Ryken, Leland. Journey to Bethlehem: A Treasury of Classic Christmas Devotionals. Wheaton, Ill: Crossway, 2023. ISBN: 978-1-4335-8419-0. $29.99.
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“Brightest and best of the sons of the morning,
Dawn on our darkness, and lend us thine aid;
Star of the East, the horizon adorning,
Guide where our infant Redeemer is laid.”[1]
Have you ever heard spoken words or the tune of a song that completely captivated you, and yet, you struggled to fully grasp the meaning? Most of us have, at one time or another, had the experience of listening to a song that, by tune or rhythm, became a favorite – only to be surprised (or shocked!) by the words upon a deeper reflection of their meaning. All lovers of art in all of its forms will recognize that any artistic work or literary composition has various dimensions of meaning. That’s part of what makes art, music, and literature joys to experience when correctly understood.
However, the challenge is in the process conveyed by those last two words: “correctly understood.” Rightly understanding a hymn, devotion, poem, or any created literary work requires disciplined reflection on the content and meaning of that work. Once rightly understood, that truth can be harnessed to inspire, shape, inform, and guide our lives. This is especially true of Christian literature in all of its forms. In a world that seems, in so many ways, to be consumed with a shallow understanding of life, meaning, and purpose, the Christian faith leads us to see and understand something greater, grander, and deeper in the lives we lead and God’s purpose for and in them.
It is that deeper meaning and understanding conveyed in the Christian literary works of the Christmas season that Dr. Leland Ryken leads the reader to explore in his masterful work, Journey to Bethlehem: A Treasury of Classic Christmas Devotionals.
Overview:
Journey to Bethlehem is a powerful and moving collection of Christian hymns, poems, and prose related to the Christmas season with insightful commentary by the volume’s editor, Dr. Leland Ryken. Dr. Ryken’s commentary and evaluation of each item included in the anthology are reflective of extraordinary beauty and theological depth. With the consummate skill of a seasoned professor of English literature, Dr. Ryken draws out the many profound elements, truths, and meanings of each selected work in a manner that is both academic in depth and devotional in orientation.
Authorship and Qualifications:
Journey to Bethlehem was edited by Dr. Leland Ryken. In addition to editing the selections and structure of the work, Dr. Ryken also authored the commentary and analysis provided for each selected work contained in the anthology. Dr. Ryken is a veteran academic in the field of English literature, serving as a professor of English at Wheaton College of Wheaton, Illinois for more than half a century. At Wheaton, Dr. Ryken taught courses in Classical and Early British Literature, 17th to 20th Century British Literature, Shakespeare, Literature and the Bible, and Writing Effective Prose.[2] In addition to his role as a member of the faculty and professor emeritus at Wheaton, Dr. Ryken is the author or editor of numerous volumes, including The Word of God in English, A Complete Handbook of Literary Forms in the Bible, The Soul in Paraphrase, The Heart in Pilgrimage, The Beauty and Power of Biblical Exposition, Understanding English Bible Translation, A Christian Guide to the Classics, and numerous others.[3]
Dr. Ryken earned his Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) degree in English literature from the University of Oregon.[4] He is also the father of Dr. Philip Graham Ryken, a prominent Presbyterian pastor and professor of historical theology. Notably, Dr. Philip Graham Ryken currently serves as the 8th president of Wheaton College, carrying on his father’s legacy of scholarship, teaching, leadership, and the pursuit of academic excellence at Wheaton.[5]
Materials and Construction:
Consistent with just about everything published by Crossway in my experience, the quality of materials and physical construction of the book are most impressive. The book is hardback, with a solid green cloth over board cover. The cover is further embossed with a delicate gold etching that provides an elegant diamond pattern spreading across the front and back of the volume. The combination of the green cloth over board and the gold etching evokes the beauty and colors of the Christmas season and presents the work in a dignity befitting the supreme importance, power, and truth that its contents convey. The work also appears to be Smyth-sewn, providing a durable construction that will endure for years to come (see my previous blog post about the benefits of Smyth-sewn construction here). The book also includes a beautiful red ribbon marker that matches the green and gold Christmas color theme and, on a practical basis, provides a very helpful page marker to facilitate use as a daily devotional. The paper has a good thickness with minimal ghosting of words that facilitates a quality reading experience.
