It is that time of the year — Advent, the beginning of the Christian church year.

Advent is a season the church sets aside to spiritually prepare for the Christmas season, the feast of the Incarnation, and the life to come.

The editor for this devotional book, Greg Pennoyer, is the co-founder of the Centre for Cultural Renewal in Ottawa, Canada. For Pennoyer, the meaning of Christmas and the Christmas spirit was something that had been tucked away in a world of make-believe and the wonder of a childhood past. The current cultural mix of materialism and sentimentality made it only more difficult for him to relate to Christmas. In fact, it all seemed like a parody until Christmas morning, 1998.

Then in the midst of worship on Christmas Day, Pennoyer was swept up with the inconceivable being conceived right before his eyes in the Eucharist. The word “Emmanuel” — literally, God with us — took on meaning in his soul as never before. The idea of the incarnation — the Word made flesh — helped him to see and hear and experience with all his senses an embodied faith.

It was the beginning of a “second conversion” that motivated Pennoyer into finding out more. He wanted more of Christmas, and he wanted more recovery of meaning. What he discovered is that such recovery does not happen overnight. The wisdom of the ancient church knew that change — real transformation — comes about over time. It is why the church sets aside whole seasons to meditate and prepare for the celebration of these great mysteries of faith.

In order to surrender to the faith he found in that Christmas service, Pennoyer was naturally drawn to Advent. The result is God With Us . Readers who open this book should do so expecting a surprise. It is a surprise that comes with time.

I used this daily devotional last Advent. I look forward to reflecting upon it again this year. It is that kind of book. It is not that I didn’t “get-it” reading through the first time. It got me.

It is a book for the soul, the mind, and the heart.

Each day has recommended Bible readings from the church lectionary. That alone would be enough. But then there is the tapestry of daily commentaries. Eugene Peterson, Scott Cairns, Emilie Griffin, Richard John Neuhaus, Kathleen Norris and Luci Shaw — some of the best religious writers of our day — make contributions that profoundly care for the soul.

In addition there is the art. Greg Pennoyer teams up with Gregory Wolfe founder and editor of Image, one of America’s leading literary art journals. Together they select a stunning collection from Rembrandt, Leonardo da Vinci and El Greco to Chagall and Munch, all expressing the inexpressible and extending care for the imagination and for the mind.

At the end of the daily devotion is a prayer. The prayers encourage the reader to slow down. They are for our time, living prayers that take us from Advent to Christmas and on into the feast of the Epiphany. The prayers are the heart of everyday life and a reminder God is with us. We can pray them wholeheartedly.

As we pray through the season of Advent, God enters our time and a difference is made. Leaving Bethlehem, we are aware it is Christmas that has made all the difference in the world. From God With Us , the prayer for Jan. 2 naturally rises

The Rev. Robert T. Jennings is the rector of St. Francis in the Fields Episcopal Church, Harrods Creek, Kentucky.

Source: Louiville, KY Courier-Journal