March 17: While Still Sinners, Christ Died for Us
♫ Music:
Day 13 - Monday, March 17
Title: While Still Sinners, Christ Died for Us
Scripture: Romans 5:6–11 (NKJV)
For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die. But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him. For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life. And not only that, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received the reconciliation.
Poetry & Poet:
“Reconciliation”
by William Butler Yeats
Some may have blamed you that you took away
The verses that could move them on the day
When, the ears being deafened, the sight of the eyes blind
With lightning, you went from me, and I could find
Nothing to make a song about but kings,
Helmets, and swords, and half-forgotten things
That were like memories of you—but now
We'll out, for the world lives as long ago;
And while we're in our laughing, weeping fit,
Hurl helmets, crowns, and swords into the pit.
But, dear, cling close to me; since you were gone,
My barren thoughts have chilled me to the bone.
WHILE STILL SINNERS, CHRIST DIED FOR US
Thank you, Father, for the goodness of this Romans passage, during a week when we focus on the thief on the cross, “The Good Thief.” Thank you also for deepening our understanding through this song, this painting, and this poem.
Charlie Mackesy’s painting Bloody Redemption grabbed my attention from the first moment I saw it. I quickly began to look for other work by Mackesy and found that he has a series of sculptures and paintings based on Jesus' parable of the Prodigal Son. Several paintings from this series describe the scene with words painted on the canvas. He writes in one, “This is the story of the prodigal son. It should really be called the running father." All Mackesy's "prodigal child" pieces feature the embrace of a loving father.
In today’s painting, Mackesy uses this loving embrace to point us to God’s love displayed on the Cross. And this invites us to consider The Good Thief as a Prodigal Son.
We don’t know the details of the crimes that placed the Good Thief on the cross. But he admitted his crucifixion was deserved, before asking that Jesus remember him. As with the Prodigal Son, when things were at their worst, he turned to someone for grace. I want to focus on one line from today’s song "And Can It Be" from the first verse: "Died He for me who caused His pain, for me who Him to death pursued?" Jesus pursued The Good Thief to that place of death: the death of the thief, as well as His own. He was there, at that place and time, for him. That Prodigal Son had a moment to return, and Christ was there for him.
Romans provides a description that accurately describes the Good Thief on the cross: without strength, ungodly (v.6), sinner (v.8), enemy (v.10). But Romans describes all of us. Christ's interaction with The Good Thief was very personal. But we are all prodigals who need to return, repenting of our sin and proclaiming Christ as King.
Mackesy's painting beautifully portrays love and grace. And it shows that reconciliation is messy. Sin is a big problem, so true justification is messy. It has been that way since God performed the first sacrifices in Genesis so the nakedness of Adam and Eve could be covered. Bloody Redemption properly reminds us of this.
Thanks be to God, we can all receive the gifts described in Romans: Christ's death on our behalf (v.6 & 8), justification through Christ's blood (v.9), salvation from the wrath of God (v.9), and reconciliation with God (v.10 & 11).
Yeats’ Redemption poem provides a contrast, telling what redemption can be like in worldly relationships. When his beloved muse returns and “the world lives as long ago,” the remainder of the poem describes a hope that is shallow and anxious.
For an example of true hope, I encourage you to listen to today's music and imagine the lyrics being sung by The Good Thief, our brother, the returning prodigal. This setting by Dan Forrest presents the repeated “can it be?” questions with a musical lift, the way we speak our own questions. The final verse arrives with a triumphant change into a brighter key (moving from Eb to G) and a faster tempo, confidently celebrating, “No condemnation now I dread – Jesus and all in Him is mine!”
Amazing love indeed!
Prayer
Loving Father, praise You and thank You for being the One who watches for our humble return and celebrates with abundant mercy and grace.
Jesus, praise You and thank You for living the life we couldn’t live and paying the price we couldn’t pay. We love you and worship you.
Spirit, praise You and thank You for indwelling us, convicting us of our sin, and guiding us every moment. Fill us and glorify the Father in us and make us more like Christ.
Amen.
Chuck Koontz, MLIS
Librarian for Systems and Special Collections
Adjunct faculty for School of Fine Arts & Communications
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:
Bloody Redemption
Charlie Mackesy
Oil on canvas
The story of the prodigal son is a picture of God's love for us as His children. God's love for us does not rely on our faithfulness or good works but it is totally and completely unconditional. He loved us while we were still sinners. British artist Charlie Mackesy says that the story of the prodigal son is most central to him. “It is subversive and flies in the face of religion, religious sensibility and moral high ground. It suggests we are loved not for what we do but because we exist. It cannot be earned; it is a gift. This is the most liberating truth in existence, that we are loved, known, forgiven and free.”
