Deck the halls and make the yuletide gay, my friends! It’s time once again for a special holiday edition of the show. A Very Existential Christmas weaves together poems, prayers, and stories in a unique exploration of Christmas without God.

We begin by deconstructing the myth of Santa Claus before a brief commercial break and then come back for a poem, a short sermon I preached one advent Sunday back when I was still a Christian, another poem/prayer, and then a bit of theology about expectation and incarnation in the shadow of God’s absence.

If you are a long-time listener you may recognize this episode from last year — it’s about 75% the same as Episode 10 (“Advent/Absence”) but I’ve redone the audio and added a bunch of new stuff and generally made it a lot better just for you.

So pour yourself a warm beverage and curl up by the fire — or put this in your earholes while you’re driving around doing Christmas shit or going to your relatives house or staying at home being depressed — and enjoy a Very Existential Christmas.

(Christmas spirit not required.)