March 21: The Humbled and Exalted Christ
♫ Music:
Day 37 - Thursday, March 21
Title: THE HUMBLED & EXALTED CHRIST
Scripture: Philippians 2:5-11 (NKJV)
Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father
Poetry & Poet:
“Three Descents: Jesus”
by Scott Cairns
That his several wounds continued to express
a bright result, that still the sanguine flow
coursed tincturing the creases of his cheek
and wended as he walked to bless the bleak,
plutonic path with crimson script declaring
just how grave the way that he had come,
that underfoot the very clay he traveled
sank beneath an unaccustomed weight
occurs as no surprise. That he was glad
is largely otherwise, as would be the news
that every sprawling figure found en route
acquired at his approach an aspect far
more limpid than the lot that lay ahead.
As if his passing gained for hell itself
a vivifying agency, each shade
along the way rose startled, blinking, at once
aware that each had been, until this moment,
Languishing, until this moment, dead.
Thus, suddenly aware that each among
the withered crowd had by his presence met
a sudden quickening, the multitude
made glad by his descent inclined to join
him on the path recovering each loss,
exulting in each past made newly present.
His etched face luminous and very flesh
made brilliant by the unremitting pulse,
he gains the farthest reaches where the ache
of our most ancient absence lay. He lifts
our mother and or father from beneath
the mindless river, draws them to himself, and turns.
THE HUMBLED AND EXALTED CHRIST
I remember as a child being totally captivated by the story of David slaying Goliath, the classic underdog story, where the small and weak shepherd boy knocks the arrogant giant off his feet and wins the day. As I grew older, I learned more of David’s unfolding story… but here, in the defeat of Goliath, my young self found a champion, an exemplar. My delight in this story was less a delight in David’s faithfulness to Yahweh as a man after God’s own heart, and more a delight in the little guy dominating the giant with his pistol-like slingshot, and severing Goliath’s head with his own sword. The glee I felt at this story was noticeably similar to the glee I felt at beating my older brothers at anything. Sweet revenge.
However, today’s biblical passage, art, and music invite us to attend to a new kind of champion, or more accurately, a king who is coronated in a new kind of way. Rather than a story of ascent from shepherd boy, to anointing, to defeat of Goliath, we have the high king of heaven descending into humanity and passing further down in humble obedience to death on a cross. Arcabus’ Crucified Christ invites us to linger here for a moment. In quiet meditation we see the reality that it is here in Christ’s humiliation, there is exaltation. Here slave and king, heaven and earth, God and man are brought together. The first thing I noticed in Arcabus’ work is not that there is blood but the profound bruising around Jesus’ wounds, and on his head and feet. These colors of blue bruising, as well as blood red, and flesh color are mirrored in the six angels placing a crown right over the crown of thorns on Jesus’ head. The incarnation, suffering, and death, form the basis of his exaltation. What is also won of course, is our salvation and healing, for “with his wounds we are healed” (Isaiah 53:5). In gathering humanity and death into himself he defeats death and gives us new life. In descending into the depth of humanity’s suffering, as the poem reminds us, “he draws them to himself, and turns.” Are there wounds you carry the Lord is desiring to draw near to?
I wonder if the central invitation today is to contemplate Jesus. Rather than look to David as our exemplar we desire with David to “dwell in the house of the LORD…to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD” and here, seek the face of Yahweh (Psalm 27: 4, 8). It is the face of the Lord Jesus we seek, but here we find the crucified one, bruised and pierced for our sakes, and it is to this one we call out “Crown Him with Many Crowns.” We sing these words of the crucified Christ simply because it’s true and because this truth must find a home in our own hearts. For what we exalt in our hearts becomes lord of our lives and what we deem as beautiful governs our loves and desires, and thus directs our lives. As I look intently at the beauty of this crucified one, I am confronted with the parts of my heart that respond, “this is foolish, this kind of life doesn’t work in the real world” (1 Cor. 1:18). What I also hear is an invitation from Peter “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life, and we have believed, and have come to know, that you are the Holy One of God” (John 6:68-9).
Prayer:
Lord Jesus, as we look intently into your face and attend to your crucifixion, may you be exalted in our hearts. May our affections be captivated by your beauty, and may we come to find that life is truly found in you alone. And where our loves have become captivated by the beauty of other Lords, draw us back and lead us along the ancient path, the way of the cross.
Amen
Dr. David Merrill
Asst. Professor, MFT/ISF/CTI
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 Art:
Crucified Christ (2 views)
Arcabas
Oil on canvas
A crucified and risen Christ bearing the scars of crucifixion is crowned twice in this painting by French liturgical artist Arcabas. Humbled with a woven crown of thorns, an instrument employed by Jesus' captors both to cause him pain and to mock his claim of authority, he subsequently receives a gold crown from angels to signify his true identity of divine honor, glory, and victory.
