A Feast for the Ages

Noche Buena (or Christmas Eve to my non-Caribbean friends) always brings a smile to my face. Growing up Cuban-American, this was the high point of my family’s yearly social calendar. We’d somehow cram all of our grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, nieces, nephews, godparents and assorted friends of the family together under one roof to celebrate Christmas (before even opening a single present!).

Center stage was the roast pork. They get a whole pig from a local butcher (yes, the whole hog) and prepare it for the coming evening. I have vivid memories of seeing the pig before it would be infused with garlic, spices, and marinade. My thoughts? “Man that’s gonna taste good!” It would then be put into a “Caja China”, a box where the coals were spread on top of the metal lid, and the pig would lay underneath.

A veritable cornucopia of food surrounded the event. Rice and beans, Yuca root, Tostones (twice-fried plaintains), ham croquetas, veggies, mashed potatoes, arroz con polla (Caribbean chicken and rice), even roasted turkeys! Food somehow served to bring us together. The real celebration was family; our love for one another. Differences were set aside and we enjoyed each other. The younger kids would play, the older cousins would hang out (and play pranks on the younger ones), and parents would sit around and talk (and eat). Leaving was always bittersweet…Ok, maybe not (Christmas morning awaited just a few hours away). But the memories of our time together far outlasted the life-span of the toys we’d get the next day.

As we celebrate Christmas this year, let us remember the baby in the manger; God with us. His greatest gift to us was Himself. The outpouring of that gift, resulted in a mending together of our broken relationship with Him. When history ends, Scripture states that there will be a great wedding feast between Jesus and the Church. That which was separated now has been united. What is it about food and the healing of relationships?

May God bless you this Noche Buena and Christmas Day!

Revelations 19:5-10
And from the throne came a voice that said,

“Praise our God,
all his servants,
all who fear him,
from the least to the greatest.”

Then I heard again what sounded like the shout of a vast crowd or the roar of mighty ocean waves or the crash of loud thunder:

“Praise the LORD!
For the Lord our God, the Almighty, reigns.
Let us be glad and rejoice,
and let us give honor to him.
For the time has come for the wedding feast of the Lamb,
and his bride has prepared herself.
She has been given the finest of pure white linen to wear.”

For the fine linen represents the good deeds of God’s holy people.

And the angel said to me, “Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding feast of the Lamb.” And he added, “These are true words that come from God.”

Then I fell down at his feet to worship him, but he said, “No, don’t worship me. I am a servant of God, just like you and your brothers and sisters who testify about their faith in Jesus. Worship only God. For the essence of prophecy is to give a clear witness for Jesus.”
(NLT)