April 20: Seven Words of the Resurrected Christ
♫ Music:
Week Eight—Bright Week
Title: Seven Words of the Resurrected Christ
April 20–April 26
The season of Lent should be an essential part of every Christian’s spiritual journey. A thoughtful, slow progression towards the resurrection allows for self-examination, reflection, pondering, and ultimately being drawn closer to the Lord we love. Just as we continually, routinely clean our dwelling places, so too must we be vigilant about searching our hearts, rooting out the evil therein, and seeking forgiveness at the foot of the cross. There are those who dismiss Christianity as a dismal religion full of blood and gore. To meditate, as we have done over the past seven weeks, on Christ’s suffering and ultimate death might seem like a gruesome preoccupation to some, yet to those who believe “it is the power of God” (1 Corinthians 1:18). Richard John Neuhaus writes, “Because of Easter, the words from the cross are words of life. The cross is not merely the bad news before the good news of the resurrection...Rather, the resurrection means that the way of the cross is the way to victory.”
Jesus’ seven last words from the cross were not His very last words spoken on earth. In our final days together we focus on the post-resurrection sayings of Christ—words of encouragement and instruction He gave to His closest followers regarding the coming Church Age. Scripture indicates that Christ appeared to over five hundred people in the days between His resurrection and ascension, with eleven accounts recorded in the New Testament. Because multiple witnesses interacted with Him for an extended period of time, there is no doubt that Jesus actually rose from the dead. “He also presented Himself alive after His suffering by many infallible proofs, being seen by them during forty days and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God” (Acts 1:3). We have selected seven of the most beloved encounters to share with our readers. In a variety of settings, Christ revealed Himself to those who would play key roles in spreading the good news of the eternal life He promised. Three of the sayings are addressed to groups: the eleven disciples and the women who followed Him. The other four incidents are more private in nature—intimate, vulnerable, and poignant. These one-on-one conversations indicate that Christ, the Lord of Heaven and Earth, is keenly interested in fellowshipping with individuals, the likes of you and me.
This week is referred to throughout the Eastern church as “Bright Week.” Fasting is finished, the colors purple and black are replaced with the color white, and continual shouts of “Christ is Risen” fill the air. Gone is the dark night of the soul as the piercing light of resurrection morning shines eternal. Dramatically shifting gears, Christians around the world now enter into a season of unmitigated gladness, repeating joyful praises to our living Lord for His triumph over death. Early church father St. John Chrytsostom wrote, “Today the angels leap with joy and all the heavenly powers rejoice—elated because of the salvation of mankind.” New Testament Christians moved their Sabbath from Saturday to Sunday as a weekly commemoration of the resurrection. Eastertide, a forty-day-long celebration focusing on Christ’s great gift of eternal life, extends from Easter Sunday through the Feast of the Ascension. This “Season of Resurrection” is the perfect time to dedicate ourselves anew to Christ and His Kingdom. Those of us who are in the process of being transformed live lives bound together with that of the risen Lord. Over the centuries, children of the light, even in the midst of extreme suffering and sorrow, were and are able to give God the glory for the great things He accomplished in His death and resurrection. May this be true of us as well!
Day 47 - Sunday, April 20
Easter Sunday
Title: Mary
Scripture: John 20:15–17 (NKJV)
Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?” She, supposing Him to be the gardener, said to Him, “Sir, if You have carried Him away, tell me where You have laid Him, and I will take Him away.” Jesus said to her, “Mary!” She turned and said to Him, “Rabboni!” (which is to say, Teacher). Jesus said to her, “Do not cling to Me, for I have not yet ascended to My Father; but go to My brethren and say to them, ‘I am ascending to My Father and your Father, and to My God and your God.’ ”
Poetry & Poet:
“Resurrection”
by Jonathan Henderson Brooks
His friends went off and left Him dead
In Joseph’s subterranean bed,
Embalmed with myrrh and sweet aloes,
And wrapped in snow-white burial clothes.
Then shrewd men came and set a seal
Upon His grave, lest thieves should steal
His lifeless form away, and claim
For Him and undeserving fame.
