Opinion

Joy Martinez-Marshall, pastor of First Baptist Church in Lincoln, Nebraska, writes that the Christ child knows what it is like to be born in a place not his own to a world that did not value his humanity and dignity. Today, innocent lives are caught in the middle of political wars waged for power and bred out of hate. They are no different than the maddening actions of Herod at Christ’s birth.

Rev. Jennifer Butler, founder of Faith in Public Life, writes that Advent begs us to notice how God’s power shows up most for people in the wilderness rather than those ensconced in the halls of power. Our hope resides in joining the cloud of witnesses who have prepared the way by paving roads through the wildernesses of human existence so that all might thrive.

Elisey Pronin, a professor at Ukrainian Baptist Theological Seminary in Lviv, Ukraine, writes that we are used to Christmas as a bright, joyful holiday. But not on the day Jesus came into the world. And also not for Ukrainians this year. But we believe in the Ukrainian sunrise, so we continue to live and fight with hope.

Elijah M. Brown, general secretary & CEO of Baptist World Alliance, writes that Advent is a call to find comfort in the miraculous arrival of the Savior, but it is also an invitation to prayerfully journey with the many who will live this Christmas in the long shadow of war and occupation. This is the disquieting reality for Ukraine.

Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove writes that in this season of watching and waiting, we do not have answers. We learn to be present to the pain of places like Mariupol and to pray with its suffering people for the peace we all need. For rulers who cling to their thrones, the advent of Jesus is a direct threat to their expansionist vision.

Juliet Vedral makes the case that the life and faithfulness of Mary Magdalene are a witness in this Advent season of light breaking through darkness and hope appearing where it’s least expected. Vedral spoke to Elizabeth Tabish, an actress from the television show The Chosen who plays Mary as a woman recovering from sexual assault and mental illness.

Rose Marie Berger, a senior editor at Sojourners magazine, reflects on Advent as a time of waiting. During Advent, we wait for something that is coming — we prepare for an arrival. We think of it as a joyful season, a season of sweet anticipation. But Advent is also a season of fasting, of hunkering down, of stripping away what is known to prepare for what is unknown.

In this issue of A Public Witness, Brian Kaylor introduces us to 10 gifts the proud “Christian Nationalist” on your list will love. But please don’t buy these unless you want to end up on the naughty list (and make the baby Jesus cry). Instead, these gift suggestions show us what it can look like to merge Christian and American identities in problematic ways.

Andre Khudyakov, a Ukrainian Baptist pastor, reflects on how we tend to read the Bible as stories about what happened centuries ago as well as descriptions of events that will take place far in the future. So, we place ourselves in a “safe zone in the middle” and we become like observers and commentators of biblical events from the past and those in the future and we never allow our minds to embrace its relevance to our lifetime.

With Christmas approaching, Christine Trotter explores part of the story that is usually omitted: Mary travels from Nazareth to Judea to visit her relative Elisabeth, an older woman who speaks prophetically to Mary and informs her that she is pregnant with the Lord. Trotter outlines what else we know about Elisabeth, why her character is frequently left out of the Christmas story, and why she should be included as a prophetic voice.