Sight and Sound: Art For Advent

Nativity, by Martha Copeland, wood engraving

This weekend, a gift arrived in the mail from a dear older friend. I was speechless with delightful surprise, wonder, and reverence. Handcrafted in Arizona, my friend created a beautiful wooden nativity scene in a crescent moon. It now sits on our mantlepiece in our “bear den” family room where we most frequently gather, and where our church’s mom ministry gathers once a month, and where piano students sit to wait for their lesson turn. I want this art piece to bless all who enter our home. This piece of art was lovingly crafted by my dear friend, Martha, a true artisan, and a woman after God’s heart, as she took material from His creation, wood from a tree, and fashioned it into something very beautiful with skill and precision.

Art is a gift that evokes deep emotional responses and can reach into a person’s heart and mind to add understanding and draw out wonder. I have been curating art lately and let me tell you what I’ve found!

First, how is your Advent going? Although Advent is a time in the church calendar that signifies a theme of waiting, for our family, it has been a very full season. As the children get older, and taller (our 3rd child just passed me in height), we have more activities, fuller schedules, studying for final exams, school projects to complete, “ugly christmas sweaters” to pull out of the closet, christmas parties to attend, secret Santa gifts to purchase for classmates, music recitals, concerts and advent parties to attend. Our Advent is full and bustling as we are hustling. It hasn’t been very quiet or still! However, I’ve been taking a few extra naps, taking quiet moments as they come, however brief, and evening coffee has been a more frequent treat as we gather together with cozy blankets in the den after the early setting sun has disappeared behind Mt Adams.

One thing that I’ve been focusing on this year is gathering a couple of art pieces for our den. One is an Advent piece titled, “Mary and Eve” drawn by Sister Grace Remington, crayon and pencil, 2005. In an interview with Plough Magazine, Sister Grace explains deeper layers of meaning in her art piece.

Mary and Eve, Sister Grace Remington, 2005

“One of the things I was pondering as I drew this picture was the question of why Eve said “no” to God and Mary said “yes.” I started to think about how Eve had no idea what it would mean to live in a fallen world, to be separated from God. Whatever purity of soul Mary had, Eve had in her creation too. And yet, whatever innocence Mary had, she was not spared the experience of living in a fallen world. First-century Palestine was no Garden of Eden. I wondered whether Mary was able to give her yes precisely because she knew the pain of life. She knew how desperately we needed God. Her eyes were open. This was part of what I see as her compassion for Eve in this picture. She is not standing with folded hands on a pedestal above Eve: she is standing with Eve, touching Eve, seeing her deeply. She knows the gift she is carrying is for Eve as much as it is for herself. She doesn’t need Eve to get herself together, or to even drop the apple before inviting her in. I also hope the picture communicates the way Christ is present in our encounters even when we cannot see Him. The picture is of Mary and Eve, but Jesus is there too. He is, in fact, at the very center.” https://www.plough.com/en/topics/culture/holidays/christmas-readings/mary-consoles-eve

This first time I encountered this artwork was likely in Advent of 2009, in our little town of Bellingham where we lived and served a church for three and a half years. This beautiful art piece was on the cover of the bulletin. It struck me with meaning as the image plunged itself into my heart and spoke to me in a language of symbols, divine kindness, and consolation. Just like the gift from my friend this weekend, this art piece delighted me with surprise at such an image, wonder at Mary reaching out with consolation to let Eve know that her promised Redeemer has come, and reverence for this is a sacred moment on which all of history pivots. The Kingdom of God has come, the King has arrived.

As I vascillated back and forth on which art print I would order, I finally decided on this one. It is interwoven into our story with meaning and memory. And so, every year from here on, as December rolls around, we will bring it out as a part of living out the church year in our home.

