“It gets darker and darker,” the poet Wendell Berry once remarked, “and then Jesus is born.”

Each week, this devotional explores biblical texts, Berry’s insights, and weekly practices you can try yourself, with your family or friends, or with your congregation. As our eloquent guide to the season, Berry helps our eyes adjust to the darkness – the better to notice the light.

So grab your favorite Bible and collections of Berry’s poetry (the poems in this devotional can also be found online). Week by week, we’ll make our way through the shadows, arriving at last on Christmas day, that beautiful glimpse of what Berry calls “Heaven’s earthly life.”

The scriptural passages in this devotional correspond to Year A in the Revised Common Lectionary – but since their themes are universal, this devotional can be used fruitfully during any Advent season.

Files: This listing is for a downloadable PDF, printing instructions for the 8.5 x 11 devotional, and an e-reader version of the devotional as well. With this congregational license, any or all of these can be distributed (electronically or in hard copy) to members of your congregation.

Please note: you will not receive a physical product as this is a digital download. This resource is for congregational use only, which means it may not be reproduced commercially, duplicated, or resold :)