About the Artist:
Jean-Marie Pirot, also known as Arcabas (1926–2018), was a contemporary French liturgical artist best known for his paintings, which feature biblical characters and scenes. He also worked in sculpture, engraving, tapestry, mosaics, cabinetry, and theater scenery and costumes. Arcabas graduated from the prestigious Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts in Paris, France. He undertook various commissions for the French government and local authorities, but his magnum opus is the Ensemble d'art Sacré Contemporain in the Church of Saint Hugues-de- Chartreuse, begun in 1953 and completed in 1986. Arcabas created all the artwork that now adorns the church’s interior, including murals, canvases, stained glass, brass-work, and sculpture. In addition, he also worked in close collaboration with his son, a sculptor known as Etienne, in designing the liturgical furnishings of other churches and cathedrals. His international recognition and reputation has grown exponentially in recent years.
http://www.arcabas.com/biographie/index.php#
About the Music:
“Crown Him with Many Crowns” (Single)
Lyrics:
Crown Him with many crowns,
The Lamb upon His throne;
Hark! How the heavenly anthem drowns,
All music but its own:
Awake, my soul, and sing
Of Him who died for thee,
And hail Him as thy matchless King
Through all eternity.
Crown Him the Son of God
Before the worlds began,
And ye, who tread where He hath trod,
Crown Him the Son of man;
Who every grief hath known,
That wrings the human breast,
And takes and bears them for His own,
That all in Him may rest.
Crown Him the Lord of love!
Behold His hands and side,
Those wounds, yet visible above,
In beauty glorified:
No angel in the sky,
Can fully bear that sight,
But downward bends his wondering eye,
At mysteries so bright!
Crown Him the Lord of life
Who triumphed o’er the grave,
And rose victorious in the strife
For those He came to save;
His glories now we sing
Who died, and rose on high.
Who died, eternal life to bring
And lives that death may die.
Crown Him the Lord of lords,
Who over all doth reign,
Who once on earth, the incarnate Word,
For ransomed sinners slain,
Now lives in realms of light,
Where saints with angels sing
Their songs before
Him day and night,
Their God, Redeemer, King
About the Composers:
Matthew Bridges (Lyricist) and George Elvey (Music)
Matthew Bridges (1800–1894), who wrote the original six stanzas of the hymn "Crown Him with Many Crowns," was born in Maldon, Essex. Although he was raised in the Anglican Church, he converted to Catholicism in 1848 in connection with the Oxford Movement led by John Henry Newman. Bridges published a number of prose and poetry books, and several hymn collections, including Hymns of the Heart (1851) and The Passion of Jesus (1852).
https://songsandhymns.org/people/detail/matthew-bridges
Sir George Job Elvey (1816–1893) was an English organist and composer. Elvey was a prolific writer of church music. His works, which are nearly all for the church, include two oratorios, a great number of anthems and services, psalm chants, and some pieces for the organ. His most famous work is probably the hymn tune Diademata, to which "Crown Him with Many Crowns" and "Soldiers of Christ, Arise" are most commonly set. The hymns "Come, Ye Thankful People, Come" and "Now We Sing a Harvest Song'' put to his tune "St George's Windsor" are also well-known staples in liturgical music.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Elvey
About the Performers:
Pastors Singing at The Shepherd’s Conference, Grace Community Church in Sun Valley, California
The mission of the Shepherds Conference is to provide the opportunity for men in church leadership to be challenged in their commitment to biblical ministry and to find encouragement as together they seek to become more effective servants of the chief Shepherd.
About the Poetry and Poet:
Scott Cairns (b. 1954) is an American poet, memoirist, and essayist. Cairns earned a B.A. from Western Washington University, an M.A. from Hollins University, an M.F.A. from Bowling Green State University, and a Ph.D. from the University of Utah. Cairns has served on the faculties of Kansas State University, Westminster College, University of North Texas, Old Dominion University, and University of Missouri. While at the University of North Texas, he served as editor of the American Literary Review. Cairns is the author of eight collections of poetry, one collection of translations of Christian mystics, one spiritual memoir, and a book-length essay on suffering. He also co-edited The Sacred Place, an anthology of poetry, fiction, and nonfiction, with writer Scott Olsen. Cairns is currently the program director of Seattle Pacific University’s M.F.A. in creative writing program. Cairns has received fellowships from the Guggenheim Foundation and the National Endowment for the Humanities, and was awarded the Denise Levertov Award in 2014.
https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/scott-cairns
https://imagejournal.org/artist/scott-cairns/
About the Devotion Writer:
Dr. David Merrill
Asst Professor, MFT/ISF/CTI
Talbot School of Theology
Biola University
David Merrill and his wife first joined the Biola community in 2006 when Merrill began as a Master of Divinity student and his wife took on an administration role at Talbot’s Institute for Spiritual Formation. During his time as a student, Merrill immersed himself in the academic and communal life of the campus taking on roles varying from adjunct faculty, staff spiritual director, and resident coordinator. Merrill earned his Master of Divinity in Spiritual Formation in 2010 and Master of Theology in 2012. In 2017, he completed his doctorate in theology at Durham University, in England. Merrill’s thesis dealt with the spiritual theology of Thomas Traherne, exploring how beauty and desire function as central components in his theological convictions and pastoral impulse. For the past four years he has been teaching spiritual formation courses for Talbot’s core curriculum. Before assuming a full-time role at Talbot two years ago, Merrill helped pastor a church in Paradise, California as it navigated the aftermath of the 2018 devastating fires there and the ongoing call of God for that city. He still tries to find ways to minister to that community.