https://thunderstruck.org/we-are-loved/
About the Artist:
Charlie Mackesy (b. 1962) lives in Brixton, South London. He never went to art school, but spent three months in the US as an apprentice to a portrait painter, where he learned about anatomy and composition. He began his art career as a cartoonist for The Spectator and as a book illustrator for Oxford University Press before exhibiting in fine art galleries. Mackesy states, “I am cautious to explain what I think the work is saying for fear of taking away from you something you have seen and I have not. I could conclude by saying that life is precious and faith is a journey and sometimes art can give a small glimpse of these moments seen, and unseen. I think GK Chesterton put it better—'At the back of our brains is a blaze of astonishment at our own existence. The object of the artistic and spiritual life is to dig for this sunrise of wonder.’”
https://www.charliemackesy.com/paintings
https://www.thetimes.com/article/charlie-mackesy-a-rare-interview-with-the-bestselling-illustrator-and-author-ghhmfb0hb
About the Music: “And Can It Be”
Lyrics:
And can it be? And can it be?
Amazing love, how can it be?
And can it be that I should gain,
An interest in the Savior’s blood?
Died He for me, who caused His pain
For me, who Him to death pursued?
Amazing love! How can it be.
That Thou, my God,
Shouldst die for me?
He left His Father's throne above
So free, so infinite his grace––
Emptied Himself of all but love
And bled for Adam’s helpless race.
‘Tis mercy all (‘Tis mercy all)
Immense and free (Immense and free)
For O my God (For O my God)
It found out me!
And can it be? And can it be?
Amazing love, how can it be?
No condemnation now I dread
Jesus, and all in Him, is mine
Alive in Him, my living Head
And clothed in righteousness divine.
Bold I approach th’ eternal throne
And claim the crown, through Christ my own
Amazing love! How can it be
That Thou, my God
Shouldst die for me
Amazing love, how can it be?
Amazing love!
About the Composer:
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. It has been said that Charles Wesley usually celebrated each anniversary of his birthday by writing a hymn of praise to God.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Wesley
About the Arranger:
Dan Forrest (b. 1978) has been described as having “an undoubted gift for writing beautiful music…that is truly magical” (NY Concert Review), with works hailed as “magnificent, very cleverly constructed sound sculpture” (Classical Voice), and “superb writing…full of spine-tingling moments” (Salt Lake Tribune). His music has sold millions of copies, has received numerous awards and distinctions, and has become well established in the repertoire of choirs around the world via festivals, recordings, radio/TV broadcasts, and premieres. Forrest’s work ranges from small choral works to instrumental solo works, wind ensemble works, and extended multi-movement works for chorus and orchestra. His Requiem for the Living (2013) and Jubilate Deo (2016) have become standard choral/orchestral repertoire for ensembles around the world, and his more recent major works LUX: The Dawn From On High (2018) and the breath of life (2020) have also received critical acclaim. Dan holds a doctorate in composition and a master’s degree in piano performance, and served for several years as a professor and department head (music theory and composition) in higher education. He currently serves as editor at Beckenhorst Press; chair of the American Choral Directors Association Composition Initiatives Committee; and artist-in-residence at Mitchell Road Presbyterian Church in Greenville, South Carolina.
https://danforrest.com/
About the Performers:
The Keynote Vocal Group is an all-male a capella singing ensemble of Christ the Good Shepherd Lutheran Church in San Jose, California. The group comprises active members of the congregation and occasional guests who sing in the church for special services and events. Although some of the men have been singing together in different groups even before the all-male ensemble was formed, the Keynote Vocal Group was officially established in early 2011 as an official choir under the worship and music ministry of the church, and has regularly sung in the church's services, as well as regional and community events.
https://www.youtube.com/@KeynoteVocalGroupCGS?app=desktop
About the Poetry and Poet:
William Butler Yeats (1865–1939) is widely considered to be one of the greatest poets of the twentieth century. Although he lived in London for fourteen years of his childhood, Yeats maintained his Irish cultural roots and identity in many of his poems and plays. He is considered a symbolist poet, using evocative imagery and symbolism to create timeless, abstract themes in his work. In December 1923, Yeats was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature "for his always inspired poetry, which in a highly artistic form gives expression to the spirit of a whole nation." His most important collections of poetry are The Green Helmet (1910), Responsibilities (1914), The Tower (1928), The Winding Stair (1933), and New Poems (1938).
https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/william-butler-yeats
About the Devotion Writer:
Chuck Koontz, MLIS
Librarian for Systems and Special Collections
Adjunct faculty for School of Fine Arts & Communications
Biola University
Chuck Koontz is the Systems Librarian and Archivist at Biola University, having worked at Biola since 2001. He also works as a freelance musician playing tuba in various settings around Los Angeles. He has been happily married to Faith since 2001, and they have three sons. The Koontzes are members of Grace Evangelical Free Church in La Mirada, California.