Ethan Seifried - November 28, 2020
Mary & Elizabeth
Luke 1:5-56. It’s hard to celebrate because...2020. But we can rejoice because God favors lowliness and humility. Advent proves this. How God chose to come proves this. Who he came to proves this. And who he tells his story through proves this. God loves to lift up the lowly.
From Series: "Advent: the weary world rejoices"
“Long lay the world in sin and error pining 'Til He appeared, and the soul felt its worth A thrill of hope, the weary world rejoices For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn!” Advent is a time of celebration. But oftentimes, and especially in 2020, it can be hard to find much to celebrate. A worldwide pandemic, joblessness, sickness and death of loved ones, police brutality and injustice, political strife, displacement and homelessness. The world is weary. But, as Deitrich Bonhoeffer says, "The celebration of Advent is possible only to those who are troubled in soul, who know themselves to be poor and imperfect, and who look forward to something greater to come." For Advent this year, we will be looking at how Luke shows the weary of this world rejoicing, how he gives voice to the often-voiceless. Mary & Elizabeth, Zechariah, the shepherds, Simeon & Anna. What do these seemingly insignificant characters have to do with the arrival of God in the flesh? How do Jewish peasants fit into God’s cosmic plan of salvation and power reversal?