the Visual Arts).