April 24: Do You Love Me?
♫ Music:
Day 51 - Thursday, April 24
Title: Do You Love Me?
Scripture: John 21:17–19 (NKJV)
He said to him the third time, “Simon, son of Jonah, do you love Me?” Peter was grieved because He said to him the third time, “Do you love Me?” And he said to Him, “Lord, You know all things; You know that I love You.” Jesus said to him, “Feed My sheep. Most assuredly, I say to you, when you were younger, you girded yourself and walked where you wished; but when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and another will gird you and carry you where you do not wish.” This He spoke, signifying by what death he would glorify God. And when He had spoken this, He said to him, “Follow Me.”
Poetry & Poet:
“XI”
by Wendell Berry
Though he was ill and in pain,
in disobedience to the instruction he
would have received if he had asked,
the old man got up from his bed,
dressed, and went to the barn.
The bare branches of winter had emerged
through the last leaf-colors of fall,
the loveliest of all, browns and yellows
delicate and nameless in the gray light
and the sifting rain. He put feed
in the troughs for eighteen ewe lambs,
sent the dog for them, and she
brought them. They came eager
to their feed, and he who felt
their hunger was by their feeding
eased. From no place in the time
of present places, within no boundary
nameable in human thought,
they had gathered once again,
the shepherd, his sheep, and his dog
with all the known and the unknown
round about to the heavens’ limit.
Was this his stubbornness or bravado?
No. Only an ordinary act
of profoundest intimacy in a day
that might have been better. Still
the world persisted in its beauty,
he in his gratitude, and for this
he had most earnestly prayed.
DO YOU LOVE ME?: THE TEARS OF PETER
Brazilian artist Vinicius Silva de Almeida’s work, Lagrimas de Sao Pedro (The Tears of Saint Peter) is an installation constructed from 6,000 lightbulbs filled with water and hung from strings of nylon. It seems like this work embodies both sorrow and hope. The lightbulbs have a weight to them, they hang from nylon thread, and hung at different levels, the space is filled with tears as physical objects. The work may also give the impression of rain, and the droplets when caught by light, refract, glisten, and dance.
Perhaps the invitation here is to feel how Peter felt that night when he denied three times that he was one of Jesus’ disciples. Peter wept bitterly when he remembered that the Lord had told him, “Before the rooster crows tomorrow morning, you will deny me three times” (Luke 22:61). Perhaps the invitation is also to experience healing. In a commentary on this work in The Visual Commentary on Scripture, Clemena Antonova writes that viewers of Lagrimas de Sao Pedro may consider “the interconnection of sorrow and healing in Peter’s story.” I know for me personally; tears have been and continue to be a part of the healing process. I have experienced much loss the past couple of years, and tears often well up in my eyes.
In today’s passage, Jesus is once again speaking with Peter. Only this time, he is asking Peter if he loves him. This passage in John 21 does not directly mention tears, but it does say that Peter was grieved after the third time Jesus asked him if he loved him. Peter replies, “Lord, you know everything. You know that I love you.” “Then feed my sheep,” Jesus says.
My Dad had sheep. The last time I visited my Dad on his farm before he passed away, there was a Sunday afternoon that he laced up his boots, I put mine on, and we walked outside together on a chilly March afternoon to the barn to care for the sheep. It was the first day of Daylight Savings, and I recall my Dad saying how he liked having the longer days. I remember walking behind my Dad and looking at him. Looking at him as my Dad, and also as an aged ill man still doing what he loved—tending to his sheep.
One line from Wendell Berry’s poem especially struck me. “They came eager to their feed, and he who felt their hunger was by their feeding eased.” I wonder if it eased my Dad to feed his sheep? It was not only out of responsibility that he cared for them, but out of love and joy they brought him. I wonder too if when Jesus told Peter to feed his sheep, it was more than a command for Peter to care for other believers, but I wonder if it was also a personal invitation for Peter to receive Christ’s love. That in feeding Jesus’ sheep, Peter would know more deeply how he was forgiven, loved, and cared for.
