Book Review: Silent Meditations on a Silent Night
© Doris Costagliola
The short story "We Came to Meet Him" is about the three kings traveling to see the new King of the Hebrews. They are astronomers who took a year out of their normal routine to research a star that appeared too bright. They had an appointment with Herod and they observed, "He seems to be a very nervous and paranoid individual". In that same vain, they were talking about the angels singing praises to the God of the Jews as the shepherds reported the event, "yes, it appeared ludicrous to us". Obviously, the conversations were speculative, but they made the story come alive but did not take away from the true meaning.
"The First Christmas Tree" gave me insight into how it symbolizes Jesus and the salvation he gained for us on the cross. For example, evergreen-keeps its majesty year round, plain ornaments signifying humble birth and fancy ones to display Jesus' glory and majesty. But, I also found it interesting that the story begins with the wife complaining to the husband that she did not want to put a tree in their nice, clean home and how he convinces her.
I am not by any means an expert on poems but I enjoyed the three that were included in this book. The author's use of common language is what makes it enjoyable. For example, in "The Christmas Cross", the cross "is our key to heaven" and "grants eternal breath!".
The true meaning of Christmas and the birth of the Christ Child is the focal point and it is presented in a very pleasant atmosphere. Overall it was a good book and I wish it had been longer. It would also make a very nice gift.
A reader from Pratt, KS:
Silent Meditations on a Silent Night is such a vibrant telling of the Christmas story that the reader feels present as each of the events unfolds. We are with the angels, the Wise Men, and even with Martin Luther as he brings home a Christmas tree. The format may surprise, but the text is first rate.
Alvin Oickle writes:
John Hoh's Silent Meditations on a Silent Night brings new imagination to the very old, and still compelling, story of the Birth of the Christ Child. Three of the six writings are small Christmas poems. It is in the three very short stories that I found new ways to understand this great, enduring mystery. "The Angels Did Sing . . ." pictures the excitement that pervades the angelic choir preparing to give its greatest performance -- for a few shepherds! "We Came to Meet Him" captures in journal style the wondrous account of the adventurous Wise Men's trip towards a star and, in Andrew Lloyd Weber's title word, a "Superstar." In the third vignette, "The First Christmas Tree," author Hoh imagines what happens centures ago when Martin Luther, "this controversial man," brings home from a German forest a tree that, like Christ, "keeps its majesty year round." To report that this is a "small" book - only 15 pages - is not to belittle or demean the effort. Indeed, John Hoh brings readers thousands of pages of comfort - and all of it done in the spirit of new philosophic applications to old actions. To read the book is to cast new eyes on the Christian traditions.
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