Jasper Francis Cropsey (1823-1900), "Autumn on the Ramapo River—Erie Railway" (1876).
Copied under fair use principles.
Monday, October 26, 2020
Landscape: Willard Metcalf
Willard Metcalf (1858-1925), "October Morning" (1920).
Copied under fair use principles.
Restoration Stories
A devotion written for our church to complement the Sunday sermon.
Restoration Stories
Genesis 33:1-17, John 21:1-14
The sermon theme for this month has been money stories. We all have such stories, and as we experience God’s grace, we see ourselves and our money in new and potentially liberating ways.
Money stories can be horrible when they involve family betrayal. Disputes over inheritance, failure to provide financial support, loans that resulted in hurt and power struggles: these and other experiences can split families for a long time.
The long narrative of Jacob and Esau (Genesis 25:19-33:17 and 35:29) is rich in detail, drama, and psychological insight. First, Esau gives up his birthright for some bread and stew. His “birthright” were his legal rights in the family as the oldest son. Esau is absurdly unconcerned while Jacob is opportunistic. Eventually, Jacob and his mother Rebecca conceive a scheme to trick Isaac into giving Jacob the fatherly blessing that he (Isaac) would normally give the oldest son. Even though Esau seems shallow and foolish, he is understandably hurt that his family has plotted against him. He promises to kill Jacob, who flees.
Have you ever postponed, perhaps for many years, an encounter with someone, because you don’t know how they’ll respond to you? It’s human nature to avoid confrontation rather than feel shame or hurt pride or even danger. I admit that I’ve sought reconciliation with certain people and afterward felt foolish for trying. That, however, was simply hurt feelings and disappointment. Jacob feared for his life!
But in many situations, reconciliation is possible, especially when God arrives the timing and prepares the hearts of both persons. After many years, the time came for Jacob to meet Esau, and Jacob was naturally apprehensive (33:1-17). What a shock to Jacob that Esau is welcoming and favorable. Jacob even compares Esau’s face to the face of God!
The “negotiations” between the two brothers is interesting. Jacob gives Esau some of his flock, which Esau refuses, but Jacob insists. Jacob, in turn, declines to have Esau or some of Esau’s men to accompany him. Perhaps Jacob is being cautious, perhaps he wants no strings attached to his gift.
One of my Bible commentaries notes that “continued conflict between the two is not a necessary future… no matter how severe the conflict. Reconciliation among brothers remains a possibility, even if that does not finally eventuate in a close relationship.” Jacob and Esau remain separate but they can communicate and cooperate.
I don’t want to be superficial in my thinking about this story. God’s grace is truly amazing and wonder-working, yet some human pain never goes away. The broken situation can never been put back the way it was. Jacob took advantage of Esau. Yet God’s grace transformed both men across the years. The story still touches our hearts.
Our story of Jesus is the last post-resurrection story in John’s gospel. Peter, Thomas, Nathaniel, and other disciples are fishing. Jesus calls to them from the lake shore and tells them to cast their net differently. They catch 153 fish and knew immediately that the man on the shore was the Lord. Jesus cooks them breakfast. The story continues with Jesus offering Peter a new beginning.
Read in the context of the Jacob and Esau story, Jesus incorporates the best of both brothers. His gracious, open-hearted presence surprises the disciples, who likely still feel the guilt of abandoning him. Jesus also brings gifts: a meal, and also a lot of fish that the disciples—fishermen by occupation—can presumably sell for a nice return.
The disciples forsook Jesus to his enemies—a worse betrayal than what Jacob did to Esau—but Jesus came right back to them and loved them deeply. How lovely to know that we never have to worry about becoming estranged from the Lord. God’s unfailing love gives us peace with God and opens up possibilities of grace and restoration with one another.
Prayer: Dear Lord, restore us and forgive when we lose our way amid life’s choices and pain. Help us grow in love through bitter and happy times alike. Let our stories flow into Your story! Amen.