As we are now in the first week of Eastertide, we have walked through Lent, entered into Holy Week, and celebrated Christ’s Resurrection. We declare together, He is Risen! In this season of Eastertide, may we welcome the tears and also experience healing. May we acknowledge the grief and anticipate newness with hope. May we serve and love others and receive Christ’s love personally, living out ordinary acts as moments of gratitude, beauty, and grace.
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 Art:
The Tears of St. Peter (Lagrimas de Sao Pedro) (multiple views)
Vinícius Silva de Almeida
2005–21
Installation with six thousand light bulbs filled with water suspended by nylon threads
Various locations in Brazil
Photo: Erivan Morais Junior
On the night following the arrest of Jesus, Peter denied knowing Him three times. After the third denial, he heard the rooster crow and recalled Jesus’s prediction of his denial as Jesus turned to look at him. Peter then began to cry bitterly. The emotions behind Peter's denial and later repentance have been the subject of major works of art for centuries. The Tears of Saint Peter art installation by contemporary Brazilian artist Vinícius Silva de Almeida uses hundreds of light bulbs, filled with water and suspended on near-invisible nylon threads. The entire installation creates an impression of rain, or even tears, falling from the sky. It is a work that suggests that the mercy of God is infinite and even the most terrible of sins is forgivable, but also that the path to divine mercy and forgiveness passes through repentance.
https://thevcs.org/peters-denial-christ#repentance-transforming-tears
https://thevcs.org/campaign/repentance-transforming-tears
About the Artist:
Vinícius Silva de Almeida is a contemporary Brazilian artist.
About the Music #1: “More Love to Thee” from the album Fernando Ortega
Lyrics #1:
More love to Thee, Oh Christ.
More love to Thee.
Hear Thou the prayer I make,
On bended knee.
This is my earnest plea.
More love, Oh Christ, to Thee
More to love Thee.
More to love Thee.
More to love Thee.
More to love Thee.
Once earthly joy I craved.
Sought peace and rest.
Now Thee alone I seek.
Give what is best.
This all my prayer shall be.
More love, Oh Christ, to Thee
More to love Thee.
More to love Thee.
More to love Thee.
More to love Thee.
Then shall my latest breath,
Whisper Thy praise.
This be the parting cry.
My heart shall raise.
Still all my prayers shall be
More love, Oh Christ, to Thee
More to love Thee.
More to love Thee.
More to love Thee.
More to love Thee.
About the Composer #1:
Elizabeth Payson Prentiss (1818–1878) was an American author, well known for her hymn "More Love to Thee, O Christ" and the religious novel Stepping Heavenward (1869). Her writings enjoyed renewed popularity in the late twentieth century. By age sixteen, Elizabeth had become a regular contributor of stories and poems to The Youth's Companion, a New England religious periodical. In 1838, she opened a small girls' school in her home and two years later, she left for Richmond, Virginia, to work at a girls' boarding school. In 1845, she married George Lewis Prentiss, who became pastor of South Trinitarian Church. In 1852, within a period of three months, she lost two of her children. Though Elizabeth struggled with chronic health problems, she went on to have three more healthy children. In 1856, following the nearly fatal illness of her daughter Minnie, she wrote the hymn "More Love to Thee."
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elizabeth_Prentiss
About the Music #2: “Jesus, Lover of My Soul” from the album Beginnings
Lyrics #2:
Jesus, lover of my soul,
Let me to thy bosom fly,
While the nearer waters roll,
While the tempest still is high;
Hide me, O my Savior, hide,
Till the storm of life is past;
Safe into the haven guide,
O receive my soul at last!
Other refuge have I none;
Hangs my helpless soul on Thee;
Leave, ah! leave me not alone,
Still support and comfort me.
All my trust on Thee is stayed,
All my help from Thee I bring;
Cover my defenseless head
Thou, O Christ, art all I want;
More than all in Thee I find;
Raise the fallen, cheer the faint,
Heal the sick and lead the blind,
Just and holy is Thy name,
I am all unrighteousness;;
Vile and fill of sin I am,
Thou art full of truth and grace.
