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Christmas: The Season of Life and Light
Christmas: The Season of Life and Light
by Emily Hunter McGowan
In reading the book Advent (reviewed here) by Trish Harrison Warren, I learned much about liturgical Protestant churches (typically Lutheran, Anglican, and Episcopalian) that follow a structured, participatory format with foundations in practices of the early Christian church. The church calendar begins with the season of Advent focusing on repentance and the anticipated coming of the Messiah, which is celebrated on December 25th at the commencement of the Twelve Days of Christmas.
I decided to follow up my reading of Advent with the book entitled Christmas: The Season of Life and Lightwhich is also in the Fullness of Time series, but is written by a different author, Emily Hunter McGowin. I was pleased that Christmas held many of the same qualities that are found in Advent. Both are short books and very readable, but are packed with theological truths. McGowan did a lot of research, as witnessed by her footnotes, and she includes a brief list of books for further reading at the end of each chapter. After a fairly personal introduction, she very appropriately begins with the origins of the celebration focusing on the debates about when Christ was actually born. Much of the book discusses God in relationship to people. God’s gift of His Son can be related to the gifts we give at Christmas. Jesus was born in a poor family, and He was concerned about the poor all through his three year ministry. He leaves Christians with the mandate to give sacrificially to the poor. Decorations are an important part of our Christmas customs in the West, and her analysis of their role is found in the chapter “God of Creation and Re-Creation.” McGowan does not gloss over the tragedy of Herod’s slaying children in an attempt to ensure his throne from the threat of this newborn King. Singing and lighting candles are highlighted in her discussion of life and light.
Christmas ends with an appendix listing the “appointed Scriptures and collects” or prayers for Christmas found in the 1979 Lectionary and the Book of Common Prayer. I look forward to reading the other books in the series, all by different authors: Epiphany, Lent, Easter, and Pentecost.
Christmas permeates our society in cultural as well as religious ways. Therefore, this series has benefits of instruction and understanding for all—Christians who use the Book of Common Prayer and those who don’t, as well as those who aren’t followers of Jesus. I invite you to read this book to examine the truths behind our customs and the reasons Jesus Christ is the focus of this season named after Him.
Rating: 5/5
Category: Christian, Nonfiction, Religion, Theology
Notes: part of the Fullness of Time series which can be read in any order
Publication: 2023—InterVarsity Press
Memorable Lines:
Profligate shopping sprees and conspicuous consumption notwithstanding, the practice of gift-giving in itself remains evocative of the central mystery of Christmas: the incarnation of God in Christ. Christmas is about God’s great gift to us, which is God’s own self in the person of Jesus Christ.
In fact, children are among those people with whom Jesus so closely identifies that they become a sacramental sign. The hungry, the thirsty, the stranger, the unclothed, the sick, the imprisoned, children—Jesus says of all these that to welcome and serve them is to welcome and serve him (see Matthew 18:5; 25:40; Mark 9:37). So we separate ourselves from the poor, needy, and vulnerable at our collective peril.
For Everything a Season: Simple Musings on Living Well
For Everything a Season
by Philip Gulley
Although For Everything a Season is written by a Quaker pastor, this book is not a devotional or a Bible study. It is relatively short and could be devoured in one sitting or, as I preferred, by reading a chapter or two every few evenings or so. It is calming, soothing, and yet humorous. The kind of humor that makes you nod and smile and occasionally let a laugh bubble over. It is filled with anecdotes about people he knows, about the way things used to be, and his own responses to life. Gulley is the kind of person you would like to converse with as he sits in the porch rocker and you gently sway on the swing and reminisce.
Rating: 5/5
Category: Nonfiction, Essays, Short Stories, Inspirational, Christian
Publication: 1999—Multnomah Publishers
Memorable Lines:
We embrace our children, but there comes the time to step aside and let others love them, too…They do not love our children as much as we do, but they love them in ways we cannot. It is not possible for us to give our children all the love they need. We can only give them so much, then must send them forth so that others might embrace them too.
As a Quaker, I am compelled to embrace certain virtues I would not otherwise find attractive. Since Quakers are pacifists, I can’t fight with anyone. By and large, this has not been a problem, except once when I had a mean boss and wanted to punch him in the nose but couldn’t because I was a Quaker. Instead I quit and found a new job. But there for a while, I wished I were a Baptist.
Regarding simplicity…We also believe if you have to cram your sweaters in the dresser drawer, you have too many sweaters and should give some away. Episcopalians believe you should buy a bigger dresser.
Night of Miracles–tales of sweetly intertwined lives
Night of Miracles
by Elizabeth Berg
One of the most interesting things in the world is people. Elizabeth Berg created a gentle, touching world in The Story of Arthur Truluv. Then she expanded on the core characters, adding more characters that tie into one another in Night of Miracles. The chapters are short; the novel is a character driven set of tales of common people living out their interesting lives looking for meaning in the everyday circumstances and the extraordinary ones.
Arthur Truluv’s legacy of calmness and kindness lives on in the family he adopted. His neighbor Lucille’s legacy is the culinary wisdom she imparts during an age of “fast” everything. Neighbors Jason and Abby learn the importance of living in the present. Tiny and Monica learn to share the love that has been in front of them all along. The chapters bounce back and forth from one storyline to the next. This is one of those stories I had to keep reading. I read the last of the book with tissue in hand, not because it is tragic, but because there is sweet sadness in knowing that life keeps progressing toward an inevitable conclusion and we can find happiness by reaching out to share life with others.
I would like to extend my thanks to netgalley.com and to Random House for giving me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.
Rating: 5/5
Category: Women’s Fiction
Notes: For those who enjoyed The Story of Arthur Truluv, this is not a sequel in the traditional sense. It takes a few of the characters from that book and builds a story around them. Although it could happen, I wouldn’t expect any more stories in this line. From my perspective the story has been told.
Publication: November 13, 2018—Random House
Memorable Lines:
It was true what they told her on the first day of teachers’ college: you never forget some of your students. For Lucille, it was the cut-ups she could never keep from laughing at, the dreamers she had to keep reeling back into the classroom, and little Danny Matthews, with his ragged heart of gold.
At least Link loves to read. There’s always hope when a kid—or an adult, for that matter—likes to read.
All those years, and not one person that she had truly opened up to, or kept up with. Probably she expected her husband to be everything to her when it wasn’t his place to do that, even if he wanted to or could. Another thing she regrets: having made him feel that he was failing her when she was the one failing herself.
education pathways 