O.K. Corral Anniversary
On October 26th, 1881 in Arizona Territory, Tombstone City Marshal Virgil Earp and his brothers Morgan and Wyatt Earp and friend John “Doc” Holliday went out to confront a group of cowboys (with whom they had an ongoing feud), to disarm them in accordance to a local ordinance against carrying weapons in the Tombstone city limits. The groups encountered one another in a narrow lot next to Fly’s boarding house and photography studio, five doors down from the rear entrance of the O.K. Corral, which in turn was a place that persons without transportation could rent a horse or a horse and wagon.
Who fired the first shot is uncertain, but a 30-second shootout ensued, with 30 shots fired, three cowboys killed (Billy Clanton was only 18 or 19) and Morgan and Virgil were wounded. The feud and violence continued for several months, with Morgan killed, Virgil wounded again more seriously, Wyatt never wounded at all, and several more cowboys killed.
The original corral and stable burned in the town fire of 1882. The tragic 1881 shootout did not enter the public imagination until the mid 20th century. By then, the corral had become erroneously attributed as the shootout’s location. The town of Tombstone had declined over the years but became revitalized in the 1960s and beyond as a popular tourist location with nice shops and restaurants —-well worth a visit when you're in southern Arizona! One of the few remaining original buildings is the Bird Cage Theater, with an interesting tour, original bullet holes in the walls, and many artifacts. Our visit to Tombstone in 2018, and then watching the movie “Tombstone”, inspired me to read about the incident.
Tuesday, October 20, 2020
Beethoven 250: Opera, Choral, and Other Vocal Works
Beethoven depicted by N. C. Wyeth
This has been a busy semester, but I've continued my listening. Here is more of Beethoven's music! ("WoO" means "Werke ohne Opuszahl"---"Works without opus number"---and "Hess" refers to Willy Hess, a Swiss musicologist who compiled a catalogue of Beethoven's works in the 1950s.)
During the past few weeks I listened to discuss 66-79 and so I still have 80-90 to go.
Disc 66
The ballet The Creatures of Prometheus (Op. 43, 1800-01)
67
The opera Fidelio (Op. 72, 1814), Act 1
68
Act 2 of Fidelio; the commemorative work König Stephan (Op. 117, 1811)
69
The opera Leonore (1805 version of Fidelio), beginning.
70
The remainder of Leonore
71
The vocal works Egmont (Op. 84, 1809-10), Vestas Feuer (Hess 115, 1803), and Leonore Prohaska, WoO 96 (1815).
72
The Ruins of Athens (Op. 113, 1811); Die Weihe des Hauses Overture (Op. 124, 1822), Musik zu Carl Meisis Gelegenheitsfestspiel (Hess 118, 1811); The Ruins of Athens march with chorus (Op. 114, 1811); Die Weihe des Hauses: Wo Sich die Pulse (WoO 98, 1822).
73
The Glorious Moment (Op. 136, 1814); Fantaskia in C minor, Op. 80, “Choral Fantasy (Op. 80, 1808).
74
Missa Solemnis (Op. 123, 1823).
75
Cantata on the accession of Emperor Leopold II (WoO 88, c 1790); Mass in C Major (Op. 86, 1807).
76
Christ on the Mount of Olives (Op. 85, 1803)
77
Calm Sea and Prosperous Voyage (Op. 112, 1815; Cantata on the death of the Emperor Joseph II (WoO 87, 1790), and five others.
78
Irish Songs (WoO 152, 1810-13)
79
Irish Songs (WoO 152, 1810-15)
80
Irish Songs (WoO 154, 1810-15); Welsh Songs (WoO 155, 1810-15)
81
Scottish Songs (WoO 156, 1810-12)
82
4 English Songs (WoO 157, 1816/19); 29 Songs of Various Nationality (WoO 158, 1816-20)
83
25 Scottish Songs (Op. 108, 1810-20)
84
More Irish, Welsh, Scottish Songs, and songs of various nationalities
85-88
Lieder, Vol. 1-4
89
Voice and orchestra works
90
Canons and musical jokes
Here is a short, interesting piece about Fidelio and Leonore. https://www.classicalwcrb.org/post/beethovens-leonore-original-masterpiece#stream/0 As it says there, Beethoven's only opera premiered as "Leonore" in 1805. But Beethoven reworked the music, resulting in a renamed "Fidelio" that premiered in 1814.
