the favored one

About a month ago, my wife and I visited the Philadelphia Art Museum for a "day date" (which ended with a delicious Indian buffet!). Despite living relatively close, I had never trekked to the Art Museum, not even to run up the steps like Rocky!

I must say I was impressed by the different exhibits. There were definitely some weird pieces (namely everything in the modern period), but I thoroughly enjoyed much of what I saw. While Bethany took one million photos (give or take), I only shot the two below.

I forgot to include the label, but this piece depicts the announcement of Christ's birth. Mary is the girl in the corner. The bright light is the angel, Gabriel. In the name of art appreciation, I gazed at this piece for around ten minutes (my sister told me how she read that this is what you are supposed to do when you visit an art museum). After the ten minutes is when I decided to take the photos.

Why?

The birth announcement is a popular moment many artists have captured throughout the centuries. However, this one, to me, seems the most accurate.

"'Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you!' But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be. And the angel said to her, 'Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.'" ~Luke 1:28-33

As I read the account in Luke 1, I envision something like this picture. Mary is a young girl, maybe sixteen years old. She does not have a hallow around her head. She does not have blonde hair and blue eyes, but looks something like an Israelite living in the Middle East around the first century. She is not living in a mansion or a glamorous room. Gabriel is not the focal point, in fact the artist is not even concerned with his physical form. The emphasis is on young Mary.

She appears meek and humble. Her face captures her fear, but her fear is not paralyzing. She is listening to Gabriel's wonderful news. She is processing what it means for her. The reality of bearing the Savior is slowly sinking in. And yet, Mary seems at peace. With everything likely raging within her, Mary sits quietly. She will eventually ask "how?" but not in a spirit of defiance or resistance. Her young mind is trying to come to grips with how Gabriel's announcement will come to be.

And probably, what I like most about this picture is how I can vividly picture this Mary confessing the actual words Mary record by Luke, "Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word." 

Saving, helping, keeping, loving

In addition to class, I must listen to lectures for my counseling class. And just we do in class, each lecture begins with a hymn, often times dealing with suffering, temptation, and the hardships of life. Today, I began a lecture on my drive home from work. The hymn they sang was Jesus, What a Friends for Sinners.

What a beautiful song about what Christ does graciously on behalf of His people!

Jesus! what a Friend for sinners!
Jesus! Lover of my soul;
Friends may fail me, foes assail me,
He, my Saviour, makes me whole.

Hallelujah! what a Saviour!
Hallelujah, what a Friend!
Saving, helping, keeping, loving,
He is with me to the end.

Jesus! what a strength in weakness!
Let me hide myself in him;
Tempted, tried, and sometimes failing,
He, my strength, my vict'ry wins.

Jesus! what a help in sorrow!
While the billows o'er me roll,
Even when my heart is breaking,
He, my comfort, helps my soul.

Jesus! what a guide and keeper!
While the tempest still is high,
Storms about me, night o'ertakes me,
He, my pilot, hears my cry.

Jesus! I do now receive him,
More than all in him I find,
He hath granted me forgiveness,
I am his, and he is mine.

the old or the new?

Over the past week, I have been pouring over Ecclesiastes 7:7-14. It is part of a class assignment, but not simply school oriented.

Surely oppression drives the wise into madness,
    and a bribe corrupts the heart.

Better is the end of a thing than its beginning,
    and the patient in spirit is better than the proud in spirit.

Be not quick in your spirit to become angry,
    for anger lodges in the heart of fools. 

 Say not, “Why were the former days better than these?”
    For it is not from wisdom that you ask this.

Wisdom is good with an inheritance,
    an advantage to those who see the sun.

For the protection of wisdom is like the protection of money,
    and the advantage of knowledge is that wisdom preserves the life of him who has it.  

Consider the work of God:
    who can make straight what he has made crooked? 

 In the day of prosperity be joyful, and in the day of adversity consider: God has made the one as well as the other, so that man may not find out anything that will be after him.

With graduation coming in May (Lord willing), the end of this particular stage of life is at hand. According to Solomon, this is a good thing. However, it also brings the temptation to become envious, either of what came before or what lies ahead. I find myself sitting in this very position.

On the one hand, I am envious of the consistency of life as it currently stands. While I am ready to leave behind the life of a graduate student, the schedule has been my way of life. The looming change will certainly disrupt everything I am accustomed to.

On the flip side, I am tempted to be envious now of what might be come this time next year. I want to be in full-time ministry. I want to take the wealth of knowledge I have gained into the church context. I grow impatient of the ivory tower condition common in higher education. 

