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Jan. 6: Come Away With Me, My Love!

Passion Flowers and Hummingbirds, Martin Johnson Heade, 1870–83. Oil on canvas
39.37 x 54.93 cm. Museum of Fine Arts Boston. Public Domain.

“My Beloved.” Performed by Kari Job. Composed by Klaus Kuehn and Kari Jobe.

Poetry:

“Love Poem, With Birds”
by Barbara Kingsolver

They are your other flame. Your world
begins and ends with the dawn chorus,
a plaint of saw-whet owl, and in between,
the seven different neotropical warblers
you will see on your walk to the mailbox.
It takes a while. I know now not to worry.

Once I resented your wandering eye that
flew away mid-sentence, chasing any raft
of swallows. I knew, as we sat on the porch
unwinding the cares of our days, you were
listening to me through a fine mesh of oriole,
towhee, flycatcher. I said it was like kissing
through a screen door:You’re not all here.

But who could be more present than a man
with the patience of sycamores, showing me
the hummingbird’s nest you’ve spied so high
in a tree, my mortal eye can barely make out
the lichen-dabbed knot on an elbow of branch.
You will know the day her nestlings leave it.

The wonder is that such an eye, that lets not
even the smallest sparrow fall from notice,
beholds me also. That I might walk the currents
of our days with red and golden feathers
in my hair, my plain tongue laced with music.
That we, the birds and I, may be text and
illumination in your book of common prayer.

CHRIST SINGS OVER HIS BELOVED BRIDE

Beloved means “granted special treatment or attention.” Some of beloved’s synonyms: adored, cherished, esteemed, loved, admired, prized, favored, treasured, and special. Unfortunately, I am intimately familiar with the opposite of beloved: forgotten, ignored, abandoned.

My parents divorced when I was three years old, and I saw very little of my father during the remaining years of his life. The damage to my sense of self-worth and confidence associated with his leaving reverberated through my heart for many, many years. My mother, with her Borderline Personality Disorder, experienced emotional instability, shifting between intense love and severe criticism toward me; she had difficulty identifying and responding to my childhood emotional states; she expected me to tend to her needs while neglecting mine; she demanded that I take on the role of parent or friend rather than that of a needy child; and four times, she abandoned me. Feeling like a beloved child was something I knew nothing about.

I have longed deeply to be cherished by someone like the man depicted in Kingsolver’s poem, who is “more present than a man / with the patience of sycamores” who can spy a hummingbird’s nest high in a tree and knows “the day her nestlings leave it.” That person, so present in the moment, has such an observant eye that not even the smallest sparrow would fall from notice. Oh, to be seen like that!

Friends, my longings, and yours, too, can be satisfied in the person of Jesus, I am certain. The beautiful words of Kari Jobe in her song "My Beloved" remind me that Jesus calls me His beloved, delights in singing over me, and calls me beautiful. The very One who breathed life into me offers to take me to quiet waters, restore my soul, rest in Him, and be made whole. I am special.

I could never imagine my parents singing over me with such delight. But the good news? The Lord rejoices over me with singing. I don’t have to imagine that –– it is Truth. He is always near to hold and carry us in His everlasting arms, just as He held and carried me through my childhood when my parents abandoned me, He adored, treasured, and cherished me unconditionally. He does not abandon. I am His beloved.

He delights with exultant gladness upon all who trust in His name. Yes, the Lord rejoices over me, delights in me, and sheds his love upon me. With singing! And He does the same for you.

The one and only God of the universe takes great delight in you. Can you think of anything more wonderful and loving than God rejoicing in you with such happiness that He sings?

Prayer:
Lord, we thank you for your extravagant love so deep that you rejoice over your beloved sons and daughters with singing. Please open our hearts to grasp the depth of Your love for us. Help us comprehend the immense joy and delight You experience for us. Thank You for walking with us through the highs and lows of life in the past, and for what is to come. In Your name, our most loving Father, we pray.
Amen.

Dr. Robin LaBarbera, Ph.D., D.S.W.
Professor Emerita
School of Education
Biola University
LaBarbera Learning Solutions
Seal Beach, California

For more information about the artwork, music, and poetry selected for this day, please visit our website by going to https://ccca.biola.edu/advent/2024.