As my sense of sight has been delighted by art and beauty of the season, so too, my ears have been hearing good news of great joy through song. Here are some beautiful ones:

Wendell Kimbrough, Advent

In the Bleak Midwinter, John Van Deusen

Brightest and Best, The Gettys & Ricky Skaggs

Sarah Sparks, Advent Pt. One - 400 Years

Elizabeth, Keith & Kristyn Getty & Ellie Holcomb

May your heart be nestled this Advent in the reality of God with us, God with you.

A Little Night Music in December - Phos Hilaron

Phos Hilaron
O gracious Light
pure brightness of the
everliving Father in heaven
O Jesus Christ, holy and blessed!

Now as we come to the setting of the sun,
and our eyes behold the vesper light
we sing thy praises, O God:
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit

You are worthy at all times
to be praised by happy voices
O Son of God, O Giver of Life
and to be glorified through all the worlds.

The darkening days grow colder and wetter. We wear sweaters and slippers and blankets knitted by the great-grandmas. We keep the duraflame logs going in the fireplace and gather in our little bear den together in the evenings. December is upon us and yesterday we celebrated St Nicholas’ feast day, when we remember the pastor from Myra who loved Jesus with his whole heart and poured out that love and generosity by giving to those in need and being a gatekeeper and defender of Biblical teaching. What a fun day to celebrate!

I want to wish you a Happy New Year! Wait, you say, its not even Christmas yet! Well, let me explain. This past Sunday was the first Sunday of Advent, and in the liturgical Christian calendar, Sunday was the first day of a New Christian Year! The Church calendar begins in the darkest time of the northern hemisphere, and it begins with Advent. Advent is the first season of the new Christian year, a season of waiting and watchfulness, a season of hope and anticipation, expectation that the Light is coming.

We remember the first coming, the Incarnation of Jesus, the Son of God, and we wait with joyful hope and comfort for His second coming one day, when He will return as He said, and He will dwell forever with the Church, His Bride, and all things will be made new on Earth and in Heaven. The Consummation of all things will be accomplished, and we will feast as the temple of living stones with Jesus, the Bridegroom. I hope that these selections of music and meditations will be like a little digital gift from me to you. Thank you so much for popping on here every once in a while this year and reading. I am thankful for every passerby, who might stop and read and ponder for a little while here. I hope these words are seeds the Lord uses to bring Truth into your life, His goodness to fill your days, and to point you to His Word to light your path and surround you and fill you with His holy love. It is only His Word that matters. So that is my prayer that my words point your gaze to His Word, the living Word that brings light and life!

As music is played in our home daily and hourly, (I like to put on Chopin for our dog when we leave the house), it is obvious that music is like food for the soul. I need gentle music in my life. Soft, soothing, nourishing melodies and harmonies, truthful light-filled words that comfort my soul from the darkness of this world. Psalm 119:130-132 says, “The unfolding of your words gives light; it imparts understanding to the simple. I open my mouth and pant, because I long for your commandments. Turn to me and be gracious to me, as is your way with those who love your name.”

In our church, my husband preaches through every book in the Bible. There is not a passage of God’s Word that is ignored (2 Timothy 3:16-17). Every Sunday, we gather as a church to hear the Scriptures read and taught, skillful teaching of a learned theologian. The unfolding of God’s Word gives light. Jesus, the Word made flesh, came to bring us Light. It mattered that much to Him, to be made one of us. On us a light has shone. (Matthew 4:12-17) May the beauty of this seasonal music usher you into a hope and light-filled new calendar year, as soon the light will grow physically in the northern hemisphere. As the Kingdom of God advances throughout the world, the now and the not yet, the redeeming of God’s creation is happening. He is reaching into the lives of lost people to bring them into His fold of grace. May these songs bring this great hope to flourish in your hearts.

May Jesus’ words in this scripture reading be our joy!

Jesus said, “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished. Therefore whoever relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.”
Matthew 5:17-19 ESV

Until all is accomplished! What a beautiful hope to dwell on every day He gives us breath.

