A Star Over Bethlehem
About the book
In a series of carefully selected passages Ann Finch charts the course of the festivals and seasons from Advent to Epiphany. Her wide range of choices include such diverse writers as C.S. Lewis, R. S. Thomas, Hildegard of Bingen, as well as ancient English poetry. The book is designed for use in personal reflection and also for schools, churches, and small groups.
Endorsements
A Star Over Bethlehem has the character and feel of a winter snow storm, perhaps the first of the season. This is a collection of poems, prayers, reflections, stories, words from the early Fathers of the Church, meditations of the saints and literature. All the selections dance around the images of Christmas: the star, the star-child, the Virgin and Joseph, the familiar places of Bethlehem, Nazareth, the human heart, and the mystery of the Incarnation. Some pieces are enchanting and glisten in eyes and soul. Others are sobering and thought-provoking, bringing awareness and a sense of God slipping into the world so that we can all slide toward goodness once again. This is a book to share, a book to pray with, a book to add sparkle to sermons and a book to wonder over, for it gifts us with the richness and diversity of the wisdom and light which that Star shed upon the world and all those who dwell in it.
Ann Finch offers an insightful medley of scripture, song, prose, and poetry to relate the rich tradition and heritage of the First Christmas and of the meaning of a true Christmas. This collection is powerful as it is stripped of the consumerism and ornateness with which we have weighted the Christmas spirit. The Mystery of the Incarnation is so evidently presented and proclaimed as a love event... a love story. It is one into which you will want to enter repeatedly.
