God Is in the Manger: Reflections on Advent and Christmas

by Dietrich Bonhoeffer

Publisher:

Westminster John Knox

, 2010

Overview

These forty stirring devotions will guide and inspire readers as they move thematically through the weeks of Advent and Christmas, from waiting and mystery to redemption, incarnation, and joy. Supplemented by an informative introduction, short excerpts from Bonhoeffer's letters, and passages from Bonhoeffer's Christmas sermons, these daily reflections are timeless and moving reminders of the true meaning of Christmas.

Key Features

• Presents reflections and thoughts from Bonhoeffer for the entire Advent Season
• Concludes with the twelve days of Christmas an Epiphany
• Includes a useful scripture index

Contents

• Waiting
• Mystery
• Redemption
• Incarnation
• The Twelve Days of Christmas and Epiphany

Top Highlights

“For the greatest, most profound, tenderest things in the world, we must wait. It happens not here in a storm but according to the divine laws of sprouting, growing, and becoming.” (Page 4)

“He confronts you in every person that you meet. As long as there are people, Christ will walk the earth as your neighbor, as the one through whom God calls you, speaks to you, makes demands on you.” (Page 2)

“Celebrating Advent means being able to wait. Waiting is an art that our impatient age has forgotten.” (Page 4)

“Who among us will celebrate Christmas correctly? Whoever finally lays down all power, all honor, all reputation, all vanity, all arrogance, all individualism beside the manger; whoever remains lowly and lets God alone be high; whoever looks at the child in the manger and sees the glory of God precisely in his lowliness.” (Page 26)

“Life in a prison cell may well be compared to Advent: one waits, hopes, and does this, that, or the other—things that are really of no consequence—the door is shut, and can only be opened from the outside.” (Page 13)

Endorsements

These Advent and Christmas reflections of Bonhoeffer flew from his prison cell, flung open the doors of hope, and sailed heavenward as heart-wrenching prayers, prayers from a condemned man, prayers from a hopeful man, prayers from a man who embodied what it means to pray 'May your kingdom come.' This will be my Advent and Christmas book.

—Scot McKnight, professor in religious studies, North Park University, and author of The Jesus Creed and The Blue Parakeet

Product Details

• Title: God Is in the Manger: Reflections on Advent and Christmas
• Author: Dietrich Bonhoeffer
• Publisher: Westminster John Knox
• Publication Date: 2012
• Pages: 112
• Resource Type: Devotional
• Topic: Christmas

About Dietrich Bonhoeffer

Dietrich Bonhoeffer (1906–1945), a German theologian, pastor, and ecumenist, was a professor in Berlin, an uncompromising teacher in the Confessing Church, and a consistent opponent of National Socialism. Executed by Hitler at the end of World War II, his influence continues today as one of the most important theologians of the twentieth century. Bonhoeffer penned countless letters, portions of fiction, and several works on theology and ethics that have shaped modern religious thought. Life Together and The Cost of Discipleship are two examples of this modern martyr’s enduring legacy.