All Saints / Todos los Santos + 11.5.17

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(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 of the faith to the everyday saints we know among us. Podemos pensar en los héroes de la fe y mártires pero también podemos pensar en la gente de fe que conocemos.
I think a small clue might be in the Matthew passage from today, which we often call the Beatitudes. Muchas veces llamamos el pasaje de San Mateo de hoy los Beatitudes. It is thus named because "beati" means “Blessed” in Latin. “Beati” significa “bendecido” en Latin. The word used to describe this list of types of people who are blessed according to Jesus is actually the Greek word “makarios,” translated Blessed in the English. Y traducido “dichosos” en español. But this word, very common in Greek, actually has a lot of potential meanings in English, including “Happy,” “Blessed,” and “Greatly Honored.”[1] En español se puede traducir no solo como “Dichosos” pero también “bienaventurados,” “Benditos,” y “Felices.” So these people are happy, honored, but not necessarily blessed by our usual terms of description. Because look at them. Esta gente está feliz, pero no por razones de bendiciones materiales. If you look a bit earlier in the passage, these are the folks who are suffering- from epilepsy (Interesting on a day when some of our parishioners are participating in a walk to end Epilepsy), from paralysis, and those with demons and diseases. Jesús describe esta gente, esta gente que tiene epilepsia, parálisis, y enfermedades y con demonios. ¿Como es que están bendecidos? How are these people blessed?
But Jesus says they are. Because they depend so much on God, they are happy in a way those who depend too much on themselves can never be. Ellos dependen tanto de Dios que están felices de una manera que no pudieron ser si dependen de sí mismos.
This brings me to a conversation I had with a parishioner the other day. Esto me hace pensar en una conversación que tuve con un feligrés el otro día. We discussed, as we often do, the people in the church who inspire us. Siempre platicamos de la gente que nos inspira en la iglesia.
We talked about Millie Whiting, facing many physical ailments but always cheerful and determined to enjoy life. Hablamos de Millie Whiting, quien aunque enfrente muchas limitaciones físicas es siempre gozosa y trata de disfrutar de la vida. We also discussed how Janet Russo was an example to us of someone who, facing so many physical problems, was always moving forward and finding a way to enjoy life and this church community. Hablamos de como Janet Russo nos mostró cómo enfrentar dificultades físicos y continuar de disfrutar la vida y esta comunidad de fe. And we could add so many more. Elisa Arauz is another faithful example. Aunque Usted lucha con dolor a veces Dona Elisa siempre nos inspira con su determinación de continuar de disfrutar de la vida. God has given us so much. Dios nos ha dado tanto.
I am not saying any of these “saints” in our midst or who have gone to be with God is perfect. No digo que cualquiera de las personas que mencione es perfecto; ninguno de nosotros lo es. None of us is. But what I see in these ladies and in so many others is saintly perseverance. Lo que veo aquí en nuestros santos de Todos los Santos es una persistencia santa. In that nothing holds them down for long from their determination to see their life as blessed. Ellos deciden que pase lo que pase van a sentir y ver las bendiciones en sus vidas. Those are the truly blessed people-not the ones to whom nothing bad happens-that would be nobody. But they are the people who trust in God that they will see blessings in their lives even in the midst of tribulations. Ellos son la gente que tiene tanta confianza en Dios que deciden ver bendiciones en sus vidas aun cuando enfrenten tribulaciones.
So I think we need to talk about be-attitudes. Creo que beatitudes tienen que ver con actitudes. If we decide to find blessings, eventually we will. Si nuestro enfoque es encontrar la bendición, eventualmente lo encontraremos. This is not to beat up anyone who is not feeling it yet. No quiero maldecir a nadie que siente triste y no lo puede encontrar hasta ahora. Jesus said blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. The emphasis is on future tense. El énfasis está en el futuro. Si no lo sienten ahora, está bien, pero el idea es mantenerse abiertos para la futura bendición que Dios les tiene.
Because blessings are not limited. If you look at the Saint John’s Bible illumination of the Beatitudes, it is a riot of gold. Posiblemente Ustedes han escuchado de una biblia iluminada que se llama The Saint John’s Bible, y dentro tiene una iluminación de las beatitudes. Perhaps you have heard of this magnificent illuminated Bible. I will pass an image for you to get an idea. Les voy a pasar una imagen para que tengan el concepto. But the beatitudes are listed in gold and every “blessed” is on the side in a colorful riot, piled one upon the other. En el lado la palabra “blessed” o “bendecido” está en una columna llena de color. And I heard one of the creators of this Bible speak on this image the other day. He said that the “blesseds” are stacked thus, piled together because we tend to think of blessings as limited. Uno de los creadores de la Biblia menciono el otro día que pensamos en las bendiciones como algo limitado. Pero no lo son. But blessings are not limited. God piles them upon us like so much water running over the face of the baptized. Las bendiciones de Dios son como el agua que corre del frente de la persona que está siendo bautizada.
God’s blessings are not limited. Though you may experience pain or joy today, or any number of things, may we trust in a future in which God’s blessings are assured. Aunque hoy Ud. experimenta el gozo, el dolor, o cualquiera otra cosa, confíe en las bendiciones ilimitadas y seguras de Dios. God promises you a future and a hope. Dios les promete un futuro y una esperanza. Amen.


[1] Susan Hylen, “Commentary on Matthew 5:1-12,” for November 5, 2017, https://www.workingpreacher.org/preaching.aspx?commentary_id=3453. 

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