Advent Homilies
Saint Augustine
FOREWORD BY FRED SANDERS
edited By S. MARK HAMILTON rhys laverty
$21.95
Publication Date: November 21, 2024
About this book
GO ON BEING FILLED WITH WONDER
Saint Augustine of Hippo (354-430) is one of the titans of church history. Works such as his Confessions and On the Trinity have earned him a place as one of “the Doctors of the Church,” responsible for shaping and defending Christian doctrine throughout the centuries.
Yet Augustine was also pastor. Week by week, year by year, he shepherded his flock by preaching to them the Good News. In this short collection, readers will find seventeen Advent homilies in which Augustine expounded from his pulpit the wonders of Christ’s incarnation for the everyday Christians in his congregation. Combining profound theological wisdom, sharp scriptural insight, and challenging practical application, these homilies are brief but rich meditations on the person of Christ—the Eternal Day who stepped into our darkness, the Bridegroom who came forth from his chamber, the Truth who sprung out of the earth.
If you are longing for Christ this Advent season, these homilies will present him to you afresh from an array of surprising passages.
Paperback | 140 pp. | 6 x 9 | PubliSHed november 21, 2024 | ISBN 978-1-949716-64-1
If you are interested in a bulk order please contact [email protected].
From the Book
“Let us all, therefore, unanimously, with chaste minds and holy affections, celebrate this birthday of the Lord on which we came into being according to the words “Truth is sprung out of the earth” (Psalm 85:11). For the following passage of the same psalm has already been fulfilled. When He who sprang from this earth, that is, who was born of flesh, ascended into heaven, then without a doubt “Justice hath looked down from heaven,” because He came from heaven and is above all men (John 3:31).”
“Advent Homilies invites and challenges its readers to accompany Augustine as he journeys through the Scriptures in search of the eternal Christ, the Second Person of the Trinity, teaching us as he goes to love and adore him.”
– louis markos, Professor in English and scholar in Residence at Houston Christian University
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Foreword
Fred Sanders
Introduction
S. Mark Hamilton and Rhys Laverty
1. Hold Fast to the Lowliness of God (Sermon 184)
2. The Truth is Sprung Out of the Earth (Sermon 185)
3. The Eternal Creator Now Created (Sermon 186)
4. Wisdom Reaches Mightily (Sermon 187)
5. The Begetter and the Begotten (Sermon 188)
6. The Eternal Day (Sermon 189)
7. The Glory of the Sexes (190)
8. A Chaste Virgin to Christ (Sermon 191)
9. Lest Anyone Should Despise Him (Sermon 192)
10. Men of Good Will (Sermon 193)
11. The Fullness of Our Manger (Sermon 194)
12. As A Bridegroom from His Chamber (Sermon 195)
13. Who Shall Declare His Generation? (Sermon 196)
14. Go On Being Filled With Wonder (Sermon 369)
15. Reborn in Him (Sermon 370)
16. Humility to Charity (Sermon 371)
17. From the Father He Came Forth (Sermon 372)
About the EDITORs
S. Mark Hamilton (Ph.D, Free University of Amsterdam) is Editor-in-Chief at The Davenant Press, and a scholar with special interest in Jonathan Edwards and the atonement. He lives in Fort Worth, TX with his wife and four sons.
Rhys Laverty is the Senior Managing Editor of the Davenant Press, Senior Editor of Ad Fontes, and Communications Director for the Davenant Institute. His writing has been published in The Spectator, The Critic, Plough Quarterly, Ad Fontes, Mere Orthodoxy, Theopolis, and WORLD, as well as on his Substack, The New Albion.
Praise for this work
“Though one never really tires of advent devotionals, it is rare to find one that ventures beyond the expected passages from Matthew and Luke and the key Messianic prophesies from the Old Testament. Advent Homilies invites and challenges its readers to accompany Augustine as he journeys through the Scriptures in search of the eternal Christ, the Second Person of the Trinity, teaching us as he goes to love and adore him.”
