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Thanks to those who expressed appreciation for the Advent list we put together a week or so ago; Hearts & Minds friends sharing these suggested resources with others helps us get the word out about great books.
Here are some other resources that we think will help you strengthen your faith, discover a sense of sanity, a deeper understanding of and commitment to the Story of God of which we are a part this great, if complicated, time of year. That is what we all want, right? It is what you want for yourself and those you love, I’m sure. You know, I hope, that books can help nudge us in the right direction, provide insight and encouragement, inform us and bring pleasure as reading them strengthens our resolve. These are tools of the trade, blessings in small packages. We’d be foolish not to pass ’em out this time of year. I mean it sincerely when I say we are here to help.
The Meaning is in the Waiting: The Spirit of Advent Paula Gooder (Paraclete Press) $15.99 This came out years ago in the UK from Canterbury Press and was wisely picked up a while back by the good folks at Paraclete Press. This edition has a spectacular foreword by Lauren Winner – reminiscent of her beautifully astute introduction to Bobby Gross’s Living the Christian Year: Time to Inhabit the Story of God. (I get out that book and read Lauren’s intro every year this time of year.) In this one, she expresses her desire to have the church year – which orients us towards God’s time, focused on God’s redemptive work in Christ – shape her sense of time more than, say, the academic year (which starts in September) or the government year (tax day!) Oh, to have our very sense of time and the calendars we inhabit be formed by the person of Christ.
In The Meaning is in the Waiting Gooder helps us learn the spiritual practice of waiting, even making the case that it is vital to our wellbeing. She helps us (as she has in other lovely, poetic books) see God in the ordinary. She deftly explores the real-world people who are the described in the Biblical stories for this time of year, Abraham and Sarah, the Hebrew prophets, John the Baptist, and Mary. And then there is this: Winner writes, “In this winsome yet provocative Advent devotional I began to sense something I had not understood before, in any of my other Advent observances – it is not just we who wait. God is waiting, too. “The Lord waits, that He may be gracious unto you,’ says Isaiah, one of the prophets who interests Paula Gooder most. God waits on us, for our attention, for our visits home; God waits for our vision and our ear.” This is a rich, thoughtful little book and I commend it to you.
Walking Backwards to Christmas Stephen Cottrell (Westminster/John Knox) $14.00 this is a fun and interesting little book, with two very distinctive features. Firstly, as the title suggests, it walks us through the Christmas season stories backwards. That is, it starts with the end of the story, so to speak, with Jesus being presented at the temple to Anna and Simeon, and moves backward through Herod’s slaughter of the innocents, the wise men’s visits, Jesus’ birth in the stable, Mary’s pregnancy, and finally to the much-earlier hopes and dreams of Isaiah and even Moses! Yes, the first chapter is Moses!
A second feature will make this most helpful for some that need creative resources this time of year. Each chapter is written as a first-person monologue, so it tells the story through the eyes of these well-known figures. Other imagined characters show up, too – the innkeepers wife, for instance. Cottrell is a fine writer (his creative retelling of the characters of the Easter narrative is called The Nail.) A few of these pieces could even be read out loud as they are lively and dramatic. A few are more subtle; Isaiah is moody and mostly about his interior life and visions, understandably. Paul Strobe (who wrote Walking with Jesus through the Old Testament) says that “Cottrell truly ‘gets inside’ the characters, including their sorrow and anger and uncertainty as well as their hope and faith.”
Five Questions of Christmas: Unlocking the Mystery Rob Burkhart (Abingdon) $16.99 At first I thought this was a fine but perhaps unremarkable set of meditations on the Bible stories and their application to today. I suspect these could have been a good sermon series — inviting us to ask how we can find truth and meaning, wonder why there is such suffering, pointing us to trust the unseen, design and embody a future hope in the here and now. And then I realized that between each of the five meditations is a set piece, a very well-written narrative about Burkhart’s own holiday experiences. These vignettes, each dated, reveal some truly extraordinary stuff — Christmases full of great tragedy and unforgettable experiences from his own life; they frame the Biblical messages, and add real-world grit, insisting that we embody the evangelical promises in the real world of beauty and sorrow. Burkhart has an MDiv from Fuller and has been a leader within the Assemblies of God for more than 30 years. This is nicely written, but carries a not-so-subtle subtext: in this world as we know it, sometimes asking the questions is as important as declaring answers. This really is an interesting, good book.
