Back to series
Recommended Reading:
Poem: To Joseph
Click here to open a Print-Friendly PDF
“This child is destined…to be a sign.” (Luke 2:34)
You did not frequent marbled shrines
Or marvel at the brush-stroked lines
And contours of museumed artistry.
No guided tour, no catalogue,
No philosophic dialogue
In Nazareth – no civic gallery.
Yet you beheld a work of art,
The making of a holy heart.
At first its meaning was so hard to see.
The artist said he was divine,
That earth would bow before his sign.
But is art pure that robs virginity?
Joseph, you taught me how to view,
To look by faith and sight eschew,
And give the artist time to be believed.
When flesh-framed masterpiece was done,
It flamed the image of a son.
When hung, at last its meaning was perceived.1
(1986)
1 Stuart McAlpine, The Advent Overture: Meditations and Poems for the Christmas Season (Bloomington, IN: WestBow Press, 2017), pg. 86.

Stuart McAlpine
Pastor, Teaching Fellow, CSLI Stuart McAlpine is a teaching fellow at the C.S. Lewis Institute and the founding pastor of Christ our Shepherd Church located on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC. He speaks at churches and conferences around the world and lectures for the C.S. Lewis Institute Fellows Program. His most recent book is: Here’s Hoping: Recovering Hope for Heaven and Earth. Stuart has a great knowledge of and love for the works of C.S. Lewis. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in English Literature and a Master’s degree in Theology from Cambridge University in Great Britain.
Recommended Reading:
The Advent of Overture – Meditations and Poems for the Christmas Season, WestBow Press (November 2017)
A great Christmas gift idea for those looking for Advent material. An ideal gift for pastors. For more information please visit https://www.mcalpinepartners.com/all-resources. All proceeds are used to provide free resources for international pastors.
COPYRIGHT: This publication is published by C.S. Lewis Institute; 8001 Braddock Road, Suite 301; Springfield, VA 22151. Portions of the publication may be reproduced for noncommercial, local church or ministry use without prior permission. Electronic copies of the PDF files may be duplicated and transmitted via e-mail for personal and church use. Articles may not be modified without prior written permission of the Institute. For questions, contact the Institute: 703.914.5602 or email us.
-
Recent Podcasts
An Honest Search for God – Dr. Jay Medenwaldt’s Story
by Jana Harmon, Jay Medenwaldt on June 20, 2025Why do people believe in God? In this...Read More
-
Moving Beyond Forgiveness to an Abundant Life
by Robert Saucy, Aimee Riegert on June 13, 2025
-
Is There Something More? – Laura Zifer Powell’s Story
by Laura Zifer Powell, Jana Harmon on June 6, 2025
-
Recent Publications
Are Miracles Possible
by Christopher L. Reese on June 1, 2025The 21st century has provoked many conversations and...Read More
-
Is God Just, Not Fair?
by Jennifer Rothschild on May 15, 2025
-
Seeking Dietrich Bonhoeffer
by Joseph A. Kohm on April 29, 2025
0
All Booked
0.00
All Booked
0.00
All Booked
22904
GLOBAL EVENT: 2025 Study Tour of C.S. Lewis’s Belfast & Oxford
https://www.cslewisinstitute.org/?event=global-event-2025-study-tour-of-c-s-lewiss-belfast-oxford&event_date=2025-06-24®=1
https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr
2025-06-24

Next coming event
Days
Hours
Minutes
Seconds
GLOBAL EVENT: 2025 Study Tour of C.S. Lewis’s Belfast & Oxford
On June 24, 2025 at 12:00 pmat Belfast, Northern Ireland & Oxford, EnglandTags
Speakers
Stuart McAlpine
Pastor, Teaching Fellow, CSLI
Team Members

Stuart McAlpine
Pastor, Teaching Fellow, CSLIStuart McAlpine is a teaching fellow at the C.S. Lewis Institute and the founding pastor of Christ our Shepherd Church located on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC. He speaks at churches and conferences around the world and lectures for the C.S. Lewis Institute Fellows Program. His most recent book is: Here’s Hoping: Recovering Hope for Heaven and Earth. Stuart has a great knowledge of and love for the works of C.S. Lewis. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in English Literature and a Master’s degree in Theology from Cambridge University in Great Britain.