Survey of Contents and Critical Evaluation:
Journey to Bethlehem presents the classical Christmas works of an array of theologians, authors, musicians, poets, and hymnists, including Augustine, Martin Luther, John Calvin, C. H. Spurgeon, Charles Welsey, James Montgomery, Reginald Heber, Bernard of Clairvaux, and others. The array of historical, theological, and geographical contexts represented in the selected works – all focusing on the celebration and meaning of the incarnation and coming of the Lord Jesus in his earthly birth – is astounding unto itself. Combined with Dr. Ryken’s expert knowledge and skill in literary analysis and devotional application, the work conducts the reader through the joys and depths of meaning represented in the Christmas story and the season of Advent.
The work contains 30 individual readings designed to spread across the month of December in celebration of the Christmas season. As noted in the work’s introduction, the 30-reading approach can also facilitate deep and meaningful reflection throughout the year. However, the structure of the work is particularly helpful for a daily devotional consumed in the days leading up to Christmas. The volume strikes a balance between works that are likely to be familiar to virtually every reader and works that may be known to a smaller audience but are certainly worthy of our reflection and familiarity.
The work is divided into three main sections of 10 readings. The first section, “Christmas Hymns,” examines some of the most popular, powerful, and enduring Christmas hymns of the Christian faith. Selections included in this first section include “Joy to the World” (Isaac Watts), “Angels from the Realms of Glory” (James Montgomery), “Come, Thou Long-Expected Jesus” (Charles Wesley), “Brightest and Best of the Sons of the Morning” (Reginald Heber), “It Came Upon a Midnight Clear” (Edmond Sears), “Once in Royal David’s City” (William Chatterton Dix), “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing” (Charles Wesley), “O Little Town of Bethlehem” (Phillips Brooks), and “Silent Night” (Josef Mohr).
The second section, “Classic Prose Devotionals,” evaluates the Christmas devotional work of a number of theologians from various historical eras. This section includes “Mary, Our Example” (John Calvin), “Bethlehem, the Town God Chose” (Bernard of Clairvaux), “Journeying with the Wise Men” (Lancelot Andrewes), “The Paradoxes of the Incarnation” (Augustine), “A Christmas Prayer” (from Lessons and Carols), “The Greatest Birthday” (Charles Spurgeon), the “Nicene Creed” (Council of Nicaea, AD 325), “On the Incarnation” (Athanasius), “The Excellency of Christ Seen in Christmas” (Jonathan Edwards), and “The Birth of Jesus” (Martin Luther).
The third section, “Christmas Poems,” examines the captivating corpus of Christian poetry throughout the history of the Christian faith and is reflective of its various denominational traditions. This section includes “The Magnificat” (the Virgin Mary), “A Hymn on the Nativity of My Savior” (Ben Jonson), “In the Bleak Midwinter” (Christina Rossetti), “The Consecration of the Common Way” (Edwin Markham), “A Christmas Carol” (G. K. Chesterton), “A Christmas Hymn” (Richard Wilbur), “No Room for Jesus” (author unknown), “Wilt Thou Love God as He Thee?” (John Donne), “On the Morning of Christ’s Nativity” (John Milton), and “Journey of the Magi” (T. S. Eliot).
Many, though not all, of these hymns, devotionals, and poems were personally familiar to me before I began reading and reviewing the work, both from my own personal experience of Christmas as a follower of Jesus and as a student of historical theology. However, for those works that were not familiar to me, I found myself captivated by both the beauty of the arrangement of the words and their profound depth of meaning in conveying the truth of Christ’s incarnation and the Christmas story. Furthermore, for those works with which I had greater familiarity, Ryken’s insightful analysis enabled me to see truth and meaning conveyed in the words of these great hymns that I had not previously grasped. Beyond simply “pulling back the curtain” and revealing the deeper meaning of each hymn, Ryken’s analysis and devotional application also connected that truth with personal spiritual application in reflecting on the meaning of each aspect of the Christmas story conveyed by the work.
