Christmas Reading

Annunciation, Fra Angelico



Friday, the Third Week in Advent

Well, if I try very hard, I may get this blog done. Earlier this week I got both a flu shot and a pneumonia shot. The nurse warned me there might be a reaction from the later. There was. My arm has hurt like crazy for two days and now every joint in my body aches. I feel like I've run a marathon, and then been run over by a cement mixer. Ugghh!

Back again. I didn't get the blog written. I got as far as "ugghh," lay down and woke up eleven hours later.


So here's a review of a few Christmas books. The first two are daily devotions for Advent through epiphany. God With Us: Rediscovering the Meaning of Christmas contains wonderful pictures of great art along with readings by Scott Cairns, Emilie Griffin, Richard John Neuhaus, and Greg Pennoyer with material my Kathleen Noris and Eugene Peterson. Its from one of my favorite publishers, Paraclete Press, the publishing arm of the Community of Jesus, an ecumenical monastic community in the Benedictine Tradition.




In the evening I'm reading (well, not last evening which was utterly lost to consciousness, but on other evenings) Watch For The Light: Readings For Advent And Christmas with readings from numerous authors including Dietrich Bonhoeffer, John Donne, Meister Eckhart, and T.S. Eliot. This was originally published by the Plough Publishing House, the publishing arm of the Bruderhoff, a Christian community with some ties to the Mennonite Tradition. Some years ago they suspended their publishing enterprise, but some of their books. Including this one, were picked up by by Orbis. Both books are worth reading to put Christmas in a proper perspective.



In addition to these devotionals, I like to read a work of Christmas fiction. For many years my choice was Charles Dickens's A Christmas Carol. It's a classic. In my perverse view, however, Ebenezer Scrooge was a much more interesting character before the three ghosts took the vinegar out of him. I also love to see the film version with Alastair Sim. He captured Scrooge in an way no one else has. I avoid the musical version, Scrooge. Somethings just don't lend themselves to music, although I occasionally enjoy the cartoon version, Mr. Magoo's Christmas Carol, with it's song about razelberry dressing.





About 20 years ago I saw a British TV program of The Box of Delights based on the book by John Masefield. The acting was bad and the special effects even worse, but it's a great story. The English in particular seem to be able to interweave fantasy into stories without you seeing it coming. It's a great story of a boy, Kay, and his battle against the evil Abner (posing as Father Boddledale of the Ecclesiastical Training Centre) who is trying to steal the wondrous Box of Delights and while he's at it prevent the 1,000th Christmas Eve service at Tatchester Cathedral. Unfortunantely, the book ends with the corny "it was only a dream" device. Boo.


The book I'm reading again was given to me by my cousin Darlene a few years ago. It's The Christmas Mystery by Norwegian author Jostein Gaardner and illustrated by Rosemary Wells. It's about a magical Advent Calendar and a journey back through history to the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem.








Murder for Christmas is a collection short stories of "seasonal malice" by authors including Agatha Christie, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Ngaio Marsh, Rex Stout, and Ellery Queen. And as an added bonus, macabre illustrations by Gahan Wilson.






One last book, The Autobiography of Santa Claus, by Jeff Guinn by My sister Karen gave this to me as a talking book of this performed splendidly by John H. Mayer who is able to do an amazing range of characters with variations in his voice. The premise of this fictional account is that the present-day Santa Claus is not only real, but the same as the real St. Nicholas, fourth century bishop of Myra, who has been alive for the past 1600 years. In that time he has accumulated a bunch of helpers including Leonardo Da Vinci, King Arthur, Ben Franklin, and Atila the Hun. It's a clever story of he history of Christmas as well as the history of the world.

Have a happy Christmas. Enjoy family and friends, fun and feasting, but remember the Blessed Savior Jesus who was born for our sake.

A blessed Advent to you.

May the Lord bless you on your journey and greet you on your arrival.

Wayne




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