Light Upon Light: A Literary Guide to Prayer for Advent, Christmas, and Epiphany

by Sarah Arthur

“As Lauren Winner says "Maybe it’s not right to think of feasting during the somewhat penitential season of Advent, but that is what this book a sumptuous feast.” 

In keeping with At the Still A Literary Guide to Prayer in Ordinary Time (“a thing of beauty” and “a literary treasure trove and devotional feast,” two reviewers called it) this collection contains daily and weekly inspirational readings to help the reader prayerfully experience God through the liturgical seasons of winter. Well-loved classics by Andersen, Dickens, and Eliot join contemporary works by Frederick Buechner and Gary Schmidt. Poems by Donne, Herbert, and Rossetti are paired with newer Scott Cairns, Benjamín Alire Sáenz, Susanna Childress, and Amit Majmudar. Readers are invited to experience Advent, Christmas, and Epiphany in its raw strangeness, stripped of sentiment, and to turn toward Emmanuel.

Genres: Christmas, Poetry, Religion, Faith, Nonfiction, Prayer, Christianity

224 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 2014

About the author

Sarah Arthur is a fun-loving speaker, Christy Award finalist, and author of numerous books for teens and adults, including the bestselling ONCE A QUEEN, the first in her acclaimed Carrick Hall Novels. Among other nerdy adventures, she has served as preliminary fiction judge for Christianity Today’s Book Awards, was a founding board member of the annual C. S. Lewis Festival in northern Michigan, and co-directs the Madeleine L’Engle Writing Retreats. She lives in Lansing, Michigan with her husband and two preteen sons.

Reviews

[Cindy Rollins · Rating 4 out of 5]

The reason I am finishing this book
Mid-Advent is that I have been dipping into over several years.
In the end, I think this is a great book for dipping but hard to read through in one season. I can’t quite put my finger on why.

[Julie Davis · Rating 5 out of 5]

I haven't done more than dip into this book but I already know enough to recommend it.

One of my favorite inspirational books is At the Still Point (my review here). It is an unusual devotional for ordinary time with thematically arranged classic and contemporary fiction and poetry which pulls the reader deeper into prayer and worship.

My one wish was that it would be popular enough that author Sarah Arthur would do similar devotionals for the other liturgical times of the year. With Light Upon Light, my wish is  coming true. Appropriate themes take us through the liturgical seasons from expectation and longing to joyful arrival and the cost of such a gift as Christ's incarnation. There is traditional and modern poetry, as well as literary excerpts which are not confined to those we'd expect such as A Christmas Carol (though that is there also).

This is a real treasure, not least because it may introduce you to new sources of inspiration you wouldn't have encountered otherwise.

[JoHannah Reardon · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a nice balance of prayer from notable Christians such as John Donne, George MacDonald, and Christiana Rossetti; Scripture suggestions that tie into the season; and readings from the likes of G. K. Chesterton to Alfred, Lord Tennyson. Beginning with Advent and taking you through to Epiphany, this compilation will bring deeper meaning to this season and help move you beyond all the trappings of this holiday season. I thoroughly enjoyed it and highly recommend it!

[Melody Schwarting · Rating 4 out of 5]

Arthur's literary guides to prayer are wonderful, and I enjoyed her selections for the early seasons of the liturgical year. She found a lot of Christmas poems and short stories that are new to me, and not trite or cheesy. Like with her guide for Lent, Holy Week, and Easter, I come away with a list of new poets to enjoy, and re-encountered ones I first met in Between Midnight and Dawn. I appreciated that Arthur included nine weeks of readings for Epiphany. This year Epiphany is eight weeks long, though it can be up to nine, depending on the date of Easter. (A brief season of ordinary time, sometimes still called Epiphany, begins after Candlemas and lasts until Ash Wednesday; I appreciate that Arthur included this season in her book so all weeks in the liturgical year have readings!)

However, the themes of her selections did not always line up with the liturgical seasons, which made this collection feel discordant to me. Perhaps because I worship in a church that is very conscious about observing the liturgical year, this felt especially awkward to me. The Advent readings were not focused on Advent (the season of anticipating the second advent, or coming, of Jesus), but on pre-Christmas. The Epiphany readings were not focused on Epiphany (the manifestation of Christ to the world, especially Gentiles), but still on Christmas. Theologically and liturgically, this is not ideal, though I would not call it problematic or not recommend Light upon Light to someone because of it. There's just something off about reading Christmas stories in the middle of February, regardless whether or not your church leaders wear robes indicating the colors of the season. "Christmas creep," as Fleming Rutledge calls the holiday's conquest of other liturgical seasons, is all too evident here. But the Christmas-y selections Arthur presents, as aforementioned, are lovely and worth reading. They're just spread out too much. If Arthur had included a set of daily readings, as she did with Holy Week in Between Midnight and Dawn, she could have had plenty of Christmas readings on the days where we observe the O Antiphons and the twelve days of the Christmas season. That's nineteen days for Christmas readings, leaving Advent to be Advent and Epiphany to be Epiphany. The only week whose readings focused on the second coming was the last week of Epiphany, which was misplaced. The whole of Advent should focused on the second coming, while Epiphany is for Jesus and the magi, Jesus for the Gentiles and the whole world (my denomination observes Global Missions Sunday just after Candlemas, which emphasizes this meaning of Epiphany).

