Honest Advent & Christmas | Scott Erickson

In this engaging conversation, Scott challenges us to think about our obsession with the afterlife and invites us to trust in grace, as matters of birth, death, and rebirth are beyond our control. We'll uncover the richness of Jesus's narrative, exploring how the Christmas season isn't just about the commerce that clamors for our attention, but a time to ponder the profound meaning of Jesus’s birth.Scott shares insights from his art, which strays from the trodden path of traditional Christmas illustrations while reflecting on the deeply spiritual encounter with the biological miracle of childbirth. Through his work, Scott seeks to bridge the distance between our societal aversion to vulnerability and the need to embrace our tender hearts for deep understanding.Together, we'll unpack why Jesus’s embodiment as a human requires us not only to reflect but also to engage physically through practices like pilgrimage. Scott's transformative art and stories urge us to consider Jesus's incarnation not just as a historical event, but as an ever-present reality. And as Scott will reveal, our journey with Christ also means apprenticeship to our own mortality.----View this episode on YouTube = https://youtu.be/OuDt1bvm_oA----Scott Erickson is an artist, author, performance speaker, and creative curator who mixes autobiography, mythology, and aesthetics to create art and moments that speak to our most profound experiences.Using his passion and commitment to craft, Scott has been a working artist for over a decade and has had his work appear on CNN, National Geographic, and various magazines, newspaper outlets, and book covers.He is the co-author of Prayer: Forty Days of Practice and May It Be So, the author of Honest Advent and Say Yes. Send us Fan MailCONNECT WITH USSubscribe to The UpWords Podcast wherever you listen to podcasts and visit slbf.org/studio to learn more about our work at the intersection of faith, the academy, and the marketplace.This episode was created by the SLBF STUDIO at Upper House.Produced by Daniel Johnson and Dave ConourEdited by Dave Conour