{"id":7983,"date":"2025-12-05T03:50:34","date_gmt":"2025-12-05T09:50:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/doxaweb.com\/blog\/?p=7983"},"modified":"2025-12-05T03:50:39","modified_gmt":"2025-12-05T09:50:39","slug":"advent-and-the-last-things","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/doxaweb.com\/blog\/2025\/12\/05\/advent-and-the-last-things\/","title":{"rendered":"Advent and the last things"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div id=\"buzzsprout-player-4625966\"><\/div>\n<script src=\"https:\/\/www.buzzsprout.com\/996733\/4625966-the-last-things.js?container_id=buzzsprout-player-4625966&#038;player=small\" type=\"text\/javascript\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"\">At the end of the Church&#8217;s year, the readings focus on the return of Christ as king. And as the new year begins, this focus continues with consideration of the Advent of Christ&#8217;s kingdom. How do we prepare to meet Christ face to face?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"\">A consideration of the last things &#8211; death, judgment, heaven and hell &#8211; is a good way to make ready. It may sound ominous, but in this podcast episode, I try to explain why it is actually a practice filled with hope and joy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"\">I recorded this in 2008, during a Holy Week\u00a0<strong><a href=\"https:\/\/rciahollywood.blogspot.com\/2008\/03\/23-last-things-death-judgment-heaven.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">OCIA retreat<\/a><\/strong> at Serra Retreat House in Malibu, California.  On Holy Saturday, when I led a reflection about The Last Things, I decided to provide some context, and some of that context came from C.S. Lewis.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p class=\"\">We are halfhearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased.<\/p>\n<cite>C.S. Lewis, <em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.doxaweb.com\/assets\/weight_of_glory.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><strong>The Weight of Glory<\/strong><\/a><\/em><\/cite><\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>As the new church year begins, focusing on the Advent of Christ&#8217;s kingdom, how do we prepare to meet Christ face to face?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5810,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,63,13,83,26,33,49,39,62],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7983","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-advent","category-baptism","category-cs-lewis","category-hope","category-human-life","category-moral-life","category-ocia","category-podcasts","category-weight-of-glory"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Advent and the last things &#8211; doxaweb<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/doxaweb.com\/blog\/2025\/12\/05\/advent-and-the-last-things\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Advent and the last things &#8211; doxaweb\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"As the new church year begins, focusing on the Advent of Christ&#039;s kingdom, how do we prepare to meet Christ face to face?\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/doxaweb.com\/blog\/2025\/12\/05\/advent-and-the-last-things\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"doxaweb\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-12-05T09:50:34+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-12-05T09:50:39+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/doxaweb.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/baretrees_lake.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1400\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1400\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Clayton\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Clayton\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"1 minute\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/doxaweb.com\\\/blog\\\/2025\\\/12\\\/05\\\/advent-and-the-last-things\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/doxaweb.com\\\/blog\\\/2025\\\/12\\\/05\\\/advent-and-the-last-things\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Clayton\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/doxaweb.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/d1d3d00ef2b9d57ad4eb931f00575d9e\"},\"headline\":\"Advent and the last things\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-12-05T09:50:34+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-12-05T09:50:39+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/doxaweb.com\\\/blog\\\/2025\\\/12\\\/05\\\/advent-and-the-last-things\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":202,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/doxaweb.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/d1d3d00ef2b9d57ad4eb931f00575d9e\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/doxaweb.com\\\/blog\\\/2025\\\/12\\\/05\\\/advent-and-the-last-things\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/i0.wp.com\\\/doxaweb.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2020\\\/07\\\/baretrees_lake.jpg?fit=1400%2C1400&ssl=1\",\"articleSection\":[\"advent\",\"baptism\",\"CS Lewis\",\"hope\",\"human life\",\"moral life\",\"OCIA\",\"podcasts\",\"weight of glory\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/doxaweb.com\\\/blog\\\/2025\\\/12\\\/05\\\/advent-and-the-last-things\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/doxaweb.com\\\/blog\\\/2025\\\/12\\\/05\\\/advent-and-the-last-things\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/doxaweb.com\\\/blog\\\/2025\\\/12\\\/05\\\/advent-and-the-last-things\\\/\",\"name\":\"Advent and the last things &#8211; doxaweb\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/doxaweb.com\\\/blog\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/doxaweb.com\\\/blog\\\/2025\\\/12\\\/05\\\/advent-and-the-last-things\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/doxaweb.com\\\/blog\\\/2025\\\/12\\\/05\\\/advent-and-the-last-things\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/i0.wp.com\\\/doxaweb.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2020\\\/07\\\/baretrees_lake.jpg?fit=1400%2C1400&ssl=1\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-12-05T09:50:34+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-12-05T09:50:39+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/doxaweb.com\\\/blog\\\/2025\\\/12\\\/05\\\/advent-and-the-last-things\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/doxaweb.com\\\/blog\\\/2025\\\/12\\\/05\\\/advent-and-the-last-things\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/doxaweb.com\\\/blog\\\/2025\\\/12\\\/05\\\/advent-and-the-last-things\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/i0.wp.com\\\/doxaweb.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2020\\\/07\\\/baretrees_lake.jpg?fit=1400%2C1400&ssl=1\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/i0.wp.com\\\/doxaweb.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2020\\\/07\\\/baretrees_lake.jpg?fit=1400%2C1400&ssl=1\",\"width\":1400,\"height\":1400},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/doxaweb.com\\\/blog\\\/2025\\\/12\\\/05\\\/advent-and-the-last-things\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/doxaweb.com\\\/blog\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Advent and the last things\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/doxaweb.com\\\/blog\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/doxaweb.com\\\/blog\\\/\",\"name\":\"The Weight of Glory\",\"description\":\"our every encounter leads someone to beatitude or away from it\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/doxaweb.