“Advent bids us take a fearless inventory of the darkness: the darkness without and the darkness within.”
― Fleming Rutledge, Advent: The Once and Future Coming of Jesus Christ
*Note: Each post turns into a live link as it is uploaded.
- The Call to Descend
- Descent as Love
- Descent into Smallness
- Descent into Rejection
- Descent into Vulnerability
- Descent into Being Ordinary
- Descent into Being Unattractive
- Descent into Being Despised
- Descent into Grief
- Descent into Being Shunned
- Descent into Being Crushed
- Descent into Being Scapegoated
- Descent into Oppression
- Descent into Betrayal
- Descent into Childlessness
“Advent begins in the dark and moves toward the light—but the season should not move too quickly or too glibly, lest we fail to acknowledge the depth of the darkness. As our Lord Jesus tells us, unless we see the light of God clearly, what we call light is actually darkness: “how great is that darkness!” (Matt. 6:23).”
― Fleming Rutledge, Advent: The Once and Future Coming of Jesus Christ
- Ascent into Prospering
- Ascent into Satisfaction
- Ascent into Justification
- Ascent into Honor
How To Engage this Series
Each post in Descending into Advent contains several elements: a descriptive word, Scripture, story, and breath prayer. Here are some suggestions to help you slow and attune your heart to how the Lord desires to speak personally and powerfully into your own story of descent.
Visualize: Each post contains a descriptive word and definition meant to invoke an image. Read each definition and ask yourself—what is the first image that comes to mind when I hear this word? That image informs the perspective you bring to the Scripture and story that follow.
Read: This post series traces Jesus’ descent into human experience using passages from Micah, Luke, and primarily Isaiah 53. The meaning of each descriptive word is found in Christ’s story, and he invites us to see the meaning of those words in our own stories as we identify with his. As you read the storied reflections that follow each Scripture, I invite you recognize some of your own story in those that are shared, and in that recognition begin to see God at work in your life in ways you may have missed before.[1]
Ponder: Each reflection is followed by a question meant to help you apply the Scripture to your life.
Pray: Each post concludes with a breath prayer focusing your heart on the primary invitation. With your eyes closed, inhale deeply and pray the phrase after “inhale.” As you exhale, pray the phrase after “exhale.”
Each of these components is meant to help you engage in honest conversation with God about your everyday stories of descent
[1] Reference to Buechner, Frederick. “Life Itself is Grace,” (pg 2).Listening to Your Life: Daily Meditations with Frederick Buechner.
Pursued 