I will turn to Light upon Light again during the Christmas season, especially if I am looking for a Christmas read-aloud, because there are many wonderful options here. Yet, it was so discordant with more seasonally appropriate liturgical practices that I don't think I'll repeat it as a devotional. If you're like my dad, who loves to say, "it's Christmas all year round when you have Jesus in your heart," you might not mind the constant Christmas readings so much. I just got a bit weary of so many of the readings being about trees and babies when the seasons surrounding Christmas mean so much more, and can stand on their own in our observance of the church year.

[Erin F. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Like "At the Still Point," each chapter's theme threads its way through prayers, scripture selections, poetry, and selections from good books. Contemporaries keep the selections unexpected, each time; classics remind me this story is much larger than my today, my Advent, my Christmas. This isn't a book of prepackaged emotions -- lectio divina isn't that; you can't predict how the Spirit will use it, even the stories heard before. But from St. Francis to Dickens to Luci Shaw and John Irving, its scope is so generous, its helping so generous -- Sarah Arthur has given us readers a new vista, which is just about the best earthly gift for this time of year.

[Elizabeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Highly recommend this Advent/Christmastide/Epiphany devotional. It has so much richness that I was only able to absorb a portion of it, which means there is so much goodness that remains for future years. I have Sarah Arthur’s Lent/Holy Week/Eastertide devotional to look forward to next.

[Leah · Rating 5 out of 5]

There was so much to take in and ponder in this book. I love combining my love of poetry and literature with my faith journey.

[Patricia · Rating 5 out of 5]

The beauty of the holidays is now forever enhanced by Light Upon Light: A Literary Guide to Prayer for Advent, Christmas, and Epiphany. Sarah Arthur’s book will be an annual part of my preparation for and journey through a season that often feels too full and yet somehow leaves me feeling emptied of the energy to focus on the true importance of the season.

This literary guide redirects me toward the sacred and holy aspects of the season in ways that I’ve not been able to do on my own. It contains new-to-me opening prayers and a selection of daily scriptures that build one upon another. As well, Arthur’s ability to weave together varied readings from authors and poets creates a warmly-lit space into which I can enter for prayer, reflection and rest.

I always say I’m going to slow down and really enjoy the season. However, as the days grow shorter and my to-do lists grow longer, my best intentions get swept away in all the busyness and I become convinced that I just don’t have time to slow down! Light Upon Light provides a beautiful framework in which to experience the unhurried holiness of the season.

Are you always wondering what to read next? Arthur’s book has helped me to discover new and old authors alike, and has given me a to-read list that will last well into the promise of spring. If you have too many tasks, distractions, and to-do lists before, during and after the Christmas season, I encourage you to gift yourself and those you love with this book.

[Mary · Rating 5 out of 5]

A carefully curated collection of literary material to read weekly during the seasons of Advent, Christmas, and Epiphany. Beginning on the first Sunday of Advent, each week's reading has opening and closing prayers, scripture readings, selections of poems and short prose pieces written by a wide variety of authors from different time periods. Some of the authors included: G.K. Chesterton, John Donne, Fyodor Dostoevsky, Charles Dickens, George Elliot, Oscar Hijuelos, John Irving, C.S. Lewis, George MacDonald, Christina Rossetti, Gary Schmidt, and so many more. A wonderful book to use with prayer groups!

[Rebecca Weber · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is absolutely delightful. The way the assigned Bible readings talk to each other, and the rich variety of poetry and fiction excerpts that explore some angle (occasionally obscure) of the coming of God to dwell with man...I will be coming back to savor this book again.

[Jillian Armstrong · Rating 3 out of 5]

I absolutely loved this as an Advent and Christmas devotional but found myself ready to move on in the New Year (personal problem, ha) rather than continue through Epiphany. I loved the prayers, scripture and poetry but some of the excerpts from longer works felt harder to engage with since I was entering in the middle of them. I definitely want to try her Lent and Ordinary Time collections.

[Lindsey Silvestrini · Rating 5 out of 5]

Christmas is such a magical time of the year and one of my favorite things about it is Advent. We have had a long standing tradition in our family of lighting candles on an advent log every year. This year Christmas is at our house so I get to share this tradition with my kids that I experienced growing up.

