Isaiah 64:1-9 Mark 13:24-37 Dear Partner in Preaching, You will likely hear any number of well-intentioned and liturgically astute commentators remind you this week that, “Advent is not about the baby Jesus.” Fine. Yes, the season that takes its name from the Latin adventus – “coming” – looks ahead to the second coming of Christ in power and glory as much, if not more, than the first coming of Jesus in the flesh of the Christ child at Bethlehem. Yes, we – and particular we North American, relatively affluent Christians – have largely allowed the cultural impetus to use the weeks before...

Mark 13:1-8 Dear Partner in Preacher, Most often, when I read Gospel passages that fall in or at least near the apocalyptic genre, I feel a significant burden to explain. To explain a bit about what the apocalyptic genre is like and why authors, including the Evangelists, found it useful. To explain the complex layering of the passages – pointing to both the narrative “face value” story as well as the likely historical context that the author was trying to address. To explain how we can hear passages that described “the end” nearly two thousand years ago when we simultaneously still have preachers proclaiming the end today and yet...