Years ago I had an LP of "Fidelio," with the music conducted by the renowned Wilhelm Furtwängler. I listened to the opera but, interestingly, the booklet inside the LP set contained no essays about the opera but, instead, a long essay about the conductor. It was a fascinating article, however, which discussed his intuitive approach.
Listening to this set, I enjoyed "Leonore" a little more than "Fidelio." It seemed freer than the more well-known 1814.
I didn't realize that Beethoven only wrote one oratorio, "Christ on the Mount of Olives." Here is an essay about it. https://lso.co.uk/more/blog/1393-an-introduction-to-beethoven-s-christ-on-the-mount-of-olives.html The piece dates from the era of the Heiligenstadt Testament when Beethoven's hearing loss was growing worse. The sadness and also the optimism of his struggles can be heard in the oratorio as well.
I also used to have an LP of the "Missa Solemnis," conducted by Kurt Masur. The mass is a good complement to the Ninth Symphony but is much less often performed. Here are a couple essays about that.
https://www.laphil.com/musicdb/pieces/2348/missa-solemnis
More to come!
Tuesday, October 6, 2020
Money Stories
I'm not posting here as often as I'd like. After months at home, I've a crazy-busy semester. But here is my devotion for our church, to complement this past Sunday's sermon.
Money Stories
Exodus 16:1-18, Luke 22:1-23
Paul Stroble
Many of us have endured times when money was very tight. Having faith in God through financially difficult times is really hard. Worry clouds your thinking.
Our first scripture lesson is the famous story of manna. Exodus 12:37 states that about 600,000 men on foot left Egypt with Moses, which doesn’t include women and children and, presumably, the infirm who had to ride. That’s a lot of people requiring food and water. Think of news reports about of people in refugee camps.
The Israelites were fearful and demanding concerning their needs. The people had witnessed the power of God in the several plagues that struck Egypt, and especially in the splitting of the Red Sea which let them escape. But once in the Wilderness, they grumbled and panicked.
The Bible says that for their entire period of sojourn in the Wilderness, God provided the Israelites a miraculous substance, manna, to feed them He also provided quail, and sources of fresh water.
So why didn’t they trust God when times were hard? Because they were human!
Psalm 42 captures well that human anxiety concerning God’s care. The psalmist remembers God’s faithfulness, but nevertheless feels abandoned. The psalmist knows that this is a painful but temporary emotion during a difficult time. Psalm 73 also captures the feeling. The psalmist has almost lost faith in God and behaved like “a brute beast” toward God. But God never once gives up on the psalmist and will always be a faithful source of faithfulness and help (Psalm 73:21-26).
Our second scripture is Luke’s story of the Last Supper. We’ll focus on Judas.
The four Gospels give us a composite picture of Judas. All the Gospels tell of Judas’ meeting with the leaders about his idea to betray Jesus. Matthew alone mentions the 30 pieces of silver, as well as his later regret and suicide. Luke and John attributes Judas’ actions to Satan. John goes farther and accuses Judas of greed and theft. Judas’ attitude toward money was an empty place in his heart that left room for temptation.
For someone who has access to funds, theft may be a great temptation and a slippery slope. Their “money stories” turn tragic. Years ago, I knew someone (no longer living) caught siphoning from an account. The person was found guilty and punished. I wrote the person a positive letter, to keep hope for the future. As I suspected, the person did feel great regret and was glad that I wrote.
Judas may have had another motive. Was he impatient with Jesus, who was not initiating an earthly kingdom? Perhaps Jesus would declare himself King if he was confronted by authorities in an otherwise vulnerable situation. If so, Judas was guilty of something we all do from time to time: second-guessing God’s guidance. I’ve certainly felt that way during times of struggle!
In a stewardship sermon that I heard several years ago, the minister said that all of us can set stewardship goals even when we’re broke. Then, when income increases, we’ll be ready to give a little more, and later on, still more. The minister acknowledged our emotional insecurities about money.
Sometimes a person needs to take baby steps in trusting God concerning money! But once we gain confidence, we become more excited about contributing. We want to address critical needs—earlier I mentioned refugees, and there are many more—and the needs of our local church and community. Our money stories gain new dimensions!
Prayer: Dear Lord, during this season, let us give to you our worries and insecurities and grow in ways of generosity and joy. Amen.
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