Either way, the temptation toward envy sounds attractive, but it leads to a lack of joy and gratitude. Such an scenario is exhausting for myself and those around me.

I "bunkered" down with this particular passage because the it is primarily concerned with wisdom. Wisdom works against envy. It views envy as the destructive force that it is. Wisdom seeks the mind of God, and rejoices in the work He is presently doing.

I also appreciate this passage because of it's call for joy and trust regardless of the circumstance. Instead of relishing the days prior or holding high hopes for those to come, there is joy to be found in the present where our God is actively working.

My wife is a special lady

Here's proof...

Yup, those successfully capture our first (or second) introduction as husband and wife.

Be Still My Soul

 Before every counseling class my professor has us sing hymns. Some are familiar, while others obscure and/or unknown.

Praise God for those who have gone before us, but given us glimpses into their joys and struggles, which we share in today. They are honest. They are passionate. They bring comfort. And we have the privilege of singing along with them hundreds of years later.

Be still, my soul: the Lord is on thy side.
Bear patiently the cross of grief or pain.
Leave to thy God to order and provide;
In every change, He faithful will remain.
Be still, my soul: thy best, thy heavenly Friend
Through thorny ways leads to a joyful end.

Be still, my soul: thy God doth undertake
To guide the future, as He has the past.
Thy hope, thy confidence let nothing shake;
All now mysterious shall be bright at last.
Be still, my soul: the waves and winds still know
His voice Who ruled them while He dwelt below.

Be still, my soul: when dearest friends depart,
And all is darkened in the vale of tears,
Then shalt thou better know His love, His heart,
Who comes to soothe thy sorrow and thy fears.
Be still, my soul: thy Jesus can repay
From His own fullness all He takes away.

Be still, my soul: the hour is hastening on
When we shall be forever with the Lord.
When disappointment, grief and fear are gone,
Sorrow forgot, love’s purest joys restored.
Be still, my soul: when change and tears are past
All safe and blessèd we shall meet at last.

"mighty man of valor"

In Hebrews 11, the author includes Gideon as a man of faith. This has always left me confused.

When God shows up, Gideon blames God for Israel's suffering and oppression. He retells Israel's history of redemption, then accuses God of forsaken His people. Gideon fails to understand Israel's repeated failure to uphold the covenant. He disregards Israel's idolatry and unfaithfulness. Instead, he blames God.

On repeated occasions, Gideon makes God "prove" himself. He asks for a sign that it is really God who is speaking with him. Later, he wants God to wet a fleece with the morning dew, and then keep it dry the next morning. And after being given every affirmation, Gideon still needs to hear his enemies' fear before he is willing to fight against them.

Every single time faith was demanded of Gideon, he seemed to shrink back. His faith rarely seemed very faith-like.

So how does he get included in Hebrews 11?

I am still not completely sure, but what I started noticing was the amazing compassion of God towards Gideon. God demonstrated the heart of a loving Father towards His weak and feeble son.

After being accused of abandoning His people, God tells Gideon "But I will be with you." After being asked for a sign, God sends fire from a rock to consume Gideon's gift. God meets each of Gideon's proposals with the fleece without saying a word.

And the dream followed by its interpretation?

Gideon never asked for this. "Arise, go down against the camp, for I have given it into your hand. But if you are afraid to go down, go down to the camp...And you shall hear what they say, and afterwards your hands shall be strengthened to go down against the camp" (Judges 7:9-11).

God saw Gideon's weak faith and strengthened it. He gave His servant exactly what he needed exactly when he needed it. God was not angry, critical, or condescending. He poured out His love and compassion upon Gideon. He was not obliged to do it. He willingly and freely gave it.

Therefore, Gideon's faith was strengthened. And he did exactly what God called and equipped him to do.

I am not sure if I can find greater encouragement than that. I am Gideon. My faith is childish more than it is child-like. Yet God continually pours out His grace to me. He calls me to come and ask, but even when I don't He shows Himself the most faithful of fathers.

a perfect ending

The spring semester ended May 22nd. Three days later, I married my best friend. 

Not too shabby!

Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil. For if they fall, one will lift up his fellow. But woe to him who is alone when he falls and has not another to lift him up! Again, if two lie together, they keep warm, but how can one keep warm alone? And though a man might prevail against one who is alone, two will withstand him—a threefold cord is not quickly broken. ~Ecclesiastes 4:9-12