"Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying,
See, the home of God is among mortals.
He will dwell with them as their God;
they will be his peoples,
and God himself will be with them;
he will wipe every tear from their eyes.
Death will be no more;
mourning and crying and pain will be no more,
for the first things have passed away.
And the one who was seated on the throne said, “See, I am making all things new.” Also he said, “Write this, for these words are trustworthy and true.” Then he said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give water as a gift from the spring of the water of life."
Revelation 21:1-6 NRSVUE
December 14, 2023
I am the product of the intersection between disciplines and divine revelation. I am a source of
signifying, imagining, and modeling because of my intersectional formation. Walk with me during
Advent’s anticipation as we re-center our lives and our attention on Christ.
Jesus enters time and space among people who expect that he will transform the world. We are
called to signify the new heaven and new earth. We are called to imagine the mystery and mystical
nature of God. We are called to model an ethic of living that is faithful to our God, our communities,
and our world.
In The Parable of the Sower, Octavia Butler wrote, “There is nothing new under the sun, but there are
new suns.” Consider these three new suns: Afrofuturism, Ecowomanism, and Womanist Ethics.
Afrofuturism is reclamation of what has been stolen because of colonization, imagines Black
liberation through a revisioning of the past and the possibilities of the future. Afrofuturism seeks to
create the radical peace of “shalom,” that tends to our souls through the re-ordering of society and
releasing the strongholds that claimed our joy, our peace, and our ability to envision a future beyond
the death dealing past.
Ecowomanism is the connection to the soil, imagines reclaiming identity, ownership and stewardship
of the land that was promised through modeling eco-storytelling and the renewal of divine covenant
with the land in tandem with God, creation and the Holy Spirit. When we embody Ecowomanism,
we can signify prophetic tradition that flows from a stream of consciousness like Sojourner Truth and
Harriet Tubman.
Womanist Ethics is the generational wisdom and experiences of Black women that permeates our
ways of being, understanding and making decisions. We can imagine morally grounded and faithful
ways of living that include the practices of truth telling and corrective action.
Where do you see God calling, moving, creating, and entering into time and space?
Reverend Evan Taylor
Minister to Young Adults
Prayer: Sovereign God. Shape us, mold us, and awaken us in this Advent season, to center Jesus
in our worship, our work, and our community. Amen.
Advent Guide 2023
As we stand in expectation of peace on Earth and reflect on the events of our times and the lives of our brothers, sisters and siblings in Christ, we await change and new birth.
We seek, listen and perceive the presence of God in words of Hope, Peace, Joy and Love.
We invite you to join us in meditation, reflection, prayer and spiritual disciplines throughout the season of Advent and beyond.
Read along with us each day or download the book to read and reflect along with us offline.
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