Dear Everyone.
Peace be with you and peace be with your communities. I hope that all who are celebrating have a blessed Advent.
Today, I am beginning my Advent reading of Day One of “God is in the Manger,” by Dietrich Bonhoeffer (1906-1945) . I’ll be completing a reading from the book each day until Christmas, when I’ll begin the Twelve Days of Christmas reading, which starts on page 65. Please join me.
I’ll be posting weekly reflections here on my website and I welcome your comments below. I’ll also be participating in a chat with the All Things SR podcast during their podcast on January 5th, 2025.
The editors of “God is in the Manger” have provided a short biography of Bonhoeffer in their Preface. I invite you to read it. If you want to read more about Bonhoeffer you can do so here: https://bonhoeffersociety.org/about/bonhoeffer/biography/
I also recommend his work “The Cost of Discipleship.”
But today, I am going to meditate on the first reading, which declares that Advent is the season of waiting and that Christ comes to us in the person of our fellow human beings. Transcendence and immanence. Grace and responsibility.
I am conscious of the tremendous suffering the world this Advent and I am conscious of the fact that there is so much hatred between human beings. I am confronted with the question of what I am doing for the world and in the world this Advent. As I live, and speak, and act, do I contribute to the problem or am I working toward a solution?
Bonhoeffer, who lived and wrote during a time of war and hate, faced these questions. I’m looking forward to learning from him once again.
Peace be with you all,
SR.
I am honoured to have had all three of my novels appear on the New York Times and USA Today Bestseller lists. I was a Semifinalist for Best Author in the 2011 and 2012 Goodreads Choice Awards. {