Fully Alive in God

M. Campbell-Langdell All Santos, Oxnard (Isaiah 61:10–62:3; Ps. 147; Galatians 3:23–25; 4:4–7; John 1:1–18) “What has come into being in him was life, and the life was the light of all people. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it (John 1:3b-5).” “I want to walk as a child of the light  I want to follow Jesus God sent the stars to give light to the world The star of my life is Jesus.” [1] In this dark time of year we often look for glimmers of light. The shining Christmas lights that are now being taken down. The lengthening days. And this is important.  Many of us find Christmas and the holidays to be a hard time and we need what light we can find. But a shadow side of all this talk of light and darkness is the problematic way that light and dark are a part of our national dialog. Quiet dark in the winter can be a time and space for reflection. And we know from such works as St John of the Cross’ Dark Night of the Soul that it

M. Campbell-Langdell All Santos, Oxnard ( Isaías 61:10–62:3; Salmo 147; Gálatas 3:23–25; 4:4–7; San Juan 1:1–18) “En él estaba la vida, y la vida era la luz de la humanidad. Esta luz brilla en las tinieblas, y las tinieblas no han podido apagarla (Juan 1:3b-5). " "Quiero caminar como hijo de la luz Quiero seguir a Jesús Dios envió a las estrellas para dar luz al mundo La estrella de mi vida es Jesús" Así se va un himno traducido del inglés que se llama “I Want to Walk as a Child of the Light.” [1] En esta época oscura del año a menudo buscamos destellos de luz. Las brillantes luces de Navidad que ahora se están bajando de las casas. Los días que pronto se hacen más largos. Y esto es importante. Muchos de nosotros encuentran la Navidad y las vacaciones un momento difícil y necesitamos encontrar la luz. Pero irónicamente, el lado oscuro de toda esta charla de la luz y la oscuridad es la problemática manera de que la luz y la oscuridad son parte d

(https://dailytheology.org/2014/12/31/ the-seventh-day-of-christmas-sing-a-new-song/) M. Campbell-Langdell All Santos, Oxnard ( Isaías 52:7–10; Salmo 98; Hebreos 1:1–4, (5–12); Juan 1:1–14) ¡Canten al Señor cántico Nuevo! Sing to the Lord a new song! De todas mis memorias de las misas de Navidad en mi niñez, siempre recuerdo cantar. Cantar el largo “glo-o-o-oria” de “Ángeles cantando están.” Singing the long “glo-o-o-oria” of “Angels we have heard on high” and so many other wonderful songs. Los villancicos de Navidad son buenísimo y aquí he aprendido muchos más, como “Burrito de Belén” y “Peces en el Rio” y “En el taller de Nazaret.” Tantas canciones bonitas. There are so many wonderful, heartwarming songs at Christmas, and I do not know about you, but I am always ready to sing anew these old songs of Christmas. The old songs made new each year in joy. Cada año las canciones me parecen nuevas, nuevas en gozo. In the past, God spoke to us through the prophets. And now, God

M. Campbell-Langdell All Santos, Oxnard (2 Samuel 7:1-11, 16; Canticle 15; Romans 16:25-27; Luke 1:26-38; Luke 2:1-14) In today’s reading from the Hebrew Scriptures, Nathan wants to build God a house. This, he thinks, is a way to honor God. But, to paraphrase U2, God needs a house like a fish needs a bicycle! All heaven and earth is the house of the Lord. Yes there is something special about this house, but it is not because God is here more than anywhere else. What makes it special is that we are more aware of God’s presence here than anywhere else, at least a lot of the time. God is everywhere. God is in the room with the person breathing his last breath and in the room next door with the young baby breathing one of her first breaths. God is in your friend’s laughter and in the tears of your uncle. God’s wonder and beauty are all over the trees and the sunsets even in the ones that follow the destruction of the wildfires. God is in the kindness of strangers. We don’t ha

M. Campbell-Langdell All Santos, Oxnard (2 Samuel 7:1-11, 16; Cantico 8; Romanos 16:25-27; Lucas 1:26-38; Lucas 2:1-14) En la lectura de las escrituras hebreas hoy, Natán quiere construir una casa para Dios. El piensa que esto es una manera de honrar a Dios. Pero, parafraseando a la banda U2, ¡Dios necesita una casa como un pez necesita una bicicleta! God needs a house like a fish needs a bicycle, to paraphrase U2! Cielo y la tierra es la casa del Señor. Sí hay algo especial acerca de esta casa, pero no es porque Dios está aquí más que en cualquier otro lugar. Lo que la hace especial es que somos más conscientes de la presencia de Dios aquí que en cualquier otro lugar, por lo menos mucho tiempo. Dios está en todas partes. God is everywhere. Dios está en la sala con la persona que respira su último aliento y en la habitación al lado con el bebé respirando una de sus primeras respiraciones. Dios está en la risa de su amigo y en las lágrimas de su tío. Las maravillas y la bell

(Titian, "St. John the Baptist") M. Campbell-Langdell All Santos, Oxnard (Isaiah 61:1–4, 8–11; Ps. 126; 1 Thess. 5:16–24; John 1:6–8, 19–28) John the Baptist, standing in the desert with the sands swirling at his feet. Standing for truth, for clarity, in a world of confusion, living under an empire of tyranny. John the Baptizer, inviting people into their own truth, but clear about who he is in the midst of it all. Clarity. Advent is a time in the church for introspection, for reflection. We light candles and try to get quiet and listen to God. But the reality is that it is also a time of busy schedules and hurriedly preparing for the holidays, finding ways to occupy children and prepare for worship. I don’t know about you, but this is the week when I start to stress if I haven’t bought all the presents I intended to buy or at least started writing cards. And this past couple of weeks have doubled the stress with the effects of the fires on our communities as we