Reviews

Watch for the Light: Readings for Advent and Christmas by Oscar Romero, Friedrich Wilhelm Förster, Annie Dillar, Dorothee Sölle, Meister Eckhart, Gian Carlo Menotti, Gustavo Gutiérrez, Gail Godwin, Philip Yancey, John Chrysostom, Isaac Penington, Edith Stein, Dorothy Day, Christoph Friedrich Blumhardt, Emmy Arnold, Eberhard Arnold, Jane Kenyon, Bernard of Clairvaux, John Howard Yoder, Madeleine L'Engle, Sylvia Plath, William Stringfellow, Brennan Manning, Thomas Merton, Alfred Delp, Loretta Ross-Gotta, Giovanni Papini, St. Thomas Aquinas, John Donne, Martin Luther, Gerard Manley Hopkins, Leonardo Boff, Evelyn Underhill, J. Heinrich Arnold, Romano Guardini, J.B. Phillips, William H. Willimon, C.S. Lewis, Ernesto Cardenal, Karl Barth, Jürgen Moltmann, Philip Britts, J.T. Clement, Henri J.M. Nouwen, Søren Kierkegaard, Karl Rahner, Kathleen Norris, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, T.S. Eliot

kristidurbs's review against another edition

4.0

Watch for the Light contains a really diverse and interesting selection of poetry and prose by myriad authors that pertain to Advent and Christmas. Great book to read through the season.

mmwreads's review against another edition

3.0

DNF - I fell behind in the daily readings and didn't catch them all, but overall I found myself loving some, skipping over some, and finding myself somewhere in between for the rest.

kelsielynnhartley's review against another edition

4.0

There are definitely some authors/days that were better written and more enjoyable than others, but I would definitely read it again. It got me ready to really observe Advent and celebrate Christmas. I definitely recommend it for that.

bcbartuska's review against another edition

DNF. May read a few more selections from authors I’m already familiar with, but so far the readings weren’t helpful to me in preparing my heart for Christmas. Maybe it’s just me

rebekahvldz's review against another edition

hopeful inspiring reflective slow-paced

2.5

Did not enjoy this half as much as I thought I would. Lack of page numbers made the book feel never-ending and unfortunately, so many of the readings politicized the Nativity story. 

I did enjoy the scope of theological standpoints and various mediums but would have appreciated more poetry and devotional readings.

graceevalyn's review against another edition

hopeful inspiring reflective medium-paced

4.0

sapphicpenguin's review against another edition

hopeful inspiring reflective medium-paced

5.0

Absolutely blew me away. I knew from glancing at the included authors that I would enjoy this, but it was more meaningful than I could imagine. I received this book as a Christmas gift, and have just read it straight through, but next year I'll definitely be using it as intended for a daily practice from Advent through Epiphany.

This book includes sermons, poetry, essays, and even a transcribed group discussion--the earliest written in the fourth century, the latest in the twenty-first. I don't know where the editor falls theologically or politically, but I'm grateful for the great diversity of thought, and the multiple included liberation theologians/similarly radical thinkers. (I was at home as a leftist, but this wouldn't alienate people with more moderate beliefs.) Some authors were obviously more conservative/orthodox than others, but none were offensive to me, and I had common ground with and could find value in all of them. 

I'm so grateful for this collection, and would recommend it to anyone who values/wants to experience the pattern of the liturgical year, and would enjoy some poetic, radical, theological, comforting, invigorating, disarming company.

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Content Warnings

Two authors in this book were killed during the Holocaust--this is mentioned in their bios. Various authors reference things going on in their worlds, including war, oppressive regimes, racism, etc. No graphic content/excessive descriptions.

aliciarolsma's review against another edition

reflective slow-paced

4.5

A great collection of readings for Advent and Christmas. 

kritter513's review against another edition

hopeful slow-paced

4.5

Appreciated the depth and breadth of this different sort of advent reading. 

ian_'s review against another edition

5.0

Such an incredible collection of sermons, poems, essays, and other excerpts on topics around the advent and birth of the savior. I want to read this every year!