Holiday time is a always a time of contrasting emotions. We are frazzled and eager, sentimental, yet indifferent. One minute we are glowing at the thought of getting together with family and friends, the next we feel utterly lonely. Our hope is mingled with dread, our anticipation with despair. We sense the deeper meanings of the season but grasp at them in vain; and in the end, all the bustle leaves us frustrated and drained. More than often, the feeling we know at Christmas lacks any real connection with the vital spirit that radiated from the manger.
The season of advent is a season of inward preparation. We will miss the essence of Christmas unless we become, in the words of Eberhard Arnold, “mindful of how Christ’s birth took place”.
This book goes beyond the Hallmark, feel good devotionals. There are 40 essays and poems from a wide spectrum of contemporary and classic authors. Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Dorothy Day, Madeleine L'Engle, Martin Luther, Kathleen Norris, Henri Nouwen, Philip Yancey, Karl Barth and Síren Kierkegaard name a few of them.
These writings will take you beyond the imagery of the nativity scenes. God did come in the feeding trough of an animal. But it was not only as a baby that he lay there. That child was the same man crucified at Golgatha, and who rose again. Within the manger lies the cross—and the hope of redemption and resurrection.
To recognize this hope requires reverence, humility and faith. Can you become like a child and believe? Pick up this gem and take a good look at how these authors are expectant of hope.
The season of advent is a season of inward preparation. We will miss the essence of Christmas unless we become, in the words of Eberhard Arnold, “mindful of how Christ’s birth took place”.
This book goes beyond the Hallmark, feel good devotionals. There are 40 essays and poems from a wide spectrum of contemporary and classic authors. Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Dorothy Day, Madeleine L'Engle, Martin Luther, Kathleen Norris, Henri Nouwen, Philip Yancey, Karl Barth and Síren Kierkegaard name a few of them.
These writings will take you beyond the imagery of the nativity scenes. God did come in the feeding trough of an animal. But it was not only as a baby that he lay there. That child was the same man crucified at Golgatha, and who rose again. Within the manger lies the cross—and the hope of redemption and resurrection.
To recognize this hope requires reverence, humility and faith. Can you become like a child and believe? Pick up this gem and take a good look at how these authors are expectant of hope.
RSS Feed