A new four-episode Advent podcast series will examine the testimonies of the men in and around the life of Mary, the mother of Jesus. Hear ye, hear ye from Jesus, John the Baptizer, the Pharisees, Sadducees and Joseph, her soon-to-be husband.

Why are we talking about the men who don’t bear the brunt of the messy miracle that is labor and delivery? Blame the lectionary. 

This is a true story. The gospel attributed to a tax-collector named Matthew, specifically; these are the readings: 24:36-44, 3:1-12, 11:2-11 and 1:18-25. 

Still, the message remains unchanged. Jesus is coming—though without the contractions, the pushing and screaming, which reminds me of your unrealistic nativity scenes soon to be on display. But I digress. 

Whether in a manger or on a cloud, we can’t be sure of the exact day or the hour. Like Mary’s contractions, you can’t time either. Just support her when she needs to bear down. 

Don’t just stand around; make yourself useful. “Bear Witness” is inspired by the message that God is with us and how humans had a hand in it. Dab her brow.

Except it’s more expression and less embodiment these days. Instead, there is news of denominational splits, doctrinal controversies and the heresy that is white Christian nationalism. The faith tradition is stuck between two thievish ways of being that try to rob a world rich in diversity.

Multicultural words made flesh, we are expectantly waiting and bearing witness to the Lord’s coming—for the time being. All dwelling in occupied territory, Christian nationalists have forgotten the church is in between the now and not-yet, the two ages expressed in the Christian testament. It is exactly as Jesus, “the once and future king,” said to the unnamed woman of Samaria, “The hour is coming and is now here” (4:23, NRSV).

The celebration of Jesus’s initial arrival as divinity in-the-flesh and his return during “the second coming” is central to the Advent of Christ, with John the Baptizer entering the Christmas story as an end-of-the-age herald. To be clear, an apocalyptic invasion of the world is not the same as the fascist takeover of the country.

While the point is to model one’s life after Jesus, I think Christianity has become increasingly disembodied. The church reduced to brick and mortar where people throw rocks and hide their hands instead of the expansive fellowship expressed as the body of Christ, which leaves us out of touch with the lived realities of our neighbors. 

The ecclesia is a rock-headed people, not a place to be visited. Consequently, the invitation to bear witness extends beyond the church’s doors and is not to be reduced to the spiritual tourism disguised as Christian missionary trips.

Because if we are not following in the footsteps of Jesus, then where are we going with all of this? Because if we are not repeating after Jesus, then what are we really saying?

See, this is why folks are deconstructing Christianity. This is why we ask questions after surviving the hateful things people said and did in the name of Jesus.

My elders told me, “Your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit” (1 Corinthians 6:19-20). But it was said mostly for the sake of sexual purity. Still, Christ lives in me, so God is on the move and I’m bearing witness to the undivided “kin-dom” coming.

Though at seventeen years old, my call to Christian ministry was denied by a male deacon because of my anatomy. Like Advent, I embody the future promised to me. So, every Wednesday, you can bear witness to my ministry.

The first episode, “A Wake-Up Call,” is available on all streaming platforms.

Editor’s Note: A version of this column appeared first on Good Faith Media’s website.