Advent: Let Every Heart Prepare Him Room
by Kerry van der Vinne
“This book is an invitation. If you’ve ever been troubled by the superficial consumerism surrounding the season—if you’ve ever felt out of sync with the festive cheer—if you’ve ever wondered whether there might be more to Advent—then this invitation is for you…” (From the Introduction)
Kerry van der Vinne writes, “if we want to celebrate a more meaningful ‘Christ-Mass,’ then we must prepare our hearts by participating in a more meaningful Advent.”
In this compelling series of daily devotions, readers are invited into a deeper experience of the Advent journey. It’s a journey that traces our salvation-story through the pages of scripture—from the first chapters of Genesis, to the incarnation of the promised Messiah, and onwards to his triumphant return.
The daily reflections also introduce readers to some beautiful lesser-known Advent texts which have been passed down through the centuries by our ancestors in the faith. Though unfamiliar to many of us, these “spiritual treasures” are rooted in scripture and saturated with truth that transcends time. A selection of these traditional prayers, readings and hymns are also included in a supplementary section of exceptional seasonal resources.
Quotes from “Advent: Let Every Heart Prepare Him Room”:
- “The message of Advent doesn’t fit neatly into a sound-bite or vignette. It’s too complex, too deep, to compete with glitter and noise; and it’s a hard sell in a culture that would rather skip straight to the big finish. But Advent is too important to be forgotten, because it is this season that prepares us to encounter our Lord.”
- “To be a prophet was to speak hard words that people did not want to hear, and to receive in turn all the violence that they wanted to inflict upon God himself. Yet God, in his omniscience, surveyed all this, and decided to send one more messenger: his son.”
- “The story of Christmas begins farther back than we can really grasp—back before the darkness of our broken relationship with God. It begins with a love so unfathomable that everything concerning us, from our creation to our redemption, was undertaken in spite of all it would cost.”
- “Though penitence is never ‘fun,’ it is rooted in hope and has the power to produce genuine joy. Penitence was never meant to trap us in a place of shame and condemnation; rather, it is a gateway from despair to freedom.”
- “As Christmas draws near, we begin to greet one another with the words ‘Merry Christmas,’ and our hearts rightly rejoice because of the baby who was like no other baby. But we need more than the message of Christmas. We need the reminders that Easter and Pentecost bring—and we need the spirit of Advent to prompt our hearts to say to one another again, ‘Maranatha.'”
- “Dark nights come to each of us when the questions crowd in. Was this really how it was supposed to go? Why didn’t God intervene? Does he even care? Each time we find ourselves asking these questions, the answer is there in his actions. He humbled himself to take on human flesh for us. He suffered and died for us. He is making a home in heaven for us. There is our answer.”
- “One of the things I love most about liturgical worship is the way it helps me to express the longings of my own heart through the words of scripture—especially during those times when it can be a struggle to put my own thoughts and feelings into words.”
- “On this eve of Christmas, whether you feel yourself to be surrounded by earthly blessings or whether you feel your blessings to be few, set aside those thoughts and concerns long enough to remember what it is that we are celebrating: God’s loving plan to bring you home to himself, through the gift of Jesus Christ.”
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