Expecting Emmanuel: Eight Women Who Prepared the Way

by Joanna Harader

Journey through Advent and Christmas with the women of Jesus' family line.
Christmas is about so much more than twinkle lights, sugar cookies, and perfect family photos. It's about the world-changing, transforming, and sometimes messy reality of "God with us." As we dive deep into the biblical accounts of Jesus' female ancestors and reflect on God's presence in their complicated lives, we can begin to release our expectations of a "perfect Christmas" and instead seek the experience of a holy season.
Through invitational spiritual practices and reflections, this daily devotional centers the stories of five women in Jesus' genealogy--Tamar, Rahab, Ruth, Bathsheba, and Mary--plus three additional female figures connected to Jesus' early life in the days leading up to Epiphany. You will also find resources for exploring the lives of these women in worship, small group, and retreat settings. This Advent and Christmas season, step into the true power of the Incarnation as we journey together to the manger and encounter the omnipotent God who has come to us in the vulnerable Christ-child.

Genres: Feminism, Religion, Devotional, Spirituality

130 pages, Paperback

Published September 6, 2022

Reviews

[Traci Rhoades · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great approach, and I loved that it was a Mennonite offering. A wonderful addition to one's advent collection.

[Barbara Bamberger · Rating 5 out of 5]

Expecting Emmanuel: Eight Women Who Prepared the Way
By Joanna Harader
Illustrated by Michelle Burkholder

Review by Barbara Bamberger Scott

Writer and pastor Joanna Harader has created a multi-layered guide focusing intensively on the Advent season, while offering unique wisdom for readers, and especially for women, as they examine their lives, feelings and philosophies at this special season.

Given as a dated journal, Harader explores what she calls the “beautiful messiness of humanity,” the mixed perceptions and human errors and triumphs that may affect anyone at any time. But there is something about the time between our Thanksgiving and the church’s Christmas and Advent (November 27 to January 6) that can evoke conflicting feelings based around the “relentless cheerfulness” that bombards us on all sides. The women whose portraits are offered here – notably Tamar, Rahab, Ruth, Bathsheba, Mary, and Anna – experienced fear, disgrace, and genuine peril; yet each responded with personal grit and innate intelligence. Some, branded as or literally taking the role of prostitute, manipulated situations in such a way as to become mothers of the ancestors of Jesus. Thus, the opening segment invites the reader to consider their own ancestry. In the heading for “Connect”, Harader recommends that the reader directly contact a female family member, and in the heading for “Consider” she suggests contemplation of the influence of one’s heritage, questioning, “Why might the author of Matthew begin his gospel with a genealogy?” On each date in the Advent calendar, Harader arrays biblical history with an intuitive sense of what might really be happening: hesitancy to reveal the truth because one fears how other people might react, as may have been the case with Ruth; fear of those in power as when young Mary learns that the Magi have been consulting with Herod, the stated enemy of her people; Mary’s astonishment at the words of the priest Simeon regarding her baby boy and her willingness to remain connected with her religious community for her son’s sake.

The author, Pastor of the Peace Mennonite Church in Lawrence, Kansas, has written extensively for Christian publications, with this book representing a bold foray into a new creative realm. With gentle humor and a persistent display of personal wisdom, she offers information and insight underpinned by ingenious exercises: recalling stressful times and one’s reactions to them, for example, and considering those over whom one has power and praying for each of them. The illustrator, Michelle Burkholder, is likewise deeply involved in the Mennonite faith and has invented symbolic reflections on the essence of each character for which Harader provides the verbal picture. The result is a carry-with, daily manual that can be cherished during the Christmas season and Advent or at any time of year. Harader presents a new view of remarkable women in the ancestry of, and those having direct contact with, Jesus Christ - celebrating their boldness, their challenges, and their simple humanity.