One of my favorite examples from Journey to Bethlehem is found in Ryken’s analysis of the hymn, “Brightest and Best of the Sons of the Morning” by Reginald Heber (pp. 12-14). Since I was a kid listening to Kathy Mattea’s rendition of this song with the rest of my family on a CD my Mom owned, this hymn has been one of my all-time favorite Christmas songs. However, Dr. Ryken’s evaluation of the song opened my eyes to some elements of the hymn I had not recognized previously. Ryken began with the interesting and helpful insights of an experienced literary critic, noting the general approach of Christian authors when constructing a Christmas song or poem. Ryken observed, “When poets sit down to compose Christmas hymns, they first choose a specific event or group of characters from the nativity story as the focus of their poems. As they work with the selected material, they do two things. First they imagine the details of the actual event and characters, making them come alive in our imaginations and enabling us to be vicariously present at the first Christmas. Then they subject the situation to the meditative analysis and draw an application for us” (13). Dr. Ryken continued, “The vehicle for this application is that the events and characters are viewed as examples of universal principles that apply to us. ‘Brightest and Best of the Sons of the Morning’ does all these things, though it adds a surprise ending that breaks the pattern” (emphasis his, 13).
What is that ending? After a brief discussion of Reginald Heber’s background and historical context and a fascinating analysis of the main elements of the hymn, Dr. Ryken returns toward the end of his analysis to break the suspense. “Then, in a surprise ending, the first two lines of the final stanza rebuke us for thinking that costly gifts are best. They are vainly offered, as the heart’s adoration and prayers of the poor are said to be, paradoxically, richer by far and dearer” (emphasis his, in echoing the words of the hymn) (13-14). Ryken continued, in some of my favorite lines from his analysis, “We cannot literally do what the wise men did, and we should not try. Adoring Christ in our hearts with the modest means we possess is our best gift” (14).
Summary and Recommendation:
As the subtitle of the work implies Journey to Bethlehem is, indeed, a treasury. The array of traditions, authors, talents, and backgrounds provides a breathtaking literary experience that Dr. Ryken skillfully marshals to conduct the reader through a deeply moving, soul-searching, and Christ-honoring experience of devotion to and worship of our Lord Jesus Christ throughout the Christmas season.
This work is to be commended to any Christian seeking a deeper understanding of the meaning of Christmas, a refreshed understanding of the familiar (and unfamiliar) hymns, devotions, and poems that gloriously fill this season of the year, and a season of spiritual revival in the celebration of the coming of the Christ child.
“Cold on his cradle the dewdrops are shining;
Low lies his head with the beasts of the stall;
Angels adore him in slumber reclining,
Maker and Monarch, and Lord over all.”
-Reginald Heber, Brightest and Best of the Sons of the Morning (12).
*Author’s note: I received a copy of this book from Crossway in exchange for an honest review.
[1] Reginald Heber, “Brightest and Best of the Sons of the Morning,” in Journey to Bethlehem: A Treasury of Classic Christmas Devotionals, ed. Leland Ryken (Wheaton: Crossway, 2023), 12.
[2] Wheaton College, “Leland Ryken,” Faculty, English, Departments, Academics, wheaton.edu, https://www.wheaton.edu/academics/departments/english/faculty/faculty-emeriti/leland-ryken/
[3] Crossway, “Leland Ryken,” Authors, Crossway.org, https://www.crossway.org/authors/leland-ryken/
[4] Wheaton College, “Leland Ryken,” Faculty, English, Departments, Academics, wheaton.edu, https://www.wheaton.edu/academics/departments/english/faculty/faculty-emeriti/leland-ryken/
[5] Wheaton College, “President Ryken,” Leadership, About Wheaton, wheaton.edu, https://www.wheaton.edu/about-wheaton/leadership/president-ryken/
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