Names for the Messiah: An Advent Study
Walter Brueggemann. Louisville, Kentucky: Westminster John Knox Press, 2016. 96 pp. (Paperback).
My church is celebrating advent this year with the traditional advent wreath and candles, and I am thrilled about it. I love Christmas and I especially love the anticipation of the weeks leading up to the Christmas season. This book by Old Testament scholar Walter Brueggemann would be a meaningful addition to the advent season.
“Names for the Messiah” is a short book based on Isaiah 9:6, the passage that announces Jesus as the “Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” Each of the four chapters focuses on one of these names, filling in the historical and cultural background from Jesus’ day and pointing out how Jesus fulfilled the prophetic words in Isaiah.
In speaking of Jesus’ position as Wonderful Counselor (I checked, and most translations leave out the comma — a bit of a surprise to me), Brueggemann writes of His wisdom, “It takes an uncommon wisdom to interrupt the foolish practice of business as usual” and “the teaching of Jesus attests to the possibility of God that the world has long since taken to be impossible.”
While probably not appropriate for family devotions — it is pretty esoteric — “Names of the Messiah” would be a good choice for adults looking for a group study or personal advent devotional.
—By Martine Bates Fairbanks, The Alabama Baptist
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