Word&Way Voices

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.

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.

For day 2 of our Unsettling Advent devotionals, Rob Schenck reflects on reading New Testament Advent story against its historical backdrop: An aggressively militant imperial occupier had invaded the ancient Levant, annexing it and subjugating various nations, bringing sorrow and suffering to countless peoples. Sound all too familiar?

Contributing writer Sarah Blackwell writes that in our country, we often think about pilgrims in the way that our Thanksgiving traditions teach us — that it is all about the destination. She has always relished pilgrimage stories and dreamed of lacing up her own shoes and traveling by foot to the sacred spaces of her faith. But recently she realized there was nothing stopping her from being a pilgrim within her own hometown.