The God of All Flesh And Other Essays Walter Brueggemann (Cascade) $22.00 This is brand new, another profound collection of essays by the premier Old Testament scholar and passionate preacher. It includes 9 serious chapters, all previously published in mostly obscure sources, so this brings them to a wider readership. The theme is described on the back quite nicely:
Biblical faith is passionately and relentlessly material in its accent. This claim is rooted in the conviction that the creator God loves and cares for the creation and summons creation to be in sync with the will of the creator God. This collection of essays is focused on the bodily life of the world as it ordered in all of its problematic political and economic forms. The phrase of the title, “all flesh,” in the flood narrative of Genesis 9, refers to all living creatures who are in covenant with God — human beings, animals, birds, and fish – as recipients of God’s grace, as dependent upon God’s generosity, and as destined for praise and obedience to God.
As you may guess, this accent about the materiality of the Christian faith and true Biblical religion is an alternative to any sort of piety that wishes to transcend or escape the world and the matters of politics and economics. Brueggy writes, “Such a temptation is a serious misreading of the Bible and a serious misjudgment about the nature of human existence.”
While this isn’t an Advent book as such, it certainly seems apropos as we move into this season of incarnation. We stock all of his provocative, dense books, and are proud to celebrate the release of this brand new one.
The First Days of Jesus: The Story of the Incarnation Andreas J. Kostenberger & Alexander E. Stewart (Crossway) $17.99 This is a rare and important kind of book – exceptionally erudite, written by two of the best conservative Biblical scholars working today, offered in a way that is readable and truly interesting. It is not an Advent devotional, but it is perfect for serious reading this time of year. For Sunday school teachers, campus ministers or preachers needing to come up (once again!) with meaningful seasonal sermons or classes, getting this essential doctrine right is of exceptional urgency. The First Days… is a remarkable book, meaty but fascinating, with lots of close Biblical study and scholarly insight about historical and contextual matters – from the birth narratives and on to the earliest days of Jesus as recorded in Matthew, Luke, and John. Paul Maier notes that it “is a welcome antidote to the cheap sensationalism in recent books on Jesus that try to demolish every reason for regarding Christmas as “the most wonderful time of the year.” Kudos.
Belief Matters: Incarnation: The Surprising Overlap of Heaven & Earth William H. Willimon (Abingdon) $13.99 We’ve announced this one before (as well as the others in the ongoing series, such as the smart and useful one by our friend and local pastor, Kenneth Loyer, called Holy Communion, and the latest, by the always upbeat and interesting Jason Byassee, The Trinity.) In each case, these short books are designed to be quick reads for ordinary folks who want a helpful guide to key theological topics (and why they matter.) Willimon is the senior editor of the project, and he inaugurated the series with this one on the notion of the incarnation. I loved it, and found it helpful, provocative, and inspiring. A perfect time of year for this quick, important read, although the point will last you a lifetime. Chapter four is called “Life in Light of the Incarnation” which is a good reminder of the catch-phrase of the series: Belief Matters. It really does.
CD Waiting Songs Rain for Roots $15.99
I hope you recall that we’ve exclaimed our appreciation for this quartet of folk-singing moms and their commitment to doing very cool acoustic singer-song-writer styled songs for children. The first two releases (Big Stories for Little Ones and The Kingdom of Heaven is Like This) I’ve sometimes described as “Indelible Grace” for children; indeed, several of these women have been involved in those theologically mature, rootsy hymn projects. (As an aside: one of the women, Katy Bowser, also has two CDs which we proudly stock under the name Coal Train Railroad which introduce kids to jazz.) These are amazing young women, good artists, seriously thoughtful Christian parents and educators.
This new Advent project is exactly what it says: it is not a Christmas carol release, but an album about longing, waiting, the promises of God, the hope of the covenant, expectation. Indeed, they’ve got the logo that proclaims “Almost, Not Yet / Already, Soon.” Drawing on themes familiar to those who love Sally Lloyd-Jones’ Jesus Storybook Bible, this approach to the significance of this season allows them to create a truly rare record: serious kids’ stuff that isn’t dumbed down, and a holiday album of Advent songs, not Christmas ones. Already soon? Christian Waiting Songs, indeed. Here is a link to see a bit more about the album, and a free listen to their version of “O Come, O Come Emmanuel.” The other songs are originals, and only one feels like a silly child’s song — most are great songs for anyone who likes the softer folk-rock style. A few of the songs are simply stunning.
