Renberg, Lynneth Miller, and Adam R. Renberg. Candles in the Darkness: Experiencing Advent with the Early and Medieval Church. Downers Grove: IVP Academic, 2026. 182 pp., Hb. $29.99 Link to IVP Academic
Lynneth Miller Renberg (PhD, Baylor University) is associate professor of history and associate director of the Honors College at Anderson University. She is the author of several publications, including Women, Dance, and Parish Religion in England, 1300–1600: Negotiating the Steps of Faith (Boyd and Brewer, 2022). She co-edited The Cursed Carolers in Context (Routledge, 2021). Her husband, Adam R. Renberg (PhD, University of St Andrews), is an assistant professor of theology at Anderson University and a theologian-in-residence and teaching pastor at Capstone Church. His publications include The Son Is Truly Son: The Trinitarian and Christological Theology of Eusebius of Caesarea (Brepols, 2021). Both contribute to The Anxious Bench.
Candles in the Darkness is not simply a Christmas devotional book. The book combines the insights of a historian (Lynneth) and a theologian (Adam). In their introduction, the Renbergs introduce the reader to Egeria, a woman who made a pilgrimage from Spain to Jerusalem in AD 382. In a letter, she described a Christmas procession from Bethlehem to Jerusalem, “walking from cradle to cross” and celebrating the coming of the Light of the World. The authors of this set of Christmas devotionals invite their readers to make the same kind of pilgrimage over the four weeks of Advent and the twelve days of Christmas.
Each daily reading for Advent and the twelve days of Christmas includes Scripture to read, explore, and meditate on. Following Scripture is a meditation from a historical figure and a modern meditation written by the authors. Finally, each devotion ends with a prayer intended to spark the reader’s own prayers, drawn from Scripture or another historical figure. Each day’s readings are brief, rarely more than three pages.
Most readers will be familiar with Augustine, Anselm, or Francis of Assisi (or at least have heard of these names). But the Renbergs include readings from many unheard voices, including women who wrote spiritual reflections and had a significant impact on the church’s spiritual life. Hildegard of Bingen (ca. 1089-1179) is perhaps the most well-known female mystical writer included in the book. But readers will sample Macrina the Younger (ca. 327-379), the ninth-century Frankish noblewoman Dhouda, and Paula the Elder (ca. 347-404). The book also includes several obscure medieval liturgies, such as the Gregorian Sacramentary and Ethiopian liturgies, and books of poetry such as the Book of Exeter (ca. 970). At the very least, reading Candles in the Darkness may spark an interest in church history beyond “the usual suspects.”
Some readers might wonder how helpful an ancient writer can be. After all, many writers use typological or allegorical interpretations that miss the meaning of Scripture (from a modern reader’s perspective). As the Renbergs explain in their introduction to the book, ancient writers invite readers to “enter the text as active participants” (9). Any allegorical readings are faithful attempts to read behind the text. This sort of reading requires both the discipline of the mind and the heart (10).
Conclusion. Candles in the Darkness is a well-written Christmas devotional that invites readers into the unfamiliar world of medieval Christianity to think more deeply about Christ’s coming into the world. Although intended for reading during the Advent season, the book will reward readers at any time of the year.