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/d1d3d00ef2b9d57ad4eb931f00575d9e\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/doxaweb.com\\\/blog\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":[\"Person\",\"Organization\"],\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/doxaweb.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/d1d3d00ef2b9d57ad4eb931f00575d9e\",\"name\":\"Clayton\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/i0.wp.com\\\/doxaweb.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/01\\\/IMG_1778.jpg?fit=960%2C960&ssl=1\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/i0.wp.com\\\/doxaweb.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/01\\\/IMG_1778.jpg?fit=960%2C960&ssl=1\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/i0.wp.com\\\/doxaweb.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/01\\\/IMG_1778.jpg?fit=960%2C960&ssl=1\",\"width\":960,\"height\":960,\"caption\":\"Clayton\"},\"logo\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/i0.wp.com\\\/doxaweb.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/01\\\/IMG_1778.jpg?fit=960%2C960&ssl=1\"}}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Advent and the last things &#8211; doxaweb","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/doxaweb.com\/blog\/2025\/12\/05\/advent-and-the-last-things\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Advent and the last things &#8211; doxaweb","og_description":"As the new church year begins, focusing on the Advent of Christ's kingdom, how do we prepare to meet Christ face to face?","og_url":"https:\/\/doxaweb.com\/blog\/2025\/12\/05\/advent-and-the-last-things\/","og_site_name":"doxaweb","article_published_time":"2025-12-05T09:50:34+00:00","article_modified_time":"2025-12-05T09:50:39+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1400,"height":1400,"url":"https:\/\/doxaweb.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/baretrees_lake.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Clayton","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Clayton","Est. reading time":"1 minute"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/doxaweb.com\/blog\/2025\/12\/05\/advent-and-the-last-things\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/doxaweb.com\/blog\/2025\/12\/05\/advent-and-the-last-things\/"},"author":{"name":"Clayton","@id":"https:\/\/doxaweb.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/d1d3d00ef2b9d57ad4eb931f00575d9e"},"headline":"Advent and the last things","datePublished":"2025-12-05T09:50:34+00:00","dateModified":"2025-12-05T09:50:39+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/doxaweb.com\/blog\/2025\/12\/05\/advent-and-the-last-things\/"},"wordCount":202,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/doxaweb.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/d1d3d00ef2b9d57ad4eb931f00575d9e"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/doxaweb.com\/blog\/2025\/12\/05\/advent-and-the-last-things\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/doxaweb.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/baretrees_lake.jpg?fit=1400%2C1400&ssl=1","articleSection":["advent","baptism","CS Lewis","hope","human life","moral life","OCIA","podcasts","weight of glory"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/doxaweb.com\/blog\/2025\/12\/05\/advent-and-the-last-things\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/doxaweb.com\/blog\/2025\/12\/05\/advent-and-the-last-things\/","url":"https:\/\/doxaweb.com\/blog\/2025\/12\/05\/advent-and-the-last-things\/","name":"Advent and the last things &#8211; doxaweb","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/doxaweb.com\/blog\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/doxaweb.com\/blog\/2025\/12\/05\/advent-and-the-last-things\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/doxaweb.com\/blog\/2025\/12\/05\/advent-and-the-last-things\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/doxaweb.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/baretrees_lake.jpg?fit=1400%2C1400&ssl=1","datePublished":"2025-12-05T09:50:34+00:00","dateModified":"2025-12-05T09:50:39+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/doxaweb.com\/blog\/2025\/12\/05\/advent-and-the-last-things\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/doxaweb.com\/blog\/2025\/12\/05\/advent-and-the-last-things\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/doxaweb.com\/blog\/2025\/12\/05\/advent-and-the-last-things\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/doxaweb.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/baretrees_lake.jpg?fit=1400%2C1400&ssl=1","contentUrl":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/doxaweb.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/baretrees_lake.jpg?fit=1400%2C1400&ssl=1","width":1400,"height":1400},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/doxaweb.com\/blog\/2025\/12\/05\/advent-and-the-last-things\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/doxaweb.com\/blog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Advent and the last things"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/doxaweb.com\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/doxaweb.com\/blog\/","name":"The Weight of Glory","description":"our every encounter leads someone to beatitude or away from it","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/doxaweb.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/d1d3d00ef2b9d57ad4eb931f00575d9e"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/doxaweb.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":["Person","Organization"],"@id":"https:\/\/doxaweb.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/d1d3d00ef2b9d57ad4eb931f00575d9e","name":"Clayton","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/doxaweb.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/IMG_1778.jpg?fit=960%2C960&ssl=1","url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/doxaweb.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/IMG_1778.jpg?fit=960%2C960&ssl=1","contentUrl":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/doxaweb.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/IMG_1778.jpg?fit=960%2C960&ssl=1","width":960,"height":960,"caption":"Clayton"},"logo":{"@id":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/doxaweb.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/IMG_1778.jpg?fit=960%2C960&ssl=1"}}]}},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/doxaweb.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/baretrees_lake.jpg?fit=1400%2C1400&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/doxaweb.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7983","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/doxaweb.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/doxaweb.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/doxaweb.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/doxaweb.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7983"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/doxaweb.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7983\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7984,"href":"https:\/\/doxaweb.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7983\/revisions\/7984"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/doxaweb.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5810"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/doxaweb.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7983"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/doxaweb.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7983"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/doxaweb.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7983"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}