Kristoph and the First Christmas Tree Claudia Cangilla McAdam (Paraclete Press) $16.99 Oh my, what a vivid story! This is a bright, dramatic, conventionally illustrated children’s picture book with text that is both glorious and shocking. Why isn’t this story told among us? Is it even true? The book begins saying it happened on December 24, 722 in Germany.
Bonifice and his young orphan friend Kristoph are travelling through the German countryside and come across a pagan tribe who are about to sacrifice a child in the snowy forest in an awful ritual to appease the spirits of their sacred oaks. Bonifice begs them to set the child free, and to experience the mercies of a loving God. There is some debate that nearly brings to mind Elijah’s famous conflict with those who worshiped Baal, with the chieftain and his tribe eventually allowing Bonifice to chop down a foreboding tree, saving the child. A miracle (or is it?) involving an evergreen transpires, and, well, the life-saving truth of the gospel and the legend of explaining how the tree points to the living God is started.
The ending of Kristoph and the First Christmas Tree is too profound to say merely that “they lived happily ever after” although it does have a very nice ending. What a story, told, as one reviewer put it, “with lyrical language and old world charm.” The author, Claudia McAdam has degrees in both English literature and theology. She has included a blessing that can be recited by a family around their own Christmas tree. How nice is that?
The Christmas Promise Alidon Mitchell & Catalina Echeverri (The Good Books Company) $14.99 This may be my favorite new Christmas book for kids – a solid, whimsical, informative ride through what it means that Jesus is a King, one who reigns over all the Earth. Even the endpapers have energetically scribbled pictures of all manner of kings – from ancient Romans to medieval monarchs, Asian tyrants to little old Napoleon, right through to replicas of modern-day dictators and presidents.
But what kind of King is promised to the Jews? How can a baby be a King? This is an historically accurate portrayal of the first nativity, but frames the story by the Biblical promise that God promised a rescuing King. Oh my, this is sooo good. On the back cover it says, “Join Mary and Joseph, a bunch of shepherds, some wise men, and lots and lots of angels as they discover how God kept his Christmas promise.” Fantastic!
The Nativity Julie Vivas (Houghton Mifflin) $7.00 I mention this some years and some people adore it. Others (oddly — perversely, even, I think) complain that showing the little penis of the baby Jesus is inappropriate. (“A ploy,” one critic opined.) The artwork is a bit bizarre; the winged angels are, while not scary, a bit odd, but the whimsy doesn’t devolve into sentimental cute. Mary is sooo pregnant, and it shows! The visiting angel wears army boots. The characters are not exactly white. You’ve got to see this to believe it. We’ve been fans, even though some warn against it.
Song of the Stars: A Christmas Story board book Sally Lloyd-Jones (Zonderkiz) $7.99 We raved about the original full-sized version of this two years ago, and again and again: the vivid, full-size picture book is one of our true favorites, illustrating as it does how the whole creation is anticipating the cosmic scope of the birth of Jesus. The artwork is splendid, the lyrics just right. “It’s time” the animals proclaim! This new board book edition is a perfect little stocking stuffer, an inexpensive but potent gift.
The Christmas Star board book Paloma Wensell (Liturgical Press) $7.95 This is another absolutely favorite board book this year, with charming illustrations, wonderfully done by German children’s artist Ulises Wensell. It, too, tells the conventional story of Mary, Joseph, the stable, baby Jesus, etc. What I so like about this one is the classy sparkle integrated into many of the thick pages, first as the star, then as the angels are portrayed, later, seeming to engulf the whole sky- glory shone all around, after all – and then by the end, it seems to inhabit the whole page, glory indeed! Does this prefigure the swirling flames of Pentecost, somehow? I think this little touch makes this not only a visually exciting presentation, but might open the door for deeper conversations. Nice!
Brother Egbert’s Christmas Steve Eggleton (Lion Pres) $17.99 This is an exceptionally classy book, with each page illuminated as if a medieval manuscript. Every page is beautifully colorful, telling about the work of a village man and his son who are helping monks fix a ceiling at the monastery, making wooden carved bosses. Brother Egbert spends most of his time copying pages of scrolls and manuscripts, and young Jake, the woodcarver’s son, suggests they use Brother Egbert’s prized Christmas story manuscript as the model for the wood carving he and his dad will make. This book for older children has lots of color and interesting calligraphied text, with the traditional telling of the nativity story at the center. There’s an appendix about making your own paint, too, just like they do at the monastery, and a guide to making a nice capitol letter at the start of a page.
Originally published at Booknotes.
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