EPISODE #6: Somber Exile—There is nothing trite about this time of year. In today’s podcast we see that Advent is a time of sorrowful expectation, of daring to hope that Immanuel, God-with-us, is still working to make things right in this world.

Love. Peace. Hope. Joy. We see these words a lot in December—in scrawling fonts, in red green, silver, and gold, adorning Christmas cards and advertisements and invitations. Because they are commonplace, and because they are tossed into the mix of beaming family photos and lists of items we want at the mall and parties with champagne and poinsettias and eggnog, it is easy to think of these words as trite, sentimental, sweet.

But according to the church calendar, there is nothing trite, sentimental, or sweet about this time of year. Rather, Advent—these four weeks leading up to Christmas—is a time of somber expectation in the midst of exile. Not so much the eager expectation that our children demonstrate every morning when they want to revise their gift list. Not so much the expectation of food and family and celebration.

Sorrowful Expectation in Somber Exile

Advent is a time of sorrowful expectation, of daring to hope that Immanuel, God-with-us, the one the Scriptures talk about, the one who came in the flesh on Christmas morning, is still working to make things right in this world.

The church’s understanding of Advent stands in opposition…

There’s More!

I’d love for you to listen to the rest of this podcast episode via the player above or on your favorite podcast platform. And you can read along with the entire Prepare Him Room podcast season by downloading my FREE ebook!

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