2+ week, 2+ day ago (228+ words) Advent is my favorite season of the church year because it taps into the deep yearning I feel for this world to be set right, for God's beauty to burst into it with an irrefutable finality'no more sin, no more sorrow. The season is a chance to practice hope, something I sometimes struggle with, as I tend to lean more cynical. The readings, art, and music of Advent sweep me up into the grand narrative of scripture, attuning me to the ways God has always been coming to us, but fixing me especially on how in Bethlehem of Judea, he came in a very special way'as a human being'and nurturing my excitement for his imminent return to earth to wed it to heaven. Many of the songs will be drawn from my Advent playlist, which I first published on Spotify…...

5+ day, 6+ hour ago (405+ words) The Daybook is a way to pay attention to Christ's three arrivals'then, now, and still to come'and to walk through December with a quieter heart and a stronger hope," Murphy writes. Murphy is offering Art & Theology readers a 50% discount to Restful using this link, which brings the subscription cost down to $4/month (let it run for two months if you want to receive the full Christmastide Daybook) or $32/year, which will give you access to her year-round content. The offer expires January 5, 2026. BLOG POST: The Sacred Journey of Advent" by Ashley Tumlin Wallace, The Liturgical Home: Advent," writes Wallace, is a season of preparation, for the coming of Christ at Christmas, and also for His return in glory at the end of time." This is a great introduction to the season that kicks off the new church year. One of…...

1+ day, 6+ hour ago (943+ words) Below are twenty-five poems to "hold us still" this holiday season. The order progresses, in general, from Advent longing and anticipation to Christmas joy and wonder to post-nativity moments like the presentation in the temple and the visit of the magi. For previous years" installments, see volume 1, volume 2, and volume 3. Source: University of Virginia Office of Engagement 2. "Prayer" by John Frederick Nims: The first in a sequence of five poems, "Prayer" expresses a sense of emptiness and desire, beckoning an unnamed one whom I read as Christ to come and fill. "Come to us, conceiver, / You who are all things, held and holder. / . . . / Come, infinite answer to our infinite want." Source: Five Young American Poets, vol. 3 (New Directions, 1944); compiled in The Powers of Heaven and Earth: New and Selected Poems (Louisiana State University Press, 2022) 3. "how he is coming then" by…...

1+ week, 4+ day ago (144+ words) BLOG SERIES: Three excellent, brief musings on the season of Advent by W. David O. Taylor, published last year on his blog: Here's an example of a congregation (First United Methodist Houston) singing the refrain the way Gregerson so fondly remembers: I think this book would have worked better as a literary essay, as it feels padded out to make its ninety-page count, with redundancies and somewhat arbitrary divisions. But I love how Vanhoozer draws us into this cherished and still-living tradition from her childhood and calls us to see and participate in the story of God's coming where we live, in all its particularities. The cover image is a detail from For Those in Darkness by the American artist Lauren Wright Pittman. Weber is looking for a North American publisher to release an English-language edition of the book....

2+ week, 1+ day ago (207+ words) "This Advent, choose some time for silence. Make space within yourself to grow large with the abundance of God's favor."" Continue reading Enlarged in the'Waiting " [Winkler, Uli_Mary]Uli Winkler (German, 1969), Mary, 1998. Bronze, height 37 cm. Private collection. [read commentary by Patrik Scherrer] Standing at the threshold of another Advent, we hear the invitation of Christ: "Come away to a deserted place and rest a while." And so we begin our season of growth and expectation'a time to secret ourselves with Mary, to join our hearts with hers, and to grow pregnant with God together. God invites us to a quiet place of reflection and bounty. This Advent, choose some time for silence. Make space within yourself to grow large with the abundance of God"s favor. Make this a time to fill your lungs deeply with God so that you can breathe Christ…...

1+ week, 2+ day ago (1580+ words) The Protoevangelium of James was, and remains, immensely popular in Eastern Christianity, having been translated early on from its original Greek into Syriac, Ethiopic, Coptic, Armenian, and Arabic. On how the Orthodox Church views the text today, I found this Reddit thread interesting. A later version of it, with additions and modifications, emerged in Latin by the seventh century under the name the Gospel of Pseudo-Matthew (aka the Infancy Gospel of Matthew), popularizing its stories in the West. None of the three branches of Christianity regards these gospels as scripture'the Gelasian Decree of circa 495 officially classified the Protoevangelium as apocryphal, meaning not inspired or authoritative'but nonetheless, they have heavily influenced (in Catholicism and Eastern Orthodoxy) Christian art and Mariology. Trying to interpret Christian artworks depicting unfamiliar scenes or details is how I first brushed up against the Protoevangelium of James…...

5+ hour, 58+ min ago (91+ words) Tish Harrison Warren, Advent: The Season of Hope, pp. 3233 LOOK: Luminarias by Juan Guzm'n LISTEN: "Come, Oh Redeemer, Come" by Fernando Ortega, on Give Me Jesus, 1999 | Performed by MissionSong (musicians of The Mission Chattanooga Parish), 2020 Lord, save us from the darkOf our strivingFaithless and troubled heartsWeighed down Refrain:Come, oh Redeemer, comeGrant us mercyCome, oh Redeemer, comeGrant us peace Look now upon our needLord, be with usHeal us and make us freeFrom our sin [Refrain "2] Father enthroned on highHoly, holyAncient, eternal LightHear our prayer...