Advent Pastor Statement

The arrival of God as a human being in the world does not fit into neat categories. The Almighty God came as a vulnerable baby. The invisible God chose a visible form. The uncontainable God willingly took on the constraints of a body. A paradox lies at the heart of the Incarnation, at the heart of the person of Jesus: fully God and fully human. “And the Word became flesh and lived among us,” as the gospel according to John puts it.

Rather than trying to make sense of paradox, we’re best served by holding this mystery in tension. Scripture invites us to take a both/and approach, rather than an either/or approach. This Advent season, we’re looking at the Incarnation up close. We anticipate seeing a fuller picture of the surprising ways God shows up in our world. The God we serve is both wild and peaceful, hidden and visible, humble and powerful.

We have designed this Advent devotional to help you prepare for the celebration of God’s arrival and the return of Jesus Christ for the renewal of all things. Each week will have its own section with a theme, and each day, except Sunday, will include a Scripture passage and a reflection created by one of our own Gathering Church folks.

We hope this Advent devotional helps you find and be found by the living God. We pray you are challenged and encouraged. We trust you will be empowered to love and be loved.

The wolf shall live with the lamb;
    the leopard shall lie down with the kid;
the calf and the lion will feed together,
    and a little child shall lead them.

Isaiah 11:6

- Curt Lowndes