“There is no use,” the soldiers said,
“Of standing sentries by the dead.”
Wherefore, they drew their cloaks around
Themselves, and fell upon the ground,
And slept like dead men, all night through,
In the pale moonlight and chilling dew.
A muffed whiff of sudden breath
Ruffled the passive air of death.
He woke, and raised Himself in bed;
Recalled how He was crucified;
Touched both hands’ fingers to His head,
And lightly felt His fresh-healed side.
Then with a deep, triumphant sigh,
He coolly put His grave-clothes by—
Folded the sweet, white winding sheet,
The toweling, the linen bands,
The napkin, all with careful hands—
And left the borrowed chamber neat.
His steps were like the breaking day:
So soft across the watch He stole,
He did not wake a single soul,
Nor spill one dewdrop by the way.
Now Calvary was loveliness:
Lilies that flowered thereupon
Pulled off the white moon’s pallid dress,
And put the morning’s vesture on.
“Why seek the living among the dead?
He is not here,” the angel said.
The early winds took up the words,
And bore them to the lilting birds,
The leafing trees, and everything
That breathed the living breath of spring.
REJOICE! SALVATION LIVES!
In John 20:15-17 we read about Mary Magdalene who went to the grave of Jesus, whose name in Hebrew means Salvation, to tend to his dead body according to custom. When she arrived at the tomb, the stone had been moved. Mary then went to the disciples and told them that Jesus’ body was missing. The disciples hurried to the tomb and were confronted with a reality that they could not comprehend. Jesus’ body was gone. Then the disciples returned to their homes while Mary remained near the empty chamber crying. Angels appeared and asked her why she was crying, and she said that they had taken away her Lord and that she did not know where they had placed his body. Then another man asked her why she was crying.
Not until the man said her name—Mary—did she understand that this man was Jesus.
In that moment she fully understood that Salvation lives.
He is risen!
Now, no questions remained. Jesus was not simply a wise and compassionate rabbi or an amazing miracle worker. He is the Messiah, the living Word, the fount of eternal life who had broken the shackles of death.
Since the dawning light of that resurrection morning, the world has never been the same.
Mary would be the first to know about Jesus’ resurrection and the first to announce to the disciples and to the world that Jesus lives. The Church Jesus birthed at the empty tomb on resurrection morning has continued to proclaim the truth of Mary’s testimony century after century bound by a deep and abiding tradition affirmed by the witness of the Gospel.
The resurrection of Jesus is what makes the Gospel a new form of historical literature. The Gospel proclaims something that has never happened before in the history of the world. Salvation was born, lived, died, and is resurrected. The corruption of sin that began in the Garden of Eden which brought the curse of death upon all people was conquered by Jesus’ death on the cross and his bodily resurrection.
In each generation, painters and poets, composers, and troubadours have tried to capture anew the resurrection of Jesus. In artist Giovanni Savoldo’s painting Mary Magdalene we see Mary outside the tomb overcome by the death of Jesus, while in Simone Cantarini’s altarpiece The Risen Christ we see Jesus’ resurrected body ascending above the sleeping Roman soldiers who were sent to ensure he remained in the grave. Jonathan Brooks’ poetry reminds us that in the light of the resurrection, “Now Calvary was loveliness.” In the melodic notes of Neander and Alexander’s hymn “He is Risen,” our souls are stirred to proclaim, “Let the whole wide earth rejoice: death is conquered, man is free, Christ has won the victory,” while the inspiring vocals of Larnelle Harris and Sandi Patty proclaim, as Mary did, “I’ve Just Seen Jesus.” All attempt to explore the depths of what Jesus’ triumph over death means for a sin-marred world.|
Only in Jesus’ resurrection can we find hope in the reality that we were made for something more, something beyond sin and the grave. We were made to live eternal lives with our Messiah, our Lord, our God.
Praise be the name of Jesus, our Salvation! He is Risen!
