A Way to the Manger: Devotions for Advent and Christmas

by Hugo Olaiz

Zechariah turns from priest to prophet. The shepherds worship at the manger. Joseph and Mary go to places they would have never imagined. Each character of the Christmas story illustrates an essential element of the Christian life. Written by a diverse group of Episcopal authors, A Way to the Manger explores Christ’s birth as recounted in the Gospel of Luke through the lens of the Way of the seven practices of turn, learn, pray, worship, bless, go, and rest. With daily devotions of personal stories, modern examples, art, and invitations to prayer and journaling, the authors challenge you to discover and incorporate these practices into your own life. This Advent and Christmas, walk with the shepherds and the angels, Mary and Joseph, Elizabeth and Zechariah, and Anna and Simeon. All of their paths—as well as yours—lead to the same the humble manger where Love was born.

133 pages, Kindle Edition

Published October 15, 2019

Reviews

[Cathryn Conroy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Advent is supposed to be a peaceful time…a time for rest, reflection, contemplation, and anticipation. Yeah, right. Advent—the four Sundays prior to Christmas Day—is arguably THE most busy, stressful, demanding, and nerve-wracking time of the year as we prepare for the secular part of Christmas. This book is designed to make us slow down—even for just a few minutes a day—so we can find our way to the manger.

This book is a part of the Way of Love journey, recently created by the Episcopal Church as a way to move closer to God. There are seven parts to the Way of Love: Turn (as in turn to God), Go, Rest, Worship, Pray, Bless, and Learn. Divided into weekly sections with daily meditations, the book follows these seven actions over seven weeks—Advent I through the first week of Epiphany—using scripture, prayer, and short essays.

Each week offers a specific point of view from one of the participants in Jesus's birth story: Zechariah, Mary and Joseph, Elizabeth, the angels and shepherds, Simeon, Anna, and Jesus. And each witness is aligned with one of the seven parts of the Way of Love. That is, the first week, Advent I, focuses on Zechariah and "Turn." The second week is Mary and Joseph and "Go." Each week's meditations are written by a different author, each with his or her unique point of view.

If you're willing to commit to daily reading—and it really just takes a few short minutes each day—then this can be an enlightening and comforting way to just take a deep breath and stop the frantic activity. I found it forced me not only to physically slow down, but also mentally slow down so I could focus on what really matters.

[Frank · Rating 5 out of 5]

This Advent devotional from Forward Movement uses The Episcopal Church’s The Way of Love as a leña through which to see key stories from the First Sunday of Advent to Epiphany. The seven spiritual practices for those who follow Jesus are turn, learn, pray, worship, bless, go, and rest. Each week takes a portion of scripture and examines one of the practices with personal stories, prayer, art, contemporary examples, and journaling.

Full disclosure: my wife, Victoria, and I wrote the reflections on the Prophetess Anna for the Second Week of Christmas. We enjoyed writing for this project, but then I was blessed to read the contributions of the other authors and found the devotional to be a very helpful guide to this season.

[Judy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this anthology from the Forward Movement press for an Advent discipline, although as it turned out, it went through Christmas to Epiphany with contemplative writings from various Episcopal writers marked for daily reading through this period. It was a good exercise with a variety of points of view, but primarily all calling for action in helping the less fortunate as a follower of Jesus. 3.5 stars

[Francine Apollo · Rating 4 out of 5]

I just read the last entry today. I have been reading this since the first Sunday of Advent.
This book was especially helpful to me this Advent with so much turmoil in the world. Most entries are a story or passage from the Gospels. There is a reflection and often a bit of homework.
So grateful that my church provided these little books to use during Advent/Christmas/Epiphany.

[Andi · Rating 2 out of 5]

A bit choppy in its format, which minimizes the impact