Preparing for Jesus: Meditations on the Coming of Christ, Advent, Christmas and the Kingdom by Walter Wangerin, Jr. Epiphany Oviedo ELCA library section 5: Devotions and Prayer. This Advent reader has a reading for each Advent day beginning with December 1, as well as each of the Twelve Days of Christmas. It has seven sections: Prepare, Zechariah, Mary, Elizabeth, John, Joseph and Jesus. Each day’s meditation has a bible reading introduction, then a meditation on the reading, and finally, a prayer. These are thoughtful, calming readings designed to help us watch, prepare, listen and wait. Advent is a time of preparation, but Wangerin does not stress the shopping, cooking, decorating. He stresses the real meaning of Advent, the watchful waiting and preparation in our hearts for the coming of Jesus, our Christ and Savior, and the joy that follows over the course of Christmas’s 12 days.
Wangerin tells readers that each day’s reading will be different. Sometimes he will speak directly as a pastor, teacher or friend. Other times he will carry us into the story by speaking about bible characters. Sometimes he will imagine historical details, or sometimes just mention a bible story obliquely. So be prepared for changes, which is also an essential theme of Advent itself.
Walt Wangerin is one of our most important contemporary theologians and writers, and up until recently he had a monthly column in The Lutheran. (He is now in ill health.) He has written books for both adults and children. The Book of the Dun Cow is probably his most familiar book. Our church library has his storybooks for children, The Bedtime Rhyme and Mary’s First Christmas, both delightfully and colorfully illustrated. ( )