Advent started on Sunday and as I looked at my stack of current reads, I realized that they are all stories that are preparing me for this season of hopeful anticipation. I’m reading an actual Advent-focused devotional but my fiction and bedtime reads are pointing me toward reconciliation, as well. I’m in the midst of them so I can’t vouch for their endings but I thought I’d share what I’m reading right now at the start of this season.
Silence and Other Surprising Invitations of Advent by Enuma Okoro
We’re only on Day 2 but already we’ve covered loss and lament, waiting and hope. Enuma Okoro structures her daily Advent guide around Elizabeth and Zechariah, John the Baptist’s parents and Jesus’ aunt and uncle. Her reasoning is that they open the story in Luke with the all-too familiar humanness of wondering if God’s promises are true.
Each week focuses on a character or set of characters in the Nativity narrative and each day is broken into a small section of scripture around the week’s theme. So far, it’s just the length and depth I need for this season.
Beyond Our Efforts, A Celebration of Denver Peacemaking by The Center for Urban Peacemakers
This collection of essays, prayers, stories, and meditations is compiled in partnership with Mile High Ministries, whose board Frank has served on for the past year. Starting in Winter and working through the seasons, each section focuses on the radical work peacemakers are doing around our city. Even though its focus is Denver, I’d imagine this book would be encouraging for anyone engaged in the work of peace and reconciliation.
Does Jesus Really Love Me? A Gay Christian’s Pilgrimage in Search of God in America by Jeff Chu
I’m just a few chapters into this journalistic memoir but I appreciate Chu’s attention to detail and efforts to truly uncover the varying sides of what it means to be LGBTQIA+ and a Christian. Chu’s background in journalism shines through in his interviews and research around the church’s recent stance on accepting and including those who identify as gay. While we have already gone through the process of inclusion as a family, we’ve recently joined a church on the cusp of these conversations and I realized I needed to refresh the whys behind my beliefs. Simply having friends who are LGBTQIA+ isn’t enough for those grappling with what they believe. Written in 2013, I wonder what has changed since Chu wrote this book but so far, it holds up to many of the opinions and questions I’ve heard recently.
I’m also (finally!) reading A Place for Us by Fatima Farheen Mirza. I had gotten it from the library over the summer but it got pushed to the bottom of the pile by more urgent return dates. Recommended by a variety of well-read friends, I’m looking forward to diving into this family saga.
And lastly, I’m just a couple essays away from finishing Evangelical Theologies of Liberation and Justice, edited by Mae Elise Cannon and Andrea Smith. This is such a hopeful book, especially for those who were raised in the Evangelical church or who have ties to it. Often, it feels as though the church whose name means good news has lost the goodness of its way. And yet, so many are working toward the powerful liberative practices of justice and peacemaking. This book of essays gave me renewed hope for the church I grew up in and the denomination we now find ourselves attending. Also, the essay called “Liberating Barabbas” by Drew G.I. Hart is worth the price of the collection.
Annie Rim 