March 23: The Preeminence of the Crucified Christ
♫ Music:
Day 39 - Saturday, March 23
Title: THE PREEMINENCE OF THE CRUCIFIED CHRIST
Scripture: Colossians 1:15-23 (NKJV)
He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him. And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist. And He is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things He may have the preeminence. For it pleased the Father that in Him all the fullness should dwell, and by Him to reconcile all things to Himself, by Him, whether things on earth or things in heaven, having made peace through the blood of His cross. And you, who once were alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now He has reconciled in the body of His flesh through death, to present you holy, and blameless, and above reproach in His sight– if indeed you continue in the faith, grounded and steadfast, and are not moved away from the hope of the gospel which you heard, which was preached to every creature under heaven, of which I, Paul, became a minister.
Poetry & Poet:
“The Holy Sacrament of the Altar”
by Thomas Merton
Your senses, never still, but shrill as children
Become more humble and more low:
Learn adoration, where our secret life,
Our Corpus Christi,
Here lives uplifted in his golden window.
Eyes, in your murky night, know new simplicity.
Your ears and iron voices, leave your wars.
Hands, have one action more: wash yourselves clean,
and then be still.
And all you senses, waiting here, reborn by water,
Stay wakeful in these joyful attitudes,
Attentive to the wheat our holy Stranger:
He is bright heaven’s open door.
Look where the Lamb bends all His brightness
Low as our dim and puny lights
Although His fleece is full of sun.
Not all the universe can comprehend
His glory’s equal, nor His light’s,
Who loves us so, He won’t outshine
our winking candles.
Be kindled, intellect, although your strongest
lamps are night-lights
By the beams of this wonderful Sun!
Created wisdom makes at best a metal
monstrance, for His crown,
And those stiff rays look like no living light:
They are no more than golden spikes,
and golden thorns!
But where is reason at the Lamb’s bright feast?
Reason and knowledge have bought oxen
and they cannot come.
Thrift and prudence give their own excuses,
And justice has a wife, and must stay home.
To the cold corners of the earth rise up and go:
Find beggar Faith, and bring him to the holy table.
He shall sit down among the good apostles,
And weep with Peter at the washing of the feet.
His bread shall be the smiles of Pity’s human face:
He’ll eat, and liv with God, at least in longing,
ever after:
His wine shall be the mortal blood of
Mercy, Love and Peace:
And, having drunk, he’ll hear the martyr’s
joyful laughter.
THE PREEMINENCE OF THE CRUCIFIED CHRIST
“Johnny,” asked the Sunday School teacher, “what is small, brown, and furry, with a long tail?” “Well, I know the answer is ‘Jesus’,” responded Johnny, based on experience, “but it sounds like a squirrel to me.”
Despite common Sunday School practice, “Jesus” is not the answer to every question. But Paul helps us see that Jesus is the answer to the deepest and most important ones. What is God like? Jesus (verses 15, 19). Where did everything come from? Jesus (16). What is the ultimate point of everything? Jesus (16). What holds everything together? Jesus (17). How is life after death possible? Jesus (18).
Perhaps the deepest question, for many of us, is an existential one: Is there hope that our broken and alienated world, including ourselves, will ever be healed? We long for reconciliation—for what is alienated to be brought together, for injuries to be healed, for hostilities to cease, for light to shine in the darkness, for peace to reign.
According to Paul, the answer to these longings and questions is Jesus. “For it pleased the Father that in Him all the fullness should dwell, and by Him to reconcile all things to Himself, by Him, whether things on earth or things in heaven” (20). All things, the entire cosmos. Even broken, alienated, rebellious, and sinful people like us (21-22).
Jesus does this because of the cross: “He made peace through the blood of His cross” (20), reconciling all of us to Him “in the body of His flesh through death” (22). Without Jesus’ death on the cross, the other glories of Jesus would still be true: He would still be God. He would still be our Creator and the One who holds the cosmos together. But He would not be our Savior. We would still be in our sins, forever alienated from God, lost in our brokenness and rebellion. Salvation can only be accomplished by God entering human history and taking our sin upon Himself.
On the cross Jesus conquered the powers of sin and death. This is portrayed visually in the Crux Gemmata (“jeweled cross”), where the Greek letters in the background signify “Jesus Christ conquers.” Paradoxically, the cross, an instrument of torture and death, has become a vehicle of glory and salvation. We sing this in “Lift High the Cross”––“Lift high the cross, the love of Jesus proclaims, till all the world adore His sacred Name. . . . O Lord, once lifted on the glorious tree, as Thou hast promised, draw the world to Thee.” The only light that can pierce our darkness is the “Lamb who was slain” (Revelation 5:23). In the words of Thomas Merton, “Look where the Lamb bends all His brightness . . . the beams of this wonderful Sun!” The Lamb alone “is bright heaven’s open door.”
The Creator of the cosmos on a cross for us! No wonder Paul sounds like he’s on his tiptoes in his prison cell as he writes these verses, maybe shouting out loud and bursting into song at the greatness of Jesus—not in spite of the cross, but because of the cross!
Because of the cross, sin, death, alienation, and brokenness do not have the last word. Because of the cross, the last word is a name––Jesus. Jesus is indeed the answer. Praise His name!
Prayer
Lord, in this Lenten season, as we become more aware of our own brokenness and the brokenness of our fallen world, remind us that Jesus is our great Savior, because of the cross. Thank you, Jesus, for bearing our sins and reconciling us to Yourself. Use us as agents of your reconciliation.
