Fully Alive in God

(From the British Museum) M. Campbell-Langdell All Saints, Oxnard (Exodus 33:12–23; Ps. 99; 1 Thess. 1:1–10; Matthew 22:15–22) “…they brought him a denarius. Then he said to them, “Whose head is this, and whose title?” They answered, “The emperor’s.” Then he said to them, “Give therefore to the emperor the things that are the emperor’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” When they heard this, they were amazed; and they left him and went away (Matthew 22:19b-22).” I had a convicting experience at the conference I attended last week. I was surrounded by so much art. During our sacred space, we wandered around the large room dotted with little tables covered with different art installations over which to ponder and pray, as well as art hung from the walls or the ceiling. Some of it was interactive. And I kept realizing – I could do this! Not to the same extent as the artists who had come. Clearly they were more accomplished. But I came to realize that, although I am ver...

(British Museum) M. Campbell-Langdell All Santos, Oxnard ( Éxodo 33:12–23; Salmo 99; 1 Tesalonicenses 1:1–10; San Mateo 22:15–22) “Le trajeron un denario, y Jesús les preguntó: — ¿De quién es ésta cara y el nombre que aquí está escrito?  Le contestaron: —Del emperador.  Jesús les dijo entonces: —Pues den al emperador lo que es del emperador, y a Dios lo que es de Dios. Cuando oyeron esto, se quedaron admirados; y dejándolo, se fueron” (Mateo 22:19b-22). Tuve una experiencia de convicción la semana pasada. Estaba en una conferencia rodeada por tanto arte. Y durante el tiempo sagrado, tuvimos oportunidad de caminar tras el espacio grande del salón de conferencias y miramos varias instalaciones de arte- algunos fueron interactivos y otros fueron solo para mirar, pero en cada uno fue la invitación de tomar una pausa y meditar un rato en lo que significaba para uno. We were in a big room just filled with art and were invited to think about what God was saying to us t...

M. Campbell-Langdell All Santos, Oxnard (Exodus 32:1–14; Ps. 106:1–6, 19–23; Phil. 4:1–9; Matthew 22:1–14) We just re-watched the film “Wayne’s World” (1992) with Genesis. It is beautifully silly and very profane at times. But many of you might remember its refrain: “Party on, Garth. Party on, Wayne!” I think this parable might be teaching us a thing or two about how to party on. But let’s talk about that parable. Ah, the parable of the wedding feast. So beautiful and thorny at once.  Everyone is welcome. But if you aren’t wearing the right shirt, you are tossed into howling darkness. Uh, Matthew, when did you go nutso? How do we make sense of this? To me, this parable raises two big questions. One is about who we invite to the table, be it a wedding feast, or a church. But another is about how we respond when we are invited to the table, and how do we interact with the other guests. The wedding feast is both a parable for the ways of God’s kingdom but is also Jesus...

M. Campbell-Langdell All Santos, Oxnard ( É xodo 32:1–14; S. 106:1–6, 19–23; Fil. 4:1–9; Mateo 22:1–14) Acabamos de ver de nuevo la película "Wayne’s World" (1992) con Génesis. Es bien tonto y muy profano a veces. Pero muchos de ustedes puedan recordar su refrán bonito: "Party on, Garth. Party on, Wayne!" Creo que esta parábola puede enseñarnos un par de cosas sobre cómo ser parte de la fiesta. Así que, hablamos de esa parábola. Ah, la parábola del banquete de la boda. Tan bella y dura a la vez. Todos son bienvenidos. Pero si no lleva la camiseta correcta, va a estar botado a la oscuridad. ¿Eh, Mateo, when did you go nutso / cuándo te puso loco? ¿Cómo hacemos sentido de esto? Para mí, esta parábola nos habla de dos grandes preguntas. Uno es sobre quien invitamos a la mesa, ya sea una fiesta de boda, o una iglesia. Pero otra es sobre cómo respondemos cuando somos invitados a la mesa y cómo que nos relacionamos con los otros huéspedes. La fiesta de bod...