Music

Arise & Look to the Skies by Craig Harris

Hark What Music Fills the Sky by Craig Harris

Once in Royal David’s City by Voces8

In the Bleak Mid-Winter by John Van Deusen

Behold the Lamb of God by Andrew Peterson

Brightest & Best by Keith & Kristen Getty & Ricky Skaggs

Christmas by Sandra McCracken

The Bells of Dublin by The Chieftains

A Celtic Family Christmas by Natalie MacMaster & Donnell Leahy

Meditations

On the Incarnation by St Athanasius of Alexandria

From the Cradle to the Cross by The Keeping Company

Heaven and Nature Sing by Hannah Anderson

Sacred Seasons: A Family Guide to Center Your Year Around Jesus by Danielle Hitchen

The Art of Advent: A Painting a Day from Advent to Epiphany by Jane Williams

“The Savior is working mightily among men, every day He is invisibly persuading numbers of people all over the world, both within and beyond the Greek-speaking world, to accept His faith and be obedient to His teaching. Can anyone, in face of this, still doubt that He has risen and lives, or rather that He is Himself the Life? Does a dead man prick the consciences of men, so that they throw all the traditions of their fathers to the winds
and bow down before the teaching of Christ?”

― St. Athanasius, On The Incarnation

“I will praise the LORD as long as I live; I will sing praises to my God while I have my being.”
Psalm 146:2

Wintering, Watchfulness, and Unlikely Advent Companions

As the Winter Solstice approaches, the days are growing shorter. The light which used to rise in the northeast now rises over the Ahtanum Ridge southeast of our home. Instead of setting behind Mount Rainier, it now sets directly behind Mount Adams, another of our majestic volcanoes that dress the landscape of the Northwest. Our windows face this most beautiful of dramas that christens every morning with beauty and blesses every evening with its swift benediction.

The evenings of the Pacific Northwest are the darkest of the contiguous United States where the sun rises today at 7:38am and sets at 4:14pm. The days will continue to decrease in light until December 21st, the darkest day of the year, nicknamed “The Big Dark” where we will only have 8.5 hours of sunlight. And north of the border, where I come from, it is even slightly shorter. This is the season of wintering and watchfulness. As we prepare for the onset of winter and wait for the light to begin growing again, the natural world around us urges us on toward preparation, both in our dwellings and in our hearts.

After 8 inches of snow fell last weekend, I tromped across our yard to the chicken coop where our ten little hens live. Poor little things! For days, they did not come out of their coop, terrified as they were and certainly wondering, “What is all this scary white stuff falling from the sky?”. I changed their bedding of pine shavings, filled their feeder with pellets, brought fresh water, and collected their eggs. I also took a snow shovel and tried to clear a path for them so they could see the familiar ground and attempt to step outside their shelter into the crisp blue sky.

I’ve been able to be attentive to my heart in an intentional way this advent. I’m pondering many things and trying to be watchful to what the Lord is teaching me, even if it’s just to be still. Since summer 2020, I have been waking more often in the middle of the night and early in the morning. Early morning quiet time has become an anticipated part of my morning routine. I sit beside the Christmas tree, decorated by our young lady and three growing boys who are, one by one, beginning to tower above me. One day, I noticed two of the new little birds my mother got for our tree when she and my dad were visiting. It was like these birds were watching me: two little companions to join me on my advent journey this year. It made me laugh. They are quite unlikely though, specifically because they are not real, but also because I never planned for them to be sitting there, watching me. But this is where they were placed when we decorated the tree, and I love that they are there “watching”. I’ve always loved woodland creatures, real or stuffed, and so there they sit. They’ve become my advent companions on these dark early mornings as I sit and read Scripture and meditate on Advent poems and thoughts and try to practice being still while I wait for the light to come.