Prayer:
Thank you, Father God, for your majesty, your infinite mercy, and your abounding grace! You sent your Son, Jesus, on a mission of divine love to redeem us from our sins so that we could be with you forever and ever. His brutal death at the hands of the Roman soldiers became our story of redemption. We are your people because of his sacrifice on the Cross. We know this to be true because on Resurrection morning Jesus rose to life. He is Risen! He lives and because he lives, we know that we will live for all eternity in your Kingdom! Our hope is in Jesus, our Salvation! Help us to live lives that reflect the joy of the Resurrection so that others may come to know Jesus as their redeemer, their Savior, and their Lord. Praise be to the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit always and forevermore!
Amen.
Dr. Darin D. Lenz, FRHistS, FSA Scot.
Chair of the Department of History
Professor of History
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 #1:
The Risen Christ
Simone Cantarini
1644
Oil on canvas
250.82 x 207.33 cm
The Museum of Fine Arts
Boston, Massachusetts
Public Domain
With arm outstretched toward the viewer and an open palm displaying the crucifixion wound, Christ is triumphant as He bursts forth from the grave amid the disoriented Roman soldiers tasked with guarding the tomb. Jesus appears to be soaring in a powerful upward motion from the tomb, exhibited by the position and implied movement of His clothing and the banner that He holds in His left hand. Christ is often shown holding a banner symbolizing His triumph over sin and death. For this imposing altarpiece, artist Simone Cantarini was inspired by Baroque artist Annibale Carracci’s 1593 Resurrection (in the Louvre), which hung in the Church of the Corpus Domini in Bologna when Cantarini studied there. However, Cantarini executed the subject in a grander, more heroic style he developed while a student in the workshop of widely acclaimed Italian baroque painter Guido Reni.
https://collections.mfa.org/objects/35345
https://juliehenkener.com/2023/05/18/resurrection-art-iconography/
About the Artist #1:
Simone Cantarini (1612–1648) was an Italian painter and etcher. He is known mainly for his history paintings and portraits executed in an original style, which united aspects of Bolognese classicism with a bold naturalism. Cantarini was principally a painter of the Counter-Reformation who painted religious subjects. He was particularly interested in depicting scenes involving the Holy Family and the Holy Virgin, either in portrait settings with St. Joseph and other saints or in scenes like the flight into Egypt. A gifted portrait painter, Cantarini was also a prolific engraver and draughtsman. Cantarini was also an etcher who achieved extraordinary delicacy and a vibrant and luminous quality in his graphic work.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simone_Cantarini
About the Art #2:
Mary Magdalene
Giovanni Girolamo Savoldo
1535–1540
Oil on canvas
89.1 x 82.4 cm
National Gallery
London, England
Public Domain
On the Sunday morning after the crucifixion, Mary Magdalene visited Christ’s tomb but found it to be empty. The figure of Mary Magdalene is here identified by the pot of ointment with which she anointed Christ’s feet and by the glimpse of her traditional red dress beneath the silver-grey shawl. The painting may represent Mary visiting Christ’s tomb unaccompanied, or it could be a highly dramatic “close-up” of her meeting with the resurrected Christ, which followed her discovery of the empty tomb. In the background, dawn is breaking over the Venetian lagoon. The stunning effects of dawn light on the woman’s shimmering satin shawl and her intimate glance towards us are what make this painting so captivating.
https://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/paintings/giovanni-girolamo-savoldo-mary-magdalene
About the Artist #2:
Giovanni Girolamo Savoldo (c. 1485–c.1548) was an Italian High Renaissance painter active mostly in Venice, and other cities in northern Italy. He is noted for his subtle use of color and chiaroscuro, and for the sober realism of his works, which are mostly religious subjects, with a few portraits. His portraits are given interest by their accessories or settings; "some even look like extracts from larger narratives.” About forty paintings by Savoldo are known in all—six of them portraits, and only a handful of drawings. He was highly regarded in his own lifetime; several repetitions of works were commissioned from him, and copies of his work made by others. He slipped from general awareness, however, and many of his works were assigned to more famous artists, especially Giorgione. Awareness of his oeuvre revived in the nineteenth century, though the dating of many paintings remains controversial among specialists.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giovanni_Girolamo_Savoldo
About the Music #1: "He Is Risen, He Is Risen" from the album Easter on Fifth Avenue
Lyrics: #1:
He is risen, He is risen!
