Fully Alive in God

M. Campbell-Langdell All Santos, Oxnard (Exodus 3:1-15; Ps. 63:1-8; 1 Cor. 10:1-13; Luke 13:1-9) Sometimes you hear words of wisdom in unexpected places. Take for example a recent pearl of wisdom I heard in the telenovela “Jane the Virgin.” Jane the pregnant virgin was explaining to Rafael, the unsuspecting father of her child through artificial insemination, why they would not work together. She said, “You think that life is short. Well, I think that life is long.” But in all seriousness, life sometimes seems so short—shockingly so. This congregation has really been hit by that reality lately. Sometimes it feels as if the long race of life has been ended shockingly early or fast. We have seen it in the loss of Emeterio Cabrera, a member of this church, whose life was cut short so young by gang violence. We have seen it in the sudden loss last week of Ruben Lopez, a member here, who was suddenly struck by illness, leaving his wife Belen and two little girls. These thin...

M. Campbell-Langdell All Santos, Oxnard (Exodus 3:1-15; Ps. 63:1-8; 1 Cor. 10:1-13; Luke 13:1-9) A veces uno escucha perlas de sabiduría en lugares inesperados. Por ejemplo, recientemente estaba yo viendo la telenovela “Jane the Virgin,” basado en “Juana la virgen.” En ella, Jane es una virgen embarazada por la inseminación artificial. Y en la escena que vi, Jane está hablando al padre de su hijo y porque no pueden estar juntos románticamente. Ella hablaba a él, y dijo : “You think that life is short. Well, I think that life is long.” O, “Tú piensas que la vida esta corta. Pero yo pienso que la vida esta larga.” Pero, para estar seria, la vida si parece muy corta a veces. Y recientemente nosotros como una congregación hemos tenido unos choques bien fuertes. We have had some shocking events lately in our congregation that have made life seem too short. A veces parece como la carretera larga de la vida ha terminado demasiado temprano o de una manera demasiado rápida. Lo hemo...

(Artwork by Lynn Maudlin for Diana Glyer's Clay in the Potter's Hands) M. Campbell-Langdell All Santos, Oxnard ( Deuteronomy 26:1–11; Ps. 91:1–2, 9–16; Romans 10:8b–13; St Luke 4:1–13) Because he is bound to me in love, therefore will I deliver him; * I will protect him, because he knows my Name. Ps. 91: 14 We are bound to God in love, but sometimes we forget that. Sometimes we wander the desert wastelands of life and we forget just how beloved we are in God’s sight. I just watched a highly theological movie, “The Avengers” (2012). In it, we have many superheroes and two Norse gods, brothers, who are sparring. Loki wants power over the earth, much as the devil tempts Jesus to today, but Thor wishes to protect the earth. There is a theme throughout—superheroes could potentially die, but can a demigod? So Loki places Thor into a metal tube going straight down to earth from up in the sky to test this theory, and the result is a bit mixed. Thor does survive, but b...

(beautiful artwork by Lynn Maudlin for Diana Glyer's  Clay in the Potter's Hands) M. Campbell-Langdell All Santos, Oxnard ( Deuteronomio 26:1–11; Salmo 91:1–2, 9–16; Romanos 10:8b–13; San Lucas 4:1–13) “Por cuanto ha hecho pacto de amor conmigo, yo lo libraré; lo protegeré, por cuanto ha conocido mi Nombre” (Salmo 91:14). Tenemos un pacto de amor con Dios, pero a veces nos lo olvidamos. A veces vagamos en los desiertos de la vida y olvidamos del amor de Dios. Sometimes we forget how beloved we are of God. Recién vi a una película bien teológica, “The Avengers” (2012). En ella tenemos varios superhéroes y también dos dioses nórdicos quienes están peleando. Loki quiere poder sobre la tierra, un poco como el mismo poder con que satanás quiere tentar a Jesús de la lectura de hoy, pero Thor quiere proteger a la tierra. Hay un tema aquí—los superhéroes pueden morir, con dificultad, pero hay una duda de ¿si los dioses pueden morir, a lo menos los dioses menores? In “T...

M. Campbell-Langdell All Santos, Oxnard (Isaías 58:1–12 Salmo 103 o 103:8–14 2 Corintios 5:20b–6:10 San Mateo 6:1–6, 16–21) ¿Qué tiene que ver el Miércoles de Ceniza con el amor? What does Ash Wednesday have to do with love? Thinking about this Ash Wednesday, so close to Valentine’s Day, and the first Sunday of Lent falling on Valentine’s Day, I could not help but ask myself that question. Pensaba mientras preparaba para el sermón de hoy en como la fecha de miércoles de Ceniza y del Día de San Valentín estaban tan cercas, y como el primer domingo de la Cuaresma va a caer en la fecha del día de San Valentín. Este ano como mencione Alene y yo celebramos siete años de estar ordenados. Y es interesante porque uno empieza a mirar atrás un poquito. It is interesting because this year, as Pr. Alene and I are celebrating seven years of ordained ministry, I have noticed in myself a tendency to look back. And here at All Santos was my first opportunity to serve at an Ash Wednesday s...