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In this episode, we consider the readings for Advent 4, Year B:

2 Samuel 7:1-11, 16; Psalm 89:1-4, 19-26 or Canticle 3 or Canticle 15; Romans 16:25-27; Luke 1:26-38 (39-55)

We discuss David's desire to build a temple for the God who is present in places beyond imagining, Paul's magnificent closing benediction to the church in Rome, and Mary's and Elizabeth's prophetic hymnody alongside the mystery of the incarnation.

Notes:

"God had a birthweight.

That thought stunned me into silence this week. 

God, who exhales stars and cloaks himself in comets, who whittles entire woods and sings the sunrise. The High King himself, the carver of jagged mountain peaks, the weaver of wildflower meadows, took on the crushing human limitations of skin and bones, ‘contracted to a span, incomprehensibly made man’ (Wesley).

How much did God incarnate weigh at birth?

What is the price per pound of peace on earth?

I’ll post a liturgy tomorrow for week three of Advent, the Shepherd’s Candle of Joy, today though I’m taking several prayer-full breaths and sitting with the reality of incarnation and the indescribable hope of our immanent Emmanuel." - Charissa Sylvia

Link to Audio Sermons

Book Recommendations for the Season of Advent:
-IVP's "Fullness of Time" series: Advent: The Season of Hope, by: Rev. Tish Harrison Warren
-Watch for the Light: Readings for Advent and Christmas
-Advent: The Once and Future Coming of Jesus Christ, by: Fleming Rutledge

Notes:

--The Bible Project
--Bible Project podcast transcript on the Magnificat
--Bible Project video series on word studies for Advent
--Bible Project study guide for the season of Advent

3:28 Collect
4:24  2 Samuel 7:1-11, 16
20:19 Romans 16:25-27
30:48

Our outro music is an original song by our friend Dcn. Jeremiah Webster, a poet and professor whose giftedness is rivaled by his humbleness. You can find his published works, including After So Many Fires, with a quick Google.