– louis markos
Louis Markos, Professor in English and scholar in Residence at Houston Christian University
“The sermons of Augustine remain largely unknown and underappreciated among today’s Christian pastors, laypersons, and theological educators, much to our detriment. This collection of Advent sermons is a good step towards rectifying this. Of course, Augustine would remind us that we read (or listen) not to admire the preacher but to better praise the one preached. Nevertheless, it helps to have a sure hand to guide us, and Augustine – as pastor, as rhetorician, as seeker – was and is certainly that.”
– ian clausen
Editor-in-Chief of Augustinian Studies, Villanova University
“Bringing together Augustine’s sermons on the incarnation of God’s Son is a good idea. Those who read superficially will see the same motifs passing by, but those who read attentively will notice how the church father keeps shedding new light on the powerful mystery of the incarnation. We also taste his wonder and adoration of God’s Son Who exists as a human being. It is precisely by illuminating the paradoxes of God and man in one person that the mystery comes out emphatically. What also struck me is that the birth of God’s Son is our rebirth. Salvation history and the order of salvation are immediately connected in this way. Take and read!”
– WILLEM VAN VLASTUIN
Chair Theology and Spirituality of Reformed Protestantism, Dean Hersteld Hervormd Seminarium
“There are few things more nourishing to the soul than contemplating Scripture with St. Augustine. In this collection of Augustine’s Advent homilies the editors have set out a bountiful feast that lets Augustine speak.
With a helpful introduction that bridges Augustine’s day and our own, Hamilton and Laverty clear away what might otherwise distract from Augustine’s beautifully crafted homilies. The artistry with which Augustine displays the glories of the incarnation and the wonders of Christmas will challenge the contemporary reader with the depths of thought and heights of eloquence for which Augustine is rightly cherished.
Through this collection of homilies the wonder of Christ will nourish our souls this Advent season. Augustine’s words the beauty of the Word will leave our souls longing for more.”
– TODD BATES
President and Professor of Humanities, Christ College
“This collection is intended for pastors, theologians, and lay Christians who seek to deepen their understanding and experience of the Advent season through the timeless wisdom of Augustine. By engaging with these homilies, readers will find renewed inspiration for worship and personal devotion during this significant time in the church calendar.”
– STEVE ABNEY
Elder, Watermark Community Church, Fort Worth
“For those eager to embrace the wondrous tapestry and wealth of early Christian thought during the Advent season, Augustine’s Advent Homilies offer a rich introduction. These meditations on the coming of Christ beckon the reader down illuminated paths leading to boundless treasure and rediscovered joy. Hamilton and Laverty have presented readers with a most magnificent gift!.”
– ROBERT L. BOSS
Editor of Jonathan Edwards Commentaries on the New Testament
“The Advent sermons collected here represent some of the most exquisite examples of Augustine’s preaching. We find Augustine speaking in a beautiful combination of prose and poetry, while not lacking theological depth. It is obvious to see in these translations why these sermons have endured through the generations.”
– CHARLES G. KIM
Professor of Theology and Classical Langauges, Saint Louis University
“This collection of sermons will help Christians contemplate more deeply the mysteries of Advent and Christmas. Augustine’s rhetorical genius is on full display, but his theological insights are what make this volume spiritually enriching as a devotional. Common Christmas themes like the Virgin Mary and the wise men appear, but so do less familiar but deeply profound ones like Christ as the Eternal Day, the relation of his two natures to time and eternity, or the necessity of spiritual virginity. The texts in this collection feel like sermonic expositions of parts of Confessions, such that both my mind and my heart are filled with the wonder of our Incarnate Lord.’
– IAN HUGH CLARY
Associate Professor of Historical Theology, Colorado Christian University
“As a seasoned pastor I have found Christmas to be increasingly difficult to preach. Although the incarnation is a bottomless ocean of beauty, I struggle to get out of the shallows. This amazing volume adds inspiration to my Christmas preaching, and ushers my soul into the depths. I can’t wait for Christmas.”
– CODY BUSBY
Senior Pastor, South Shore Baptist Church, Hingham, MA
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