Many have asked if and when I might share more of my experiences from my recent time in Mexico.  Since there’s interest, I would like to have a gathering of some kind in the near future for that purpose, but know you’ll get glimpses of what I learned through conversations, sermons and in newsletter articles like this one.

At the cathedral of San Juan Chamula (named for St. John, the Baptist), a village in the hills outside the city of San Cristobal where we stayed, I heard a great story about the town’s celebration of Christmas.

After morning prayers and mass on the day of Christmas Eve, the doors of the cathedral are locked as midwives from the community gather around a statue of Mary, at the back of the sanctuary. For the remainder of the day and night, these faithful women dance and sing and celebrate the birth of Jesus that is to come.

At midnight on Christmas Day, a statue of the baby Jesus, which has been kept on the other side of the village, is carried into the church and a larger celebration begins. The doors of the cathedral are opened and the midwives, along with men, women and children from the community, parade around the church square, carrying statues of the saints with them as music plays, singing rings out, and fireworks explode recklessly into the night.

Throughout my time in Mexico, I was continually moved by the faithful way men and women honored ancient traditions with such discipline, reverence and joy. This particular story about Christmas Eve in San Juan Chamula, inspires me to look ahead with expectation and joy for all that is to come back home at Cross of Grace, in Indiana.

After all, we share the same story of grace, good news and new life in Jesus Christ that our brothers and sisters celebrate in Chiapas. And we’re called to worship and reflect in the days to come in the same spirit of discipline, reverence and joy. I look forward to joining with you in the days of Christmas that are coming, giving thanks for the gift of it all and filled with hope that someone new will see us and share the story in return.

See you in worship,
+Mark

This entry was posted on Tuesday, December 1st, 2009 at 11:25 am and is filed under Articles. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.