As a lover of all things written, I was excited to read Sarah Arthur’s Light Upon Light; a compilation of literature relating to advent, Christmas and Epiphany. (If you, like me, aren’t familiar with Epiphany, I found a good explanation on wikipedia.) The book starts with readings for advent, weeks 1 through 4 and then has Christmas Eve, Day, the two Sunday’s following Christmas and then Epiphany. I have really enjoyed reading through all of these with scriptures, poems, prayers and readings.

I have to say the poems are my favorite. I love reading and interpreting them. They are such a concise way or expressing oneself. It’s wonderful to get a collection of different authors who all have something different to bring to the table and say about the occasion. I really appreciated that these are done weekly and not daily. I mean, during this holiday season, most don’t have time to do daily readings. However, it’s important to reflect and cherish this time as well so a weekly reading seems entirely appropriate.

Light Upon Light is something I already read through and have begun again during this time of advent to really appreciate and reflect on it. This would make a beautiful stocking stuffer for your favorite readers this year!

[Katrina Tangen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm obsessed with this literary devotional! It introduced me to so much interesting poetry and gave a lot of depth to my Christmas season. Excited to start the Lent one next!

[Barbara Harper · Rating 3 out of 5]

In Sarah Arthur’s introduction to Light Upon Light: A Literary Guide to Prayer for Advent, Christmas, and Epiphany, she writes:

Many of us, when charting the timeline of our lives, can point to a moment when a story or poem happened. It happened the way an accident or a record-breaking snowfall happened: it was perhaps expected, perhaps not. One moment we were performing the usual routine–pouring cereal, say, or opening the mail–and the next moment we sat motionless with a book in our hands, eyes unfocused, a wave of words washing over us as relentlessly as a newsreel.

I’ve had that experience of being stopped in my tracks by a poem or piece of literature, staring out the window or up at the ceiling while the words reverberated in my mind. So I looked forward to such experiences in the pieces Sarah compiled.

There are eighteen sections, beginning the first week in Advent and continuing on until the ninth week of Epiphany. I don’t come from a church background that observes Epiphany, but I knew some churches celebrated it as the time the wise men found the Christ child. I didn’t realize it was observed for several weeks.

Each section has a theme, from Annunciations, to Sojourners, to Love’s Offices, etc. The section begins with an opening prayer, usually taken from a poem. A few Scripture passages are suggested, then several readings from different works are included. There are no assigned readings for specified days: the reader is allowed to meander at his or her own pace.

I loved the idea of this book. Unfortunately, I didn’t enjoy many of the selections. Some I didn’t “get” (my fault). Some were a little off theologically.

I tended to like the classical selections better than the contemporary ones. I don’t have anything against modern literature. I read modern writers all the time. But in this case, the modern pieces were most often the ones I questioned, or the ones that seemed more mystical than biblically accurate.

I did find a few nuggets that spoke to me. There were a couple of old familiar favorites, like an excerpt from Dickens’ The Christmas Carol and G. H. Chesterton’s “The House of Christmas.”

There were some new-to-me treasures, like “Hymn on the Nativity of My Savior” by Ben Johnson, “Moonless Darkness” by Gerald Manley Hopkins, “Ring Out the Wild Bells” by Tennyson, and a handful of others.

The introduction says, “Some of the works in this collection are obviously seasonal, some obviously Christian. Some are neither.” I know even secular work can express spiritual truth, so I don’t have a problem with it being included–as long as it’s not misleading. I have more trouble with spiritual works that are inaccurate.

I suppose if I had looked at the book as a collection of literary pieces on certain themes revolving around the holidays, my expectations would have been different. Looking at the introduction again after finishing the book, I see that’s how it was presented. My disappointment came from thinking the book was from a distinctly Christian viewpoint and finding it wasn’t. It seemed more in the “spiritual” rather than Christian vein.

[Shannon · Rating 5 out of 5]

I suppose it's strange that I am finishing and reviewing an Advent, Christmas and Epiphany devotional book midway through Lent. But the truth is, this books contains more beauty than you can wring out in those seasons and I wanted to work my way slowly through the last few weeks. So I did. I stretched them out and savored them. I couldn't have anticipated the turn our world would take with the pandemic arriving this month, but it has been a gift to read about light and remember that darkness doesn't have the last word.

I particularly loved the mixture of poetry and prose in this book and it reminded me of poets that I love (Christina Rossetti) and introduced me to new ones (Gregory of Nazianzus). I liked the format of a consistent opening and closing each week with readings from the old testament, new testament, psalms and gospel. Some weeks I read all scripture passages a few days in a row, but I found it felt more gentle to read my way through the scriptures over the course of the week and repeat when needed.

