Fully Alive in God

(https://theblogofkevin.wordpress.com/ tag/ethiopian-eunuch/) M. Campbell-Langdell All Saints, Oxnard ( Acts 10:44-48; Psalm 98; 1 John 5:1-6; John 15:9-17) "Perfect love casts out fear" it says in the reading of the first Epistle of Saint John today. What does this mean? If you are like me, you can think of twenty people or situations of which to be afraid, and this is just before breakfast. If you are a person of color, these days you may even fear going out for a cup of coffee. If you are an undocumented person, must keep your car in perfect working order so as not to be stopped by the police. For all of us, we hear that our world is endangered by climate change and we don't have time. Fear, fear, fear. It is part of our everyday world. What does it mean? I believe God wants us to have a change of heart. That we might leave room for God’s love to enter until, although there are always reasons to fear, we can pause these thoughts for long enough to receiv...

(https://theblogofkevin.wordpress.com/ tag/ethiopian-eunuch/) M. Campbell-Langdell All Santos, Oxnard ( Hechos 10:44–48; Salmo 98; 1 San Juan 5:1–6; San Juan 15:9–17) “Donde hay amor no hay miedo.” Dice en la lectura de la primera epístola de San Juan hoy. ¿Qué significa esto? Si son como yo, pueden pensar en veinte personas o situaciones de temer, y esto es solo antes de terminar su desayuno. Si uno es una persona de color, estos días aun temes ir a tomar un café. Si es una persona indocumentada, debe de mantener bien su auto para no estar parado por la policía. Para todos nosotros, escuchamos que nuestro mundo está en peligro por el cambio en el clima y no tenemos tiempo. Temor, temor, temor. Es parte de nuestro mundo diario. ¿Qué significa esto? Yo creo que Dios quiere que nosotros tengamos un cambio de corazón. Que dejemos entrar su amor hasta que, aunque existen siempre razones para temer, podemos parar estos pensamientos para el tiempo suficiente para recibir el gu...

M. Campbell-Langdell All Santos, Oxnard (Acts 4:5-12; Psalm 23; 1 John 3:16-24; John 10:11-18)   “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. The hired hand, who is not the shepherd and does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and runs away—and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. The hired hand runs away because a hired hand does not care for the sheep” (John 10:11-13). What is leadership? In today’s gospel passage, Jesus clearly differentiates two different kinds of leadership. There is the hired hand, who will care for the sheep only in so far as she makes her wages. But he will not sacrifice himself for the sheep, because he is just in it to make a living. The shepherd, by contrast, lives for the sheep. They are his passion, and in a way, his children. The good shepherd will sacrifice for them. This, Jesus says, is a leader. Jesus willingly sacrificed himself as the ultimate Good Shepherd for us. But by e...

M. Campbell-Langdell All Santos, Oxnard (Hechos 4:5-12; Salmo 23; 1 Juan 3:16-24; Juan 10:11-18) Jesús dijo: «Yo soy el buen pastor. El buen pastor da su vida por las ovejas; pero el que trabaja solamente por la paga, cuando ve venir al lobo deja las ovejas y huye, porque no es el pastor y porque las ovejas no son suyas. Y el lobo ataca a las ovejas y las dispersa en todas direcciones. Ese hombre huye porque lo único que le importa es la paga, y no las ovejas. ¿Qué es liderazgo? En el pasaje del Evangelio de hoy, Jesús claramente distingue dos tipos de liderazgo. Hay el que trabaja solamente por la paga, que cuidará de las ovejas sólo porque así hace su sueldo. Pero él no sacrificará a sí mismo por las ovejas. El pastor, por el contrario, vive para las ovejas. Son su pasión y en cierto modo, sus hijos. Se sacrificará por ellos. Esto, dice Jesús, es un líder. Jesús se sacrificaba voluntariamente como el último buen pastor para nosotros. Pero por extensión, nosotros, sus segu...

(Nafis White, "Can I Get a Witness?", http://www.thewellatspringfield.org/can-i-get-a-witness/) M. Campbell-Langdell All Santos, Oxnard (Acts 3:12-19, Ps. 4, 1 John 3:1-7, Luke 24:36b-48) “Can I Get a Witness?” The Urban Dictionary online describes this term as: “ A   phrase   used when the   user   is accomplishing some [ridiculous]   feat , or is doing something like a boss.” [1] Well, I don’t know about you all, but to me, Peter is being a BOSS here in the Acts passage today. What you didn’t see is that he has just healed a man through the power of Christ. A man who was lame from birth. He is by the temple at about the time for prayer. And he sees this fellow, who has been carried out to the gate to make his money for the day – was it by well meaning family or friends or those who would take advantage of his disability? We don’t know. But Peter says, “Look at me.” And the guy thinks, oh good, I’m going to get some money, and next thing, Pet...

Nafis White, "Can I Get a Witness?", ( http://www. thewellatspringfield.org/can- i-get-a-witness/ ) M. Campbell-Langdell All Santos, Oxnard (Hechos 3:12-19, S. 4, 1 Juan 3:1-7, Lucas 24:36b-48) “¿Pueden testificar?” “Can I get a witness?” Este frase en inglés, traducido por el Urban Dictionary en línea, “es una frase usado cuando alguien está logrando una hazaña ridícula, o cuando está haciendo algo como un “boss” o un jefe” (mi traducción). [1] Ahora, yo no sé de Ustedes, pero a mí, Pedro es un BOSS o está siendo un jefe en el pasaje de los Hechos de los Apóstoles hoy en día. Lo que no vieron en el pasaje es que justo antes Jesús ha sanado a un paralitico por medio de Pedro, alguien quien fue discapacitado desde su nacimiento. Él fue llevado afuera de las puertas del templo para hacer su dinero para el día- pidiendo limosna. No sabemos si la gente que lo lleva afuera lo está ayudando o si están tomando provecho de él. Pero de todos modos, allí esta Pedro, y es...

(Image from: https://um-insight.net/topics/nalini-jayasuriya/) M. Campbell-Langdell All Santos, Oxnard ( Acts 4:32–35; Ps. 133; 1 John 1:1–2:2; John 20:19–31) “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe." (John 20:29b). In the play we saw last week, the woman who saw the Lord asks of woman who did not see the Lord: "Did you see the light?" And she answers that didn't see the light, but is fine because she has the light is inside her. In the Jewish and therefore also early Christian tradition of the ancient world, blessings were things received literally and physically. Therefore, it was very important for Jesus to heal the sick physically instead of just to heal their emotional and spiritual wounds. And for us, it is also very important to experience physical healing. That is why we pray for others’ healing and for our own. The people who saw the resurrected Christ felt the special blessing of having seen him in person. Of having...