Amen.
Dr. David Horner
Professor of Theology and Philosophy
Division of Biblical and Theological Studies
Talbot School of Theology
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:
Crux Gemmata (Jeweled Cross)
Jesus Christ Conquers
Two views—one close-up and one in situ
2021
Mosaic
St. Michael’s Norbertine Abbey
Silverado, California
Centered amidst a vine appears a great rainbow-edged circle, filled with stars and a Crux Gemmata, or jeweled cross, an early Christian method of representing the victory and kingship of Christ before the church had begun the custom of representing Christ’s body upon the cross. The stars indicate Christ’s cosmic victory and heavenly power, while the rainbow speaks of the restored relationship between God and humanity—the rainbow was given as a sign to Noah at the end of the great flood and is present at Christ’s throne in heaven (Revelation 4:3). In the four quadrants behind the cross appear the traditional Greek acronym ICXC NIKA, or “Jesus Christ Conquers.” This cross works together with the crucifix hanging over the altar of sacrifice, which bears the figure of Christ. The words Rex Gloriae or “King of Glory” appear above Christ’s head.
https://adoremus.org/2022/07/the-sacramental-tesserae-of-st-michaels-abbey-a-new-norbertine-mosaic-comes-into-focus/
About the Artists:
Enzo Selvaggi of Heritage Liturgical, a multidisciplinary firm dedicated to sacred art and architecture, served as creative director for the St. Michael’s Norbertine Abbey Chapel project. Salvaggi developed the iconographic plan together with the Norbertines by designing not only the east wall mosaics, but also the abbey crucifix, imagery in the side shrines, statuary, and other liturgical items. Selvaggi likewise guided and worked together with artisans, including Italian iconographer Giovanni Raffa, mosaicist Valerio Lenarduzzi, and sculptor Edwin Gonzalez. From the beginning, the particular artistic “style” was chosen to be iconic without being singularly from the Eastern Orthodox tradition. Rather, the design began with the highly developed Italian tradition of iconography found in great mosaic works of the Roman basilicas and the churches of Ravenna, establishing the chapel’s mosaics as distinctly part of the Western artistic tradition.
https://adoremus.org/2022/07/the-sacramental-tesserae-of-st-michaels-abbey-a-new-norbertine-mosaic-comes-into-focus/
About the Music:
“Lift High the Cross” from the album A New Day: A Cappella, Vol. II
Lyrics:
Lift high the cross, the love of Christ proclaim,
Till all the world adore His sacred name. (2x)
Come, Christians, follow this triumphant sign.
The hosts of God in unity combine.
Lift high the cross, the love of Christ proclaim,
Till all the world adore his sacred name. (2x)
Each newborn servant of the Crucified,
Bears on the brow the seal of Him who died.
Lift high the cross, the love of Christ proclaim,
Till all the world adore His sacred name.
O Lord, once lifted on the glorious tree,
as Thou hast promised draw the world to thee.
Lift high the cross, the love of Christ proclaim,
Till all the world adore his sacred name.
So shall our song of triumph ever be:
Praise to the Crucified for victory!
Lift high the cross, the love of Christ proclaim,
Till all the world adore his sacred name.
Lift high the cross, the love of Christ proclaim,
Till all the world adore his sacred name (his sacred name).
His sacred name (his sacred name),
His sacred oh (his sacred) o-o-oooh name!
Arranger/Performer:
Chris Rupp is an American singer-songwriter. He is a founding member of the music group Home Free, an American country a cappella group of five vocalists including Austin Brown, Rob Lundquist, Adam Rupp, Tim Foust, and Adam Chance. The group won the fourth season of The Sing-Off on NBC in 2013. The band released their first major label album, Crazy Life, in 2014. Their most recent album, So Long Dixie, was released in 2022.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Home_Free_(group)
https://www.countrythangdaily.com/adam-rupp-vocal-percussionist-home-free/
Composers: Rev. George Kitchin (lyrics) and Sydney Nicholson (music)
George William Kitchin (1827-1912) was an English clergman and the first Chancellor of the University of Durham, from the institution of the role in 1908 until his death in 1912. He was also the last Dean of Durham to govern the university. Kitchin wrote the hymn 'Lift High the Cross' in 1887 for a Missionary Service in Winchester Cathedral.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Kitchin
Sir Sydney Hugo Nicholson (1875 –1947) was an English choir director, organist, composer, and founder of the Royal School of Church Music (RSCM) and the compiler of The Parish Psalter. In addition to having edited Hymns Ancient and Modern, still the standard hymn book in many Anglican churches today, Nicholson wrote several hymn tunes. Of these, the most famous are Crucifer for the popular processional hymn "Lift High the Cross.'
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sydney_Nicholson
About the Poetry and 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 both 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 Writer:
Dr. David Horner
Professor of Theology and Philosophy
Division of Biblical and Theological Studies
Talbot School of Theology
David Horner is a professor of theology and philosophy at Biola University and president of the Illuminatio Project, an effort to bring a classical biblical vision of goodness, truth, and beauty into the thinking of the church and culture through strategic research and communication. Prior to teaching, Dr. Horner worked as a laborer in an iron foundry, as an underground missionary in communist Eastern Europe, and as a pastor. He is an avid guitarist, hiker, and fly-fisherman. Dr. Horner and his wife, Deborah, have two grown daughters and five grandchildren, and live in Fullerton, California.