Nochebuena / Christmas Eve (Christmas 1) + Let baby Jesus grow! + 12.24.13

-
M. Campbell-Langdell
All Santos, Oxnard
from sgmradio.com
(Is. 9:2-7, Ps. 96, Tit. 2:11-14, Luke 2:1-14)

Buenas noches. Good evening.  Estaba haciendo ejercicio el otro día y sucedió que yo estaba escuchando, entre otras canciones, canciones de rock Cristiano.  Working out the other day, I realized that among the music I was listening to was some Christian rock.  But the songs would have worked for most of the Christian year except for Christmas.  Me puse a pensar porque es que solo escuchamos las canciones de Navidad durante esta época del año.  And I began to think, why do we only listen to Christmas songs (by and large) during Christmas season, whereas other Christian songs can largely be sung year-round?  Si piensan bien, la mayoría de las otras canciones si se pueden cantar todo el año.  Pero las canciones de Navidad son bien específicas. 
Well the answer that came to my mind was this: it is just the beginning.  Porque es solo el principio. Every birth is a miracle, but this birth, the incarnation of God in the world, was truly miraculous for what happened next.  Cada nacimiento es un milagro, pero este nacimiento, la encarnación de Dios en el mundo, fue completamente milagroso por lo que pasó próximo.
Padre Alberto Cutié tiene una historia de una niña que quiero compartir con Uds. I am going to share, first in Spanish, then in English, a story that Fr. Alberto Cutie tells about Christmas.
Cada año la abuelita llevaba a su nieta a ver el “nacimiento” o  “belén” que ponían en un parque de la vecindad. En esta ocasión, la nieta ya tenía unos siete años y, como típica niña a esa edad, opinaba libremente sobre todo lo que observaba. La abuelita le hizo el mismo cuento de siempre. La señora le contaba a su nieta con muchos detalles todo sobre el nacimiento de Jesús; los pastores y los ángeles, la estrella, los animales en el pesebre, los Reyes Magos, la Virgen María y san José. No se le escapaba un solo detalle.  La niña miró a su abuelita y le dijo: “Dime abuela, ¿por qué el niño Jesús no crece y cada año lo vemos del mismo tamaño?”
Each year, a grandma took her granddaughter to see a “nativity” or “crèche” that they put up in a neighborhood park.  On this occasion, the granddaughter was seven, and like a typical child of that age, she freely shared her opinions about everything she observed. Her grandmother told her the same story as always.  The lady told her granddaughter in much detail about the birth of Jesus, the shepherds and the angels, the star, the animals in the manger, the Wise Men, the Virgin Mary and St. Joseph.  She did not leave one thing out.  The granddaughter looked up at her grandmother and said “Tell me, grandma, why doesn’t baby Jesus grow and each year he is the same size?”[1]
The truth is, if we let Jesus stay in the manger, he will always be the same size in our hearts.  Pero el reto es dejar a Jesús entrar en nuestros corazones y crecer en nuestros corazones.  If we let Jesus into our hearts, he will grow there.  We can let Jesús become who he was, the Son of God who changed lives and hearts, si hacemos el esfuerzo de abrir nuestros corazones, no solo al bebe, pero al hombre que llegó a ser.
Tonight, the children will share with us a version of the Christmas story.  Let us listen as the story begins.
Ahora, los niños nos van a compartir una versión de la historia de Navidad, escuchamos mientras lo hacen.
And look out; perhaps Jesus will begin to grow in your heart!
Tengan cuidado, ¡es posible que Jesús empezará a crecer en sus corazones!


[1] Alberto Cutie, “Nochebuena en Sermones que Iluminan” http://episcopaldigitalnetwork.com/stw-es/2013/12/12/nochebuena-abc-2013/.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Faith or Fear? Advent 1C

-
Melissa Campbell-Langdell All Santos, Oxnard Year C + Advent 1 (Jeremiah 33:14–16; Ps. 25:1–9; 1 Thess. 3:9–13; Luke 21:25–36) So… what are you going to do when you stand before the man with the holes in his hands? Now that may seem like a strange question to ask this first Sunday in December.  Surely, Pastor Melissa, we’re gearing up for jollity, not getting ready to meet our maker? But in a sense we are, always, all the time, waiting for Jesus, and I think that’s what Advent is really all about.  Reminding us that we are always waiting not just for the Christ Child to come and be born in our midst, but that we are also waiting for that awesome, if slightly scary Second Coming of Christ. And it is true that this passage talks about distress and the roaring of the waves.  And many looked at the devastation caused by Hurricane Sandy, that iconic image of the ocean-side theme park, including a Ferris Wheel, in the waves, and many said, this is something w...
Read more

Proper 20 (B) + A community of power + 9.23.18

-
Image
M. Campbell-Langdell All Saints, Oxnard (Proverbs 31:10–31; Ps. 1; James 3:13–4:3, 7–8ª; St. Mark 9:30–37) Take a moment and think of the most powerful positive woman figure you know – in your life or in your favorite movie, show or book. Who is the woman who has most inspired you? Keep that image of that woman in mind as we look at this passage from Proverbs Chapter 31. Now here we see the verse “A capable wife who can find?” And all the feminists amongst us will be relieved to hear that a better translation from the Hebrew would be: “a woman of power” instead of a “capable wife.” [1] That changes things, doesn’t it? Then when we hear about this ideal ancient Hebrew woman’s exploits – her buying of lands, her trading prowess, her physical strength, even her domestic abilities such as weaving, and perhaps especially her kindness to the poor, we see strength and power in all of these. Of course, looking at this passage, this is not one woman but a concept of the most...
Read more

Proper21BAcceptingourownwounds29sept24

-
  Accepting our own and other’s wounds Mark 9: 38-50   St Michael’s, Isla Vista / All Saints Oxnard The Rev. Alene Campbell-Langdell; MCL additions   May I just start this morning by acknowledging that our Gospel reading is complex.   The images are startling (horrifying?) and the metaphors come almost too quickly to catch.   What is clear is that something serious is going on between Jesus and his disciples, and Jesus is using every means possible, including some pretty harsh language, to try to course correct.   To even begin to understand this passage, we need to back up to last week’s reading from Mark.   In that reading, the disciples are arguing with each other about who is the greatest and best disciple.   In response, Jesus gets a little kid, some commentators say “toddler,” and holds this child in his arms during the rest of the conversation.    The other part of the scene to keep in mind is that Jesus has just told...
Read more