You're listening to the Allender Center podcast with Dr. Dan Allender.

This week, Dan is joined by Dr. Angela Parker, Assistant Professor of Biblical Studies at the Seattle School to welcome the

Advent season and reflect on the theme of anticipation. Dan and Angela wrestle with

what it means to anticipate the arrival of the Messiah who promises to

invert our systems of power and restore everything that is broken.

Well, it's my privilege to begin a four-week reflection on Advent.

And as we engage the coming of Jesus, and indeed the coming of Jesus, not just his first, but actually his final arrival.

In some ways, Advent is not only the acknowledgement that we have Christmas to look forward to,

but we actually have his presence to look forward to not only through the Spirit of God, but through his actual arrival at some point. I want to talk about four categories, about what it means to anticipate, and then

next week we'll talk about what it means to prepare, and then we'll talk about what it means to

welcome, and then finally what it means to celebrate.

But I have the sweet and delightful honor to be with a colleague who I was able to showcase a number of weeks ago.

And that is Angela Parker, who is our womanist theologian, a New Testament scholar, and so much more. So much more.

Angela, so grateful that you would join us talking about Advent.

Thank you so much for having me, Dan. It's always a pleasure to just speak with you in the blogosphere.

Well, I like just being with you, let alone in the blogosphere. But one of the reasons I wanted

you to begin this process, and not that we have to jump into this immediately, but when I think

about what it means to anticipate, I can only begin with Mary's Magnificat in Luke chapter one

in terms of what does it tell us about the nature of Mary?

And frankly, I've always thought of it

as one of the strangest stories.

I mean, the Bible was full of very strange stories.

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