[Susan · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was not the Advent devotional for me. The concept of the book, to examine the woman in Jesus' genealogy, constrained Harader into a narrow box where she had to interpret the Bible by making every story about how women are mistreated and misunderstood and neglected, did not work as devotional reading. I know that women face injustice. I know that we live in a fallen world where human capacity to hurt others is endless. The kind of person who would buy this book does not need to spend five weeks in December being reminded of that. I also don't like the Biblical hermeneutic that interprets these women, not as characters in a narrative where the protagonist is God, but as real historical women who are described in the wrong way (or are silenced or are misunderstood feminist icons). I read the Bible to primarily tell me about who God is, not to look for human role-models or to blame the Biblical writers for their cultural blinders. Those kinds of readings are okay and have a place in wide range of ways to read the Bible. But every day for 25 days was too much. I'm sure that there are readers who will love this devotional--who themselves feel the sting of injustice--and want to be reminded that the Bible tells the story of women who faced it. But I needed something different to direct me toward Jesus this Advent.

[Christen · Rating 2 out of 5]

I think I would have enjoyed this devotional more if the first reading, that is about Sophia Christ, was the first one. That would have tipped me off that the author is likely Gnostic and the rest of the book wouldn't have been so confusing for me.

It is interesting to read the author's take on the women in the genealogy of Christ. There were several things I had not fully thought through.

However, I feel like the author's take on the stories and mine is different. In my view, Christ is the main character in the story of the Bible. There is no problem putting yourself in the story and seeing what God has to say to you about what's going on. People have been doing this for thousands of years through lectio divina, visio divina, and Ignatian practices. I feel like the author has spent some time putting herself in the story and made some evaluations based on those experiences. But I think she has forgotten who the main character is and has gone off on some side tracks that are not entirely helpful.

That being said, I thought the selection of scripture every day was good, the blessings at the end of each section were helpful and well done, and that the questions were useful. I made some spiritual progress this advent by thinking through the answers to the questions. But I don't know that the devotional as a whole caused me to think more deeply about Jesus.

[Jeremy Garber · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was blessed to use Mennonite pastor Joanna Harader's book for Advent devotionals this year. Harader accomplishes perhaps the hardest trick in writing - to convey complex ideas simply and beautifully, with both brain and heart. Harader focuses on the women in Matthew's genealogy - women who are outsiders, abused, "othered," and rejected. She invites us into their stories, how they responded to God's call in their lives, and how their special statuses led to directly to Jesus' birth. Harader intersperses accessible Biblical exegesis, personal stories, poems, prayers, and original art by fellow pastor Michelle Burkholder. She also includes guides for communal worship services, small group reflections, retreats, and spiritual practices. This book led me to walk alongside these women from long ago and far away, and to be open to how I can learn from them - and from our God incarnate in flesh and Spirit - in this new, beautiful year.

[Meredith Mason · Rating 2 out of 5]

I think this book would be a good devotional to work through for any other time of year but it hardly mentioned Jesus until Mary came on the scene which wasn’t until the week of Christmas. Didn’t really help with building a longing for the coming of Christ and helping to center your heart on Christ in prep for Christmas which made me sad.

I liked the concept. Some of the points were a bit radical. But not for advent.

[Wintermote · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic Advent devotional that focuses on more than the traditional advent passages. Includes powerful blessings based on each woman and a wide variety of spiritual practices to engage the theme/concept more deeply. The meditations and reflection questions frame each day’s reading in a social Justice perspective. The suggestions for worship, group, and retreat use are fantastic too.

[Ryan Miller · Rating 5 out of 5]

I so appreciated re-examining advent scriptures (and more) by focusing on the women of the stories. That focus is missing far too often by Christians caught up in the historical patriarchy of the religion.

[Bev Regier · Rating 5 out of 5]

This last Advent season has been marked by the wisdom and the challenges and the practices offered by Joanna Harader in Expecting Emmanuel. Looking at the women included in Matthew's genealogy as well as the women closely associated with the birth story added so much depth to my personal worship this year. I found myself pondering both the information given historically about what each of these women faced, but also the questions and practices that leaned into my own experience. Harader asks us to look at our own hurts, our own experiences of being outsiders, and also at our own privilege and responsibility. She weaves multiple spiritual practices into the responses to each days readings. The blessings for each woman added another level of worship and understanding. In addition, the are so many valuable suggestions at the end of the book for using the material in a wide variety of settings; worship, Sunday school, small groups, etc. I'm looking forward to the possibility of experiencing this material again another year in a group setting. I'm having trouble putting it back on the shelf now that we are past Epiphany.