Honest Advent Digital Series - Week 1

14:07 that word enunciation it's announced to her that she would give birth and let me let me read it from from scripture so this comes from luke chapter one and the story simply says gabriel the angel gabriel appeared to her and said greetings favored woman the lord is with you confused and disturbed mary tried to think what the angel could mean i mean we've been kind of talking about this imagine that you don't always hear confused and disturbed i mean wouldn't that be how you'd react what what's going on yeah that's a good insight yeah yeah and so one of the ways that like speaking of this like enunciation one of the ways that that the book and that we're tagging on to that we're gonna you might have noticed some of the artwork around us so each week we're gonna highlight a different piece of artwork and so today's artwork is this image of enunciation and in it you see this image of an angel and mary and it has this very like feathery look to it that i love And you'll also notice that some of the coloring in it, it's only colored where it's the divine.

15:12 So the angel is colored and the baby in Mary's womb is colored and the rest is black and white. And I think that's a beautiful illustration of what Scott Erickson is showing us through this visible artwork. Another thing to to notice about it is it really looks very indigenous art inspired. And I think that's a really interesting whether he meant to do it on purpose or not. I think it's a very interesting thing because if you think historically of people groups who have been very aware of things happening, I would think of indigenous people because they're very aware of nature and what's happening in the world, and they would not have missed an Annunciation like this. And so just all those ways to think about the artwork, to be able to let it spark your imagination this season of Advent. And then I want to share this reading from the book as well about Annunciation. And this takes it and also brings it into our own lives.

16:07 It says,

16:34 Americano with cream and two pumps of classic syrup and suddenly a divine voice spoke clear as day as if through the very drive-through speaker and laid out the glorious plan for your life. Or one night you had a fantastically vivid dream and when you awoke you knew with certainty what the next steps were. Or how you tumbled out of a wrecked car on the side of the interstate lifted by the arms of a stranger who appeared out of nowhere who told you it was time to do that thing you've been afraid of and have been putting off for years. You turned back to the oncoming fire trucks and when you turn back to the stranger he was gone. Oh it was an angel like what? This would be the thing that people ask you to tell at every dinner party. It would be awesome to have like this kind of story in your life. When I was in children's ministry and we would talk about you know listening for God's voice I always said I wish that I would hear God say, Susie, pay attention. But I haven't experienced it like that. It's been more gentle nudges that I later realized, oh, that was God talking to me through someone else. So I wish I could have the experience of angels and telling me what to do.

17:50 Yeah, don't we? I mean, we do. And yet he goes on in the book to kind of do the flip side of that. We think we want this enunciation. We think we want this very particular, this is what you should do and why you should do it. But he goes on to say, but if I'm honest, I'm actually afraid of revelation. All great stories come at a cost. And the cost of revelation is that it's going to ask something of us. In any divine enunciation, you receive revelation as a gift. Yet at the same time, you receive notice that all your planning is ending. It's all over. Everything will change. Most of all, you.