Tell it with a joyful voice.
Christ has burst the three days' prison;
Let the whole wide earth rejoice.
Death is conquered, we are free;
Christ has won the victory.
Come, you sad and fearful hearted,
With glad smile and radiant brow.
Death's dark shadows have departed,
Jesus’ woes are over now;
Through the passion that he bore,
Sin and pain have pow'r no more.
Come with high and holy hymning;
Praise our Lord's triumphant might.
Not one gloomy cloud is dimming
That bright glorious morning light
Breaking o'er the purple east,
Symbol of our Easter feast.
He is risen, He is risen!
And has opened heaven's gate.
We are free from evil's prison,
Risen to a holier state;
And a brighter Easter beam
On our longing eyes shall stream.
About the Composers #1: Cecil Frances Alexander (lyrics), Joachim Neander (music)
Cecil Frances Alexander (1818–1895) was an Anglo-Irish hymn writer and poet. Amongst other works, she wrote "All Things Bright and Beautiful,” "There is a Green Hill Far Away," and the Christmas carol "Once in Royal David's City." Alexander was involved in charitable work for much of her life and used proceeds from her music for philanthropic and educational causes.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cecil_Frances_Alexander
Joachim Neander (1650–1680) was a German theologian and hymn writer whose most famous hymn is “Praise to the Lord, the Almighty, the King of Creation.” Neander wrote about sixty hymns and also provided music for many of them. He is considered by many to be the first important German hymnist after the Reformation and is regarded as the outstanding hymn writer of the German Reformed Church.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joachim_Neander
About the Performers #1: Choir of Saint Thomas Church New York City and the Saint Thomas Brass conducted by John Scott
The Choir of Men and Boys, under the direction of John Scott, performs music for the Easter season at Saint Thomas Church, Fifth Avenue, in New York City. The Saint Thomas Choir of Men and Boys is considered to be the leading ensemble of its kind in the Anglican choral tradition in the United States. While its primary focus is to sing five choral services each week, the choir also performs regularly with the Orchestra of St. Luke’s, New York Baroque Incorporated, and Modus Operandi Orchestra as part of Saint Thomas Church concert series. Over recent years, the choir has toured throughout the US, Europe, and Scandinavia with performances at Westminster Abbey and St. Paul’s Cathedral in London; King’s College, Cambridge; and the Vatican.
https://www.saintthomaschurch.org/music/musicians-and-recordings/choir-of-men-boys/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NNUEn3iy8RQ
www.SaintThomasChurch.org.
John Scott (1956–2015) was a British world-class organist and gifted choir trainer. Since 2004 he was an organist and director of music of Saint Thomas Church, Fifth Avenue, New York, and before that of St. Paul’s Cathedral in London, England. A man of deep faith and quiet integrity, Scott cared about the liturgy, setting exacting standards and achieving a rare quality of performance. Once in New York, Scott built on the reputation of the Saint Thomas Choir of Men and Boys as the leading Anglican choral ensemble in the United States, established through their recordings, tours, and live webcasts. John co-edited two volumes of choral music for Oxford University Press: Ash Wednesday to Easter for Choirs and Epiphany to All Saints for Choirs. These and his edition of The St. Paul’s Psalter are still used in churches throughout the world.
https://www.theguardian.com/music/2015/aug/19/john-scott
About the Music #2: “I’ve Just Seen Jesus” from the album Larnelle: Collector’s Series, Volume One
Lyrics #2:
We knew He was dead,
"It is finished,” He said.
We had watched as His life ebbed away.
Then we all stood around
'Til the guards took Him down.
Joseph begged for His body that day.
It was late afternoon,
When we got to the tomb,
Wrapped His body and sealed up the grave.
So, I know how you feel,
His death was so real
But please listen and hear what I say.
I've just seen Jesus,
I tell you He's alive.
I've just seen Jesus,
Our precious Lord alive.
And I knew, He really saw me too.
As if till now, I'd never lived,
All that I'd done before,
Won't matter anymore.
I've just seen Jesus,
And I'll never be the same again.
