Watch for the Light is now my favorite devotional for Advent and Christmas. It is an amazing collection from classic and contemporary authors that offers so many reasons to incorporate this book into your personal, family and even ecclesial Advent and Christmas traditions.
First, Watch for the Light contains such spiritual wisdom from the wide swaths of Christian tradition that its diversity contributes to its usefulness. I know of no Advent devotional that brings together such wise voices as Will Willimon alongside Meister Echart, Madeleine L'Engle with John Howard Yoder, Karl Barth with Dorothy Day, Dietrich Bonhoeffer with Annie Dillard. And the Christmas Day meditation from Church Father, John Chrysostom. Each of these has so much to offer so many in the contemporary Church catholic and apostolic.
Second, Watch for the Light's diversity hints at a major appealing factor for my own devotional life as a pastor: Its theological depth. This book is a daily reminder that Advent and Christmas are about Jesus Christ, God-with-us. In a culture that sentimentalizes and commodifies this season, Watch for the Light is a powerful Christian witness to Jesus himself.
Third, Watch for the Light blends that spiritual diversity and theological depth with a healthy sense of wonder and awe -- the wonder and awe at the Incarnate One that is the biblical witness's response to the Natvity.
If you don't have a regular Advent and Christmas devotional, this book is the one you need. If you already have a regular discipline, this is still a book to share with yourself, your family and your friends.
I simply can't recommend it too highly. Watch for the Light is an amazing collection!
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I received a free copy of this book from Plough Publishing in exchange for my honest review here.