Another unlikely advent companion is a set of songs I loved so dearly when they first were released into the world in the summer of 1998. This was an unlikely advent addition as it is not a Christmas album. And yet, it is everything that Advent and Christmas is. This past November, I was listening to all the old Rich Mullins songs I had listened to on repeat as a teenager and early college student, simply because I was reminded of this singer songwriter.

In summer ‘98, I had been out of high school for 3 years already with a year of Bible school, experience working at a Christian daycare, and several classes from a local university college tucked into my portfolio of post-secondary adventures. I had just returned home from a mission trip to Argentina and was trying to figure out the direction the Lord wanted me to go. I was taking my sweet time and the Lord was too, but all, I believe, for a purpose. Jesus is never late. I sought the Lord for guidance, and I couldn’t shake the desire to go back to Bible College. It’s what I wanted more than anything. As I prepared to switch colleges and enter back into Bible and ministry training, I discovered a beautiful collection of songs by the late Rich Mullins called The Jesus Record. It became my anthem and driving music to inspire me as I drove around the town of my beginnings and settled into my new life at Bible college.

Rich Mullins had died several months prior to the recording and release of his last album. Musician friends and artists completed it for him. I believe it’s one of his most powerful works of music that he recorded. The A side of the cassette tape is his own demo versions of the songs with just a tape recorder, a piano and a guitar. These are some of my favorite versions. The B side is the more polished, finished renditions of this collection which I love equally.

Recently, I stumbled upon a new recording of Rich Mullins’ songs called The Bellsburg Sessions. This album is a recreation of some of his original songs released just this year, 25 years after his tragic death. The familiar lyrics of these vintage songs remind me of that definitive time in my life as I wandered through the early years of adulthood. As I’ve been enjoying these songs afresh, I’ve been reminded of one that has become an unlikely advent companion in my heart, the song, My Deliverer:

Joseph took his wife and her child and they went to Africa
To escape the rage of a deadly king
There along the banks of the Nile, Jesus listened to the song
That the captive children used to sing

They were singing
"My deliverer is coming, my deliverer is standing by
My deliverer is coming, my deliverer is standing by"

Through a dry and thirsty land, water from the Kenyon heights
Pours itself out of Lake Sangra's broken heart
There in the Sahara winds Jesus heard the whole world cry
For the healing that would flow from His own scars

The world was singing
"My deliverer is coming, my deliverer is standing by
My deliverer is coming, my deliverer is standing by”…

-Rich Mullins, The Jesus Record

This song is God-haunted, as it takes the listener to the banks of the Nile River in Egypt where the Hebrew slaves labored unceasingly under their oppressors, the Egyptian Regime in Old Testament times. These Hebrew children cried out for God to hear them, and He did.

“During those many days the king of Egypt died, and the people of Israel groaned because of their slavery and cried out for help. Their cry for rescue from slavery came up to God. And God heard their groaning, and God remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob. God saw the people of Israel—and God knew.” Exodus 2:23-25

Jesus, knowing the history of his people, of his ancestors, knew the cries of His people for deliverance. They were awaiting a deliverer, a Messiah, the Promised Seed, and he was the one prophesied to come. He came as a baby, born to a virgin, an “in-flesh-ment” as Eugene Peterson once called it. He came for his people, and he came for all nations.

He came for me. And He will come again for us.

At the time of first hearing this song, the Lord gave me hope and reminded me, during many trials, that my Deliverer, Jesus Himself, was coming back and He would rescue me from all the struggles. He would deliver me and heal me. So when I listen to this song now, 25 years later, I am reminded of that beautiful gift of hope He gave me in this song and through His Word and by His Holy Spirit! We are awaiting our Lord’s second coming. Until he returns, we are in a perpetual season of Advent. No one knows the day or hour of his coming, not even Himself, but only the Father (Matthew 24:36). My Deliverer is coming, my Deliverer is standing by. When the Father gives the nod, the Son of God will come in all His glorious splendor, and He will bring the fullness of His Kingdom and His reign. Yes Lord, Come!

Winter in the orchards