Hey Friend,
Tomorrow is Noche Buena. In the Latino/a community - it's our Christmas. Most of us don't do anything specific on Christmas day (unless there's family traditions) but usually our celebrations happen on Christmas Eve night and 3 Kings Day (which is January 6th - The Day of Epiphany).
Maybe you celebrate that or maybe you don't but I wanted to share with you some encouraging words for these next few days. Noche Buena doesn't necessarily translate to Merry Christmas Eve - what it actually translates to is “Good Night”. Not in the sense of words you say before going to sleep but in the sense that what happened on Christmas Eve was good.
Obviously we acknowledge that perhaps Jesus was not born on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day but but we celebrate His birthday anyway because it did happen at some point and that, my friends, is Good News.
Maybe you're like me and you're wrestling with considering this season or day to be good because of what's happening in Palestine and Israel or perhaps something personal happening in your life or you're reflecting on 2023 and remembering lots of devastation that occurred in the world. Wherever your heart is tonight, I'd invite you to consider why Christmas Eve is indeed a “Good Night”:
What makes Jesus coming to earth as a human being good?
What makes His birth good for people on earth?
What good has His birth brought into the world?
What is good about God coming down to be born to save us?
What has the good of His birth done for you and others?
Why do you personally believe Jesus' birth is ‘good' - beyond what scripture or what others testimonies will tell you, but why do YOU personally believe it's good?
One way we can stay hopeful as we continue to live life in this world that is hard, painful, grieve-filled, unjust, and chaotic at times is by being able to stay steadfast in personally knowing why we believe it's good that Jesus came and what His coming meant 2000 years ago but also what it means for our present everyday lives.
I hope you don't grow hopeful or joyful because it's the ‘right’ Christian way to be or because of gifts you get or because of what you've been taught to think about this time of year. All of that is temporary and won't be of help when you're in the midst of doubt, wrestling, pain, and hopelessness.
I hope that the answers you find in Jesus can sustain you, grow your hope, and help you keep going so you can enter this new year really believing that He is good and Him coming was good too.
Feliz Noche Buena and Merry Christmas, friends!
Your sister,