Fully Alive in God

M. Campbell-Langdell All Santos, Oxnard (Ezekiel 34:11–16, 20–24; Psalm 100; Ephesians 1:15–23; Matthew 25:31–46) Last week, I saw so much grace up here in this very altar space. Young trans men and women came up and spoke out about the violence that is directed at them day in and day out around the world but also about how they choose to remain hopeful in sharing their creative joy with the world. Through interpretive dance, music and poetry as well as story-telling, we heard a message of hope at the Trans Day of Remembrance celebration. Broken hearts made new were evident all around. Today is Christ the King Sunday, as you may know a fairly recent addition to the church calendar by Pope Pius XI in the 1920s although practiced for a long time in our cycle of readings. [1] Many of you, like me, may bristle at the tones of triumphalism present in songs if not directly in the scriptures of the day. Somehow it seems an odd way to speak of our humble Savior. And if you are li...

M. Campbell-Langdell All Santos, Oxnard ( Ezequiel 34:11–16, 20–24; Salmo 100; Efesios 1:15–23; San Mateo 25:31–46) El domingo pasado, vi algo de la gracia de Dios aquí en el espacio del altar. Prestamos la iglesia a un grupo para recordar a la gente transgénero que hubieran sido matados en el año pasado. Y gente vino para compartir del dolor que es vivir sin el entendimiento de los demás y como temen la violencia. Pero luego tras su poesía, su baile, sus historias aprendimos de la esperanza que ellos tienen en compartir de sí mismos con el mundo. The message of hope amidst suffering was plain to see at the Trans Day of Remembrance held at church last Sunday night. Hoy día es el domingo de Cristo Rey. Como algunos ya saben, es una celebración más o menos reciente en la vida de la iglesia, habiendo sido establecido por el Papa Pio XI en los 1920 aunque practicado dentro de nuestro ciclo de lecturas por un tiempo. [1] Yo tengo que compartir que me siento un poco incomoda de v...

M. Campbell-Langdell All Santos, Oxnard (Joshua 24:1–3a, 14–25; Ps. 78:1–7; 1 Thess. 4:13–18; Matthew 25:1–13) One of my friends is living in Germany right now and posts on Facebook that all around her are signs of Advent’s coming season. There are all sorts of Advent calendars and even cards you can send to someone wishing them a “Happy Advent-tide.” They really get into it. But you would hardly know it here, where the day before Halloween I was at a home improvement store and the Halloween goods were half off and the aisles were stacked with Christmas decorations. But in subtle ways, we know. The weather is turning. And our scriptures give us clues of our ancient rhythms. This time of year we turn towards Advent in our scriptures. We begin to await Jesus in a much more active way, and this is evident in this and next week’s scriptures. We are reminded of a central matter of Christian life – Jesus came, yes, we wait because Jesus will come again. But what do we do now...

M. Campbell-Langdell All Santos, Oxnard ( Josué 24:1–3a, 14–25; Salmo 78:1–7; 1 Tesalonicenses 4:13–18; San Mateo 25:1–13) Una de mis amigas vive en Alemania y ella pone en Facebook que allí todo alrededor se vea que ahora viene el tiempo de Adviento. In Germany right now they are preparing everywhere for Advent. En todas partes se venden diferentes tipos de calendarios de Adviento y aun tarjetas que uno puede mandar a un ser querido deseándole un “Feliz Tiempo de Adviento.” Ellos realmente les encantan el Adviento en Alemania. Pero casi no lo supiera aquí, donde el día antes de Halloween yo estaba en una tienda y todas las cosas de Halloween estaban en mitad de precio y todas las cosas de Navidad ya estaban afuera. Pero de una manera más sutil, lo sabemos. El clima se está cambando. Y nuestras escrituras nos dan también una idea de lo que viene. Empezamos a mover hacia adviento en nuestras escrituras en este tiempo, empezando a esperar a Jesús de una manera más activa, y ...

(A view of the Saint John's Bible "Beatitudes") M. Campbell-Langdell All Santos, Oxnard ( Revelación 7:9–17; Salmo 34:1–10, 22; 1 San Juan 3:1–3; San Mateo 5:1–12) “… And I want to be one, too!” I don’t know about you. Yo no sé de Ustedes, pero cuando una colecta nos habla de vivir de manera virtuosa y completamente santa, casi no parece posible. I don’t know about you all, but when the collect of the day mentions that we have to live in all virtuous and saintly living, it sounds a bit like a tall order. I mean, I am a human, you all are humans and sometimes the idea of living up to all virtues and saintliness sounds a bit overwhelming. ¿No lo encuentren un poco abrumador este concepto de vivir una vida completamente virtuosa? And yet today is All Saints day, the day we honor the saints. Hoy día celebramos Todos los Santos. But what, exactly, is saintliness? ¿Exactamente que es la santidad? Saintliness conjures many ideas-from tortured heroes and martyrs ...