Advent IV

There are many ways in which the beginning of the church calendar is a really good time to explore what is foundational about our faith. I love thinking. I love research. I love learning and knowledge. But, each year I at Christmas I am reminded that God came into the human form as a baby. Imagine taking all these facts and knowledge we have built up to a child.

1. There was a lot of information in this weeks episode. Lots of nuance to each passage. How did it make you feel? What emotions came up? Fear? Anger? Apathy? Excitement? Anxiety? etc.

2. Why did you experience that emotion? For example, I was angry because Mary’s virginity shouldn’t be in question. Or, I was anxious because if X isn’t exactly what I thought it was, then what else was I wrong about?

3. Why might you have experienced that initial emotion?

4. Was there anything in this episode that might shift how you view Christmas this particular year?

5. I feel like I talk about it all the time, but the circular behavior of the Hebrew people seems to be crucial to understanding the birth of Christ. As you imagine living in the aftermath of the birth of Christ, which purportedly broke that circle, how might we live differently than Israel did?