Epiphany 3 A + Whom shall I fear + A quien temere? + 1.26.20

-

Melissa Campbell-Langdell
All Santos, Oxnard
(Isaías 9:1–4 (= 8:23–9:3 dhh); S. 27:1, 5–13; 1 Corintios 1:10–18; San Mateo 4:12–23 )

“El Señor es mi luz y mi salvación; ¿a quién temeré?
The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom then shall I fear?”
(Salmo/Psalm 27:1a).
But there have been fearful things this week, God! Podemos decir a Dios que ha habido cosas temerosas esta semana. I was sitting with the Police Chief and his staff brainstorming on how to help the homeless when the shooting occurred and a stray bullet hit a kid at Christa McAuliffe School. At the moment I didn’t know what had happened, just that he had to get away and I said I would be praying. En el momento que escuche que algo había pasado, aunque no sabía del disparo que accidentalmente recibió la niña en la escuela local, dije al Jefe de Policía, con quien estaba reuniendo para ayudar a las personas sin techo, que estaba en oración.
And you may not have heard about it because thankfully no one was hurt, but on my street near my house shots were fired last week. La semana pasada hubo disparos casi en frente de mi casa la semana pasada. Gracias a Dios, nadie fue dañado porque pareció algo sin un intento de dañar a alguien. Pero me dio un susto. It sure scared my neighbors. And I know for some of you this is all too common. Para algunos de Ustedes esto es demasiado común.
But this is not what Oxnard is all about. Esto no es lo mejor de Oxnard. I saw a bit of the best of Oxnard two Sundays ago and again this past Monday. In the Oxnard Together event at Plaza Park on the 12th of January, we pledged to make a difference for our homeless friends. Hicimos un acuerdo de hacer una diferencia para nuestros vecinos sin techo en la Placita hace dos semanas. And then on Monday I briefly joined the MLK Jr. Day Peace March and saw Carol Puorto and some other friends there! El lunes brevemente participé en la Marcha de la Paz para honrar a Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Había mucha gente allí, incluyendo a nuestra Carol Puorto y muchos de nuestros amigos. Estaba Inlakech. Cada año participen. The local youth mariachi band Inlakech participates every year. Y estos dos eventos me mostraron lo que es un Oxnard unido. Tenemos que estar unidos para no vivir en miedo. We have to be united like this, or we will live in fear.
El Señor es mi luz y mi salvación; ¿a quién temeré? *
The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom then shall I fear? *
Dios es nuestra luz y nos muestra el camino adelante. Pero no podemos seguir adelante si estamos en división. God’s light will shine on our path and lead us forward, but we cannot be divided.
Paul was speaking to a divided church in Corinth, and so he needed to tell them. You are not baptized under anyone but Jesus. Yes Apollo may have baptized you. But he is not your God. Pablo tenía que recordar a la gente en Corinto que ellos no tenían obligación a la persona que los bautizó sino que a Cristo. Esto me hice recordar de nuestro estudio bíblico en español el domingo pasado, en que nos compartió un feligrés como alguien le juzgaba por no asistir a una iglesia católica romana, y como ella fuertemente defendió que ¡nosotros creemos en el Dios Trino y en los sacramentos y que además ha sentido el amor de Dios aquí! This message from Paul reminded me of how moved I was at last week’s Bible Study after the Spanish service when a parishioner spoke of how another woman judged her for not attending a Roman Catholic Church, and how she pointed out that we believe in the Triune God, all the sacraments, and what’s more, she has felt the love of God here! Amen, sister!  ¡Amen, hermana en Cristo!
Even though we are a body made up of many parts, and we are many churches around the world, those of us who follow Christ and love God are one body, and we must never forget that. Aunque somos un cuerpo hecho de muchos partes y somos muchas Iglesias alrededor del mundo, los que seguimos a Cristo y amamos a Dios somos un solo cuerpo, y nunca debemos olvidar esto.
In the gospel today, we see an almost fearless Jesus, reciting the prophets, proclaiming repentance and calling disciples. He comes to them and says “Follow me!” Jesús recita las palabras del profeta, proclama el arrepentimiento y llama a sus discípulos de una forma casi sin miedo hoy. Él los dice “Síganme.”
Follow me, he says. Will we follow him? ¿Lo seguiremos?
The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom then shall I fear? *
El Señor es mi luz y mi salvación; ¿a quién temeré? *
Amen.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Faith or Fear? Advent 1C

-
Melissa Campbell-Langdell All Santos, Oxnard Year C + Advent 1 (Jeremiah 33:14–16; Ps. 25:1–9; 1 Thess. 3:9–13; Luke 21:25–36) So… what are you going to do when you stand before the man with the holes in his hands? Now that may seem like a strange question to ask this first Sunday in December.  Surely, Pastor Melissa, we’re gearing up for jollity, not getting ready to meet our maker? But in a sense we are, always, all the time, waiting for Jesus, and I think that’s what Advent is really all about.  Reminding us that we are always waiting not just for the Christ Child to come and be born in our midst, but that we are also waiting for that awesome, if slightly scary Second Coming of Christ. And it is true that this passage talks about distress and the roaring of the waves.  And many looked at the devastation caused by Hurricane Sandy, that iconic image of the ocean-side theme park, including a Ferris Wheel, in the waves, and many said, this is something w...
Read more

Proper 20 (B) + A community of power + 9.23.18

-
Image
M. Campbell-Langdell All Saints, Oxnard (Proverbs 31:10–31; Ps. 1; James 3:13–4:3, 7–8ª; St. Mark 9:30–37) Take a moment and think of the most powerful positive woman figure you know – in your life or in your favorite movie, show or book. Who is the woman who has most inspired you? Keep that image of that woman in mind as we look at this passage from Proverbs Chapter 31. Now here we see the verse “A capable wife who can find?” And all the feminists amongst us will be relieved to hear that a better translation from the Hebrew would be: “a woman of power” instead of a “capable wife.” [1] That changes things, doesn’t it? Then when we hear about this ideal ancient Hebrew woman’s exploits – her buying of lands, her trading prowess, her physical strength, even her domestic abilities such as weaving, and perhaps especially her kindness to the poor, we see strength and power in all of these. Of course, looking at this passage, this is not one woman but a concept of the most...
Read more

Proper21BAcceptingourownwounds29sept24

-
  Accepting our own and other’s wounds Mark 9: 38-50   St Michael’s, Isla Vista / All Saints Oxnard The Rev. Alene Campbell-Langdell; MCL additions   May I just start this morning by acknowledging that our Gospel reading is complex.   The images are startling (horrifying?) and the metaphors come almost too quickly to catch.   What is clear is that something serious is going on between Jesus and his disciples, and Jesus is using every means possible, including some pretty harsh language, to try to course correct.   To even begin to understand this passage, we need to back up to last week’s reading from Mark.   In that reading, the disciples are arguing with each other about who is the greatest and best disciple.   In response, Jesus gets a little kid, some commentators say “toddler,” and holds this child in his arms during the rest of the conversation.    The other part of the scene to keep in mind is that Jesus has just told...
Read more