Cosmic Mystery #1: Wonder & Vulnerability

Is it any wonder we’re putting up lights earlier every year? Beneath the twinkle is a deep ache for light in a world crowded with genocide, overdoses, polarization, and loneliness. Advent meets that ache with hope, peace, joy, and love—and with a posture: watchful waiting, courageous peacemaking, resilient joy, and self-giving love. This year we’re tracing the cosmic mystery of how God reveals himself in the most subversive way—not by seizing power, but by becoming a baby. The Incarnation overturns our assumptions about glory and greatness and declares good news for those crushed by the status quo.

To call God’s coming “subversive” is to say he turns things upside down from below—challenging the order of power, profit, and prestige. Jesus did not arrive like a general on a warhorse; he came the way of humility, and he taught us to pray for the kingdom to come on earth. That kingdom is felt most keenly where we have forgotten how to wonder and are afraid to be vulnerable. Wonder is what happens when the noise stops and we are present to the glorious now. We see it in children; we lose it when we hurry. Vulnerability is showing up with no guarantees. It’s risky because we know what disappointment feels like, yet being human means we cannot avoid it.

Mary shows us how to meet God in that space. Faced with the impossible, she could have dismissed it or tried to make it happen on her own. Instead, she surrendered: “I am the Lord’s servant.” That is the third way—trust beyond understanding. And God’s own vulnerability is even more staggering: the Almighty became an embryo, was carried in a womb, pushed through a birth canal, and laid in a manger. In Jesus, God consistently meets people in their most exposed places—the shamed, the grieving, the sick, the outcast—and that is where he changes lives.

This Advent, say yes to vulnerability. Find a safe person to tell the truth about who you are and what you need. Practice presence; let wonder interrupt your hurry. Open your heart to the Spirit. As you do, you’ll discover that the place you most want to hide is precisely where Jesus is waiting to meet you.

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Key Takeaways

• 1. The Incarnation subverts worldly power God did not come in force but in frailty, redefining what divine glory looks like. The kingdom advances by humility, justice, and love that lifts the lowly rather than dominating the strong. If we want to participate in this kingdom, we must abandon the scripts of control and embrace Christ’s downward path. [02:31]
• 2. Wonder grows where we slow down Hurry is hostile to holiness because it numbs our capacity to notice. Wonder returns when we give ourselves permission to be present to the “glorious now,” allowing a moment to interrupt our productivity. That attention creates room for God to surprise us again. [08:46]
• 3. Vulnerability is the doorway to faith Showing up without guarantees is not a flaw; it is the space where trust is born. God meets us precisely where we feel exposed—our disappointments, griefs, and risks—and he does real work there. Avoiding vulnerability might shield us from pain, but it also closes us off from transformation. [22:51]
• 4. Choose Mary’s third way of surrender Neither denial nor self-reliance can midwife God’s life in us. Like Mary, we name our limits and still say yes, trusting God to do what we cannot. Surrender is not passivity; it is active consent to God’s initiative. [19:26]

Youtube Chapters

• [00:00] - Welcome
• [00:35] - Bright lights and a weary world
• [01:05] - Advent: more than a countdown
• [02:31] - The subversive Incarnation
• [05:23] - Defining “subversive” and upside-down kingdom
• [08:46] - How hurry kills our wonder
• [11:19] - Vulnerability: risks, wounds, and courage
• [13:27] - Practicing presence at the Nile
• [15:10] - Mary’s encounter with Gabriel
• [19:26] - Three responses; choosing surrender
• [22:51] - God’s vulnerability and ours
• [25:08] - Saying yes this Advent
• [27:38] - Closing prayer

Bible reading (ESV)
Luke 1:26–38
26 In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, 27 to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. And the virgin's name was Mary. 28 And he came to her and said, “Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you!” 29 But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be. 30 And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. 31 And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. 32 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, 33 and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.” 34 And Mary said to the angel, “How will this be, since I am a virgin?” 35 And the angel answered her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy—the Son of God. 36 And behold, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son, and this is the sixth month with her who was called barren. 37 For nothing will be impossible with God.” 38 And Mary said, “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her.

Observation questions (read passage first)

1. Which phrases in Gabriel’s greeting and in Mary’s replies reveal her confusion, fear, and ultimately her willingness? What words or images stand out as surprising in this encounter?
2. What details in the text show the humility and vulnerability of how God chooses to enter the world (the announcement, the pregnancy, the claim that “nothing will be impossible with God”)?
3. The sermon described Jesus’ coming as “subversive” — overturning power from below and redefining glory. How does Luke 1:26–38 present the coming of the Messiah as an upside-down or subversive event? [02:31]
4. The text shows a young woman facing an impossible promise. What are the concrete moments of vulnerability in this scene (Mary’s question, the angel’s reassurance, the dependence on God’s power)? [15:10]

Interpretation questions (objective, specific)

1. Why would God choose to reveal himself through a vulnerable human birth rather than through obvious force or glory? What theological or practical reasons explain the connection between incarnation and vulnerability? [02:31]
2. How does Mary’s response—“Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word”—differ from the other two choices described (dismissal or self-reliant action)? What does this “third way” of surrender mean for understanding faithful response? [19:26]
3. In what way does hurry block the capacity for wonder that Advent calls us to cultivate? How does this passage (and the sermon’s teaching on wonder) help explain what is lost when people cannot slow down? [08:46]
4. The gospel often shows Jesus meeting people at moments of exposure and pain (the demon-possessed, the widow, the outcast). What does it mean theologically that God prefers to enter and redeem in those exposed places rather than in places of power? [22:51]

Application questions (personal, concrete)

1. Identify one place in your life where you are avoiding vulnerability (a relationship, work, grief, fear). Who is one safe person you could name now to share that struggle with, and when will you reach out? [25:08]
2. Choose a concrete practice this week to cultivate presence and invite wonder (for example: a 10-minute walk without a phone, sitting quietly with a child, watching a sunrise). When will you do it, and how will you notice whether it actually interrupted your hurry? [08:46]
3. Where are you trying to manufacture outcomes or control God’s work in your life? Name one specific area (parenting, career, spiritual growth) and one small step of surrender you can take this Advent to let God act. [19:26]
4. How can your household or your small group become a safer place for honest need and weakness? Name one practical change you could make (a regular check-in, a phone-free visit, explicit permission to fail) and who will help you implement it. [22:51]
5. Mary said yes even when she didn’t understand the outcome. What is one fear you will name and place before God this week, and what would saying “let it be to me according to your word” look like in that situation? Set a specific moment this week to pray that prayer. [19:26]

End the study by inviting the group to read Luke 1:26–38 aloud together and to sit in silence for one minute, asking God to show where the group needs vulnerability and wonder this Advent.