Advent is the time of year when we celebrate and anticipate the birth of Jesus. Well, not quite. Many of our Christian and secular approaches to Advent have viewed it as an extension of the Christmas season of merry cheer and a countdown to the main event. But what if we have misunderstood the mood and movement of Advent completely? What if it is less about peace, joy, love and hope, but a far more uncomfortable and disruptive season? Where does the church find itself at Advent?

The quote from this talk comes from Dorothy Day - "I really only Love God as much as I Love the person I Love the Least". Starting with an overview of Dorothy's life, we then consider how the Bible describes the Love of God, and how that is seen tangibly by considering how Jesus treated one particular individual - the woman subject to bleeding.

We continue examining Jesus' life to help us understand the world of desire using seven words beginning with 'S'. We seek here to discern the scandalous nature of God's desire and his solidarity with our unfulfilled longings, the subversive Gospel desire economy, and the tension between duty and desire seen in Jesus's person. How does being 'awed to heaven but rooted to earth' shape our life desires?

We know our natural human desires are tricky and sticky. So how do we know what is truly good for us in the struggle with our fleshly desires? In this seventh talk on desire, we hang our thoughts on eight words beginning with the letter 'S'. They point to someone beyond us but who has become us to show us how to live the ultimate Good Human life.

The 14th-century mystic, Julian of Norwich, is renowned for her hopeful vision of God, seen in her assuring declaration: "All shall be well, and all shall be well, and all manner of things shall be well". But what does this mean for our life with God in a very uncertain world which certainly doesn't look very 'well'?

The human desire for pleasure is one of the most complex human urges and passions. Christianity has often struggled to come to terms with our natural and normal longing for pleasure and the consequences of living with post-Eden anxiety over our disorientated and disordered desires. What is the love relationship between our temporal pleasures and our longing for God? A look at Eros-love might help us see the pleasures of life and the pursuit of God in a new light.

Adam and Eve's trespass in Eden was about seizing wisdom on their terms. It was a self-determined wisdom and a self-discovered wisdom. The ricochet of this was the reversal of good - the equilibrium and flourishing of their relationship was disordered and disorientated, as seen in Genesis 3.16-19. In this talk, we will consider the meaning of verse 16 in particular - "Your desire will be for your husband, and he will rule over you". How has this been translated and interpreted, and what does it mean for gender relations, the impulse for rule and domination and the Christian understanding of power?

Reflections on the Human Experience. In her book, "This Here Flesh," writer Cole Arthur Riley states, "In lament, our task is never to convince someone of the brokenness of this world; it is to convince them of the world's worth in the first place. True lament is not born from that trite sentiment that the world is bad but rather from a deep conviction that it is worthy of goodness." This podcast seeks to consider some of the author's reflections on key themes from her personal stories, challenging us to dig deeply from our stories and biblical themes such as remembrance, memory and lament

The rich tale of the two trees in the Garden of Earthly Delights points to the choices and consequences of seeing, taking and eating what is desirable to look at. Humans require wisdom to be good stewards in the world and faithfully discern what is good and evil. So why were Adam and Eve warned not to eat from the very tree that would give them this? Why prohibit them from accessing wisdom? The answer to this question will give us insight into how our desires are manipulated and how the route to fulfilling them is not always as it seems.

We have been exploring what is the specific vision of the good life that we desire. Genesis 1 and 2 point to a meaning of 'good' which is about order and harmony, multiplication and flourishing. In the garden of delights (Eden) there is a threat to this vision; an alternative route and telos, seen in the presence of the Tree of Knowing Good and Evil and that wily old snake. What danger do these represent to Adam and Eve and to the order and flourishing of our souls?