It was His voice she first heard;
Those kind gentle words,
Asking what was her reason for tears.
And I sobbed in despair
My Lord is not there,
He said, "Child, it is I, I am here."
I've just seen Jesus,
I tell you He's alive.
I've just seen Jesus,
Our precious Lord alive.
And I knew, He really saw me too.
As if till now, I'd never lived,
All that I'd done before,
Won't matter anymore.
I've just seen Jesus,
And I'll never be the same again.
About the Composer #2:
William James Gaither (b. 1936) is an American singer and songwriter of Southern gospel and contemporary Christian music. He has written numerous popular Christian songs with his wife Gloria, and is also known for performing as part of the Bill Gaither Trio and the Gaither Vocal Band. In the 1990s, his career gained a resurgence as popularity grew for the Gaither Homecoming series. Gaither and Gloria have written many songs, including "The Longer I Serve Him," "Because He Lives," "The King Is Coming," "Sinner Saved By Grace,” "He Touched Me,” "Jesus, There's Something About That Name,” and "Let's Just Praise The Lord." His songs have been performed by Christian, country, and pop artists. As of 2005, the Gaithers had composed six hundred songs and by 2012 that number had increased to over seven hundred.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Gaither_(gospel_singer)
https://gaither.com/
About the Performers #2: Larnelle Harris and Sandi Patty
Larnelle Harris (b. 1947) is an American gospel singer and songwriter. He has worked with numerous artists and has performed for a wide variety of charity organizations. In 1986, he and Sandi Patty won the Grammy Award for Best Gospel Performance by a Duo with “I’ve Just Seen Jesus.” During his forty-plus years of ministry, Harris has recorded eighteen albums, won five Grammy Awards and eleven Dove Awards, and has had several number-one songs on the inspirational music charts.
http://www.larnelle.com/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Larnelle_Harris
Sandra Faye "Sandi" Patty (b. 1956) is an American Christian music singer, known for her wide soprano vocal range and expressive performances. Patty was born into a family of musicians—her father was a minister of music and her mother served as the church pianist. After graduating from high school, she attended San Diego State University and Anderson University in Indiana, where she studied voice and graduated with an emphasis in conducting. Her reputation as a performer and studio singer grew during the late 1970s, and it was during this time that she met legendary Christian musician Bill Gaither. At the peak of her career, Patty's concerts were so heavily attended that she performed in often sold-out mainstream arenas and concert halls across the United States.
https://www.sandipatty.com/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sandi_Patty
About the Poetry and Poet:
Jonathan Henderson Brooks (1904–1945) is believed to be the most widely published Black poet who lived in Mississippi between the late 1920s and 1945. In the fall of 1923, he entered Lincoln University in Missouri and graduated from its high school department in 1925. Brooks then enrolled at Tougaloo College in Jackson, Mississippi. While there, he also served part-time as a pastor at a Baptist Church in Kosciusko, Mississippi. His work was anthologized in American Negro Poetry, The Poetry of the Negro, and The Negro Caravan. Brooks published only one book of verse during his lifetime, titled The Resurrection & Other Poems.
https://poets.org/poet/jonathan-henderson-brooks
About the Devotion Writer:
Dr. Darin D. Lenz, FRHistS, FSA Scot
Chair of the Department of History
Professor of History
Biola University
After teaching future pastors in a small Bible college in rural India as a guest instructor, Dr. Lenz felt a tug from the Holy Spirit to go to seminary and study church history. After completing his seminary degree, he went on to further historical study at Villanova University. He eventually completed a Ph.D. in History at Kansas State University with a major in the History of Christianity under the direction of the late Robert D. Linder. His research interests span from the Reformation era through the twentieth century and his work has been published in numerous edited books and academic journals. Lenz has served in a variety of staff and faculty roles at Christian colleges on the East Coast, Midwest, Pacific Northwest, and, most recently, for ten years at Fresno Pacific University, where he was a professor of History. Celebrating over two decades of marriage, his wife is a program manager for an organization that serves adults with developmental disabilities, and he and she have two sons. A Green Bay Packers fan, he also enjoys mountain bike riding, traveling, and spending time with his family.