Watch For The Light: Readings For Advent And Christmas [Paperback]

This eclectic collection of longer-than-usual daily readings for Advent through the Feast of the Epiphany succeeds in helping its readers more deeply appreciate the Christmas season.

The selections are recent and ancient, ecumenical and even secular, with excerpts from Bernard of Clairvaux, Martin Luther, T.S. Eliot, Thomas Merton, and Anne Dillard, to name a few. In various essays, for example, Dietrich Bonhoeffer explores the existential meaning of Advent, Kathleen Norris contemplates what the Annunciation reveals about spiritual virginity, and John Howard Yoder considers the Incarnation as a kind of revolution.

Don’t expect a string of Hallmark sentiments, however. The overall tone of the book is rather hard-edged, emphasizing the poverty, paradoxes, and perplexities of the Nativity. Like a clear winter night, it’s spiritually bracing stuff, biting and full of mystery.

I will admit it.

I am not, generally, enamored with devotional guides. Their simple message often leaves me wanting.

That was not the case with this book, which I received as a gift. Perhaps it was the year. I work for a large retail chain. Two days before Thanksgiving, I found myself loathing the “Christmas Music” being played in the store to create a seasonal buying mood.

In past years Advent was a time for me to contemplate Christ’s birth. This past year it turned into a time of contrasting emotions. Eager to reunite with my family, the store’s frenzy left me frazzled and indifferent. I lost sight, frankly, of the reason for the season.

For that reason, this book was exactly what I needed. This anthology contained a daily essay from some of the best spiritual writers. Each daily reading gave me a fresh outlook on the true meaning of the holiday season.