The Advent season has arrived, and with it also the end of another liturgical year in this continuous journey of faith as Christians. But what has this year that we are about to end left us? The answers will of course be different because each of us experiences different moments in our lives. The book of Ecclesiastes of the Old Testament tells us: Everything has its time, moment of birth and moments of death, moments to plant and moments to harvest, moments to hurt and moments to heal, moments to cry and moments to laugh, moments to scatter stones and moments to pile up, moments to welcome and moments to say goodbye.
Surely many of us identify with some, if not all, of these moments as we come to the end of the year. I experienced many of those moments this year. Moments to laugh and celebrate when I clicked send to submit my final paper for seminary, moments to laugh and celebrate with my family and all of you at my graduation, moments to celebrate and laugh when you said yes to call me as your third pastor, moments of welcome, hospitality and celebration with the visit of the delegation of El Salvador for my ordination and installation. Moments of tears, death and farewell were present two months after my ordination with the death of my father. Moments to continue planting the gospel and continue harvesting in our ministry, moments to celebrate welcoming new members, moments to celebrate baptisms and welcome them to the body of Christ, moments to continue keeping our multicultural traditions alive in our ministry and more.
In the church, these moments of life are built into the church year with the different seasons: Advent, Christmas, Epiphany, Lent and Holy Week, Easter and Pentecost. We begin the church year with the anticipation of the birth of Jesus. As is tradition, our church celebrates Advent and Christmas in a multicultural way. It is the church’s moment of a time of quiet reflection and anticipation, although expressed in different ways.
The Latino ministry will celebrate the Annunciation with mariachi at 5:30 a.m. on Tuesday, Dec. 12, as a way of bringing our Lutheran theology to the traditional festival of Guadalupe. If you would like to join us and learn about this tradition, you are invited to wake up early and bring a breakfast dish to share.
Another of the moments we will have is Las Posadas with mariachi. On Saturday, Dec. 16, at 6 p.m., we will hold a procession outside the church and accompany the Holy Family during their time in Bethlehem looking for an inn. At last, an innkeeper will welcome us with a banquet, music and piñata! We hope you will join us.
In the Latino world, the big party is Christmas Eve. Families gather and celebrate all night long. Some of their celebrations can last until dawn. Santa rarely visits homes in Spanish-speaking countries. Families may exchange a gift on Christmas, New Year’s or Three Kings Day, so without the arrival of Santa, there’s no need for an early Christmas Eve. Latino families in the United States are visited by Santa, but the tradition of an all-night party remains.
As I mentioned at the beginning, everything has its moment. It could be that this year for you has been full of many good and bad moments, loneliness, anxiety, mourning, joy, etc., but during this time of Advent and Christmas let us remember the phrases that the prophet Isaiah tells us: The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of deep darkness a light has dawned. For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Regardless of where you find yourself this season, may it also be a season of peace for you.
Pastor Edwin
