I’ll be working through Fleming Rutledge’s just released collection of materials gathered together in book form and titled Advent.
From her introductory essay:
Because the church in modern times has turned away from the proclamation of the second coming, which Jesus repeatedly says will come by God’s decision at an hour we do not expect, is the Advent emphasis on the agency of God as contrasted with the “works” of human beings. An exclusive emphasis on Advent as a season of preparation risks putting human endeavor in the spotlight for all four weeks of the season. All the Advent preparation in the world would not be enough unless God were favourably disposed to us in the first place.
Fleming Rutledge, Advent – The Once & Future Coming Of Jesus Christ, Eerdmans, 2018, pg 5.
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