Plenteous grace with Thee is found,
Grace to cover all my sin;
Let the healing streams abound;
Make and keep me pure within.
Thou of life the fountain art;
Freely let me take of thee;
Spring thou up within my heart,
Rise to all eternity.
About the Composer #2: Charles Wesley (lyrics), Joseph Parry (music)
Charles Wesley was preaching in the fields of the parish of Killyleagh in Ireland when he was attacked by men who did not approve of his teachings. Seeking refuge in a nearby house, a farmer's wife hid Wesley in the milk house. Soon the mob came and demanded the fugitive. But Wesley hid himself under a hedge. In that hiding place, with the cries of his pursuers all about him, he wrote the immortal hymn “Jesus, Lover of My Soul.” Descendants of the farmer’s wife still live in the house, which is much the same as it was in Wesley's time. The hymn is set to the haunting tune "Aberystwyth," written by Welsh composer Joseph Parry.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sEWTMyiWmiQ
Charles Wesley (1707–1788) was an English leader of the Methodist movement and is most widely known for writing the words for over 6,500 hymns. His most famous works include "And Can It Be,” "Christ the Lord Is Risen Today," "Hark! The Herald Angels Sing,” and "Lo! He Comes with Clouds Descending.” He was a younger brother of Methodist founder John Wesley and Anglican cleric Samuel Wesley the Younger. Educated at Oxford University, where his brothers had also studied, Charles followed his father into the church in 1735. Following their evangelical conversions in 1738, the Wesley brothers traveled throughout Britain, converting followers to the Methodist revival through preaching and hymn-singing.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Wesley
Joseph Parry (1841–1903) was a Welsh composer and musician. He is best known as the composer of the popular Welsh song "Myfanwy" and the hymn tune "Aberystwyth.” Parry was also the first Welshman to compose an opera. His composition, Blodwen, was the first opera in the Welsh language. Parry went on to receive a doctorate in music from the University of Cambridge and was the first Welshman to receive both a bachelor's and doctor's degrees in music from the university. He returned to Wales in 1874 to become the first professor of music at Aberystwyth University and later accepted a position at Cardiff University.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Parry
About the Performer #1 & #2:
Fernando Ortega (b. 1957) is an evangelical Christian singer-songwriter and worship leader, heavily influenced by traditional hymns, as well as his family’s New Mexico heritage. He is noted for his interpretations of many traditional hymns and songs, such as “Give Me Jesus,” “Be Thou My Vision,” and “Praise to the Lord, the Almighty.” Much of his current inspiration comes from the North American Anglican liturgy. It is from his heritage and classical training at the University of New Mexico that Ortega derives his sound, embracing country, classical, Celtic, Latin American, world, modern folk, and rustic hymnody. From the late 1970s to the mid-1990s, he served in music ministry at a number of churches in New Mexico and Southern California.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fernando_Ortega
http://www.fernandoortega.com/
About the Poetry and Poet:
Wendell Erdman Berry (b. 1934) is an American novelist, poet, environmental activist, cultural critic, and farmer who was educated at the University of Kentucky, where he became Distinguished Professor of English in 1971. The intensity of his writing’s involvement with the human and natural characters of his native locality has gained Berry recognition as one of the leading writers of the twentieth century. A prolific author, he has written many novels, short stories, poems, and essays. He is an advocate of Christian pacifism, as shown in his book Blessed Are the Peacemakers: Christ’s Teachings about Love, Compassion, and Forgiveness. He states that the theme in his writing is “that all people in the society should be able to use the gifts that they have, their natural abilities, and they ought to use them responsibly for their benefit as individuals and as a community.” Berry was named the recipient of the 2013 Richard C. Holbrooke Distinguished Achievement Award, an annual US literary award recognizing the power of the written word to promote peace.
https://www.britannica.com/biography/Wendell-Berry
About the Devotion Writer:
Kari Dunham, M.F.A.
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).