If you're looking for an Advent companion that will saturate your soul with beauty, you can't do much better than this book.

[Sarah Mitchell · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book so much! I look forward to pulling it out again in December.

It contains weekly readings of prayers, poetry, excerpts from stories, and scripture passages for Advent, Christmastide, and Epiphany.

I have not previously celebrated Christmastide or Epiphany (not a familiar practice in my church tradition) and did not celebrate it this year outside of this book.

As far as Advent, it’s contained many beautiful reflections on the incarnation—“stop jiggling atoms, and oppose your thumbs”—as well as the characteristic longing, waiting, and hope.

I appreciated the reflections for Epiphany. The victory of Christ’s coming alongside the reality of Herod’s massacre of the innocents. This is something we don’t often discuss. But the hope of Christ is even more glorious when we see it in the context of the suffering of this life.

As a side note—I struggle emotionally during Winter, and I also found Christmastide and Epiphany a wonderful way to look to Christ in my least favorite season of the year.

[Danielle · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a great collection, but I remain perplexed about how/why these mostly-weekly readings took me deep into Lent. The organization of the book is my main criticism of it. It would have been simpler to have every chapter structured the same way— daily readings of Scripture & daily poetry or prose readings. The variance in number of readings as well as the fact that some full chapters only represented a single day (Christmas Eve, Christmas, Epiphany) caused me to have to spend more time than I wanted to thinking about how to plan the readings appropriately. I was introduced to a lot of great poems and have book darts throughout. I liked the way the chapters had a loose theme as well. I could have done without the prose readings for the most part— just a couple pages of a novel or short story doesn’t do much for me personally. My only other random thought is how did Malcolm Guite not make it in here at all??

[Gail · Rating 4 out of 5]

This Christmas devotional helps one become immersed not just in Scripture or prayer, but Christian poetry both classic and contemporary as well as excerpts of novels. I love the variety, the richness of all the ancient prayers and poems, as well as the fact that this advent devotional does not end on Christmas eve and but continues on through Epiphany. This is both a rich spiritual and literary journey. I definitely want to also delve into her lenten devotional during lent “God for Us Rediscovering the Meaning of Lent and Easter”.

[Abby Tamkin · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book /guide was wonderful. My husband and I read some every night before going to bed: following the structure provided: opening prayer, scripture, literary reading (poem or prose excerpt), prayer and reflection, and closing prayer. And of course sometimes we mixed them up a bit, or didn't do some parts. But it was a wonderful thing to add to our day. Split up over a week, each section doesn't take much time per sitting.

[Catharine · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good. I like the fact that it goes into Epiphany, and I like the format, although I do not use the suggested order of service--I use the Book of Common Prayer format, and add these readings as supplements. Seems like it would work well for a variety of people and be valuable as suggestion for a parish--enough variety that everyone would find something that resonated for them.

[Grant Hartley · Rating 4 out of 5]

I needed a devotional that would not be too much of a burden, and would gently invite me into daily prayer; this was a perfect choice. I usually read only one of the Scripture passages a day, and only one of the readings--this made it so I stretched each weak's readings over the whole week. A good selection of classical and contemporary poetry and fiction, all thematically organized.

[Kathy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have just recently discovered Sarah Arthur. I am delighted. This was such a wonderful, thought provoking collection of spiritual writings for the ephiphany season that I am searching for her Lenten collection as well.

[Jeff Garrison · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this as a devotion, a chapter each week, during Advent, Christmas and Epiphany 2020-21. I love the collection of poetry assembled for each week, along with prayers and stories. The mixture of ancient and contemporary words are refreshing.

[Joy Donley · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was wonderful as a devotional guide - and I liked it so much that I purchased the Lenten version: "Between Midnight & Dawn." I found the scripture, poetry and prose readings so rich! It really helped me slow down, ponder, discover, think deeply throughout the Christmas season.

[Elaine Reinhard · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received this book in a Goodreads giveaway. Well written and researched. A truly inspirational guide for the season. Highly recommend for next year and also will reread next year.

[Tim Otto · Rating 5 out of 5]

A delightful and helpful way to inhabit Advent.

[Hilary Forrest · Rating 4 out of 5]

A unique approach to celebrating Advent, Christmas and Epiphany. I found some beautiful poems to read again and enjoyed reading the selections the author chose for each week.

[Debbie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a nice collection of readings from literature that relate to the seasons of Advent, Christmas, and Epiphany. I especially enjoyed the selections of contemporary poetry.

[Sharolyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautiful collection

[CathyMW · Rating 3 out of 5]

Actual rating 3.5*

Some of the selections I really liked; others were so-so (which is typical for me with a collection). Going through all 8 weeks of Epiphany was too long for me.