All Saints / Todos los Santos + 11.1.2020

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M. Campbell-Langdell

All Santos, Oxnard

(Rev. 7:9-17; Ps./S. 34:1-10, 22; 1 Jn 3:1-3; S. Mat. 5:1-12)

“Do you live by the book, do you play by the rules?
Do you care what is thought by others about you?
If this day is all that is promised to you
Do you live for the future, the present, the past?”[1]

La canción “Unsung Psalm” por Tracy Chapman dice esto, y me hacen pensar en mi vida. Do we always live by the book – if it is the Bible, we try to, but it is always our own interpretation in our own time. Sometimes we don’t play by the rules, if they are the rules of our culture and not God’s rules. Tratamos de seguir a las reglas de Dios y a sus escrituras pero siempre estamos interpretándolas según las realidades de nuestras vidas. Estamos entre cultura y Cristo, discerniendo la verdad. We interpret the truth that lies somewhere between Christ and culture.

But we always hope that at the end of our lives we will be accepted into God’s embrace and into the glorious company of the saints in light. Siempre esperamos que al fin de nuestras vidas estemos aceptados al abrazo de Dios y a la compañía gloriosa de los santos en luz.

I truly believe that Laurette was last week. Realmente creo que Laurette fue aceptado por Dios la semana pasada. And part of what inspired me was that she was so sure that she was going to be with God and reunited with loved ones including Glenn that she didn’t look back. She said goodbyes and then began to say hellos again to those on the other side and we prayed with her as she was dying but she was so ready she seemed to leap into heaven, catching us almost by surprise. Casi fue una sorpresa porque después de hacer sus despedidas fue solo un par de días de mucho dormir y prepararse para ir a Dios y ella estaba lista y ¡se fue!

She was so ready. She trusted the words that we hear in 1 John today: “See what love the Father has given us, that we should be called children of God; and that is what we are. The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. Beloved, we are God's children now; what we will be has not yet been revealed. What we do know is this: when he is revealed, we will be like him, for we will see him as he is.” (1 John 3:1-2)

Y en español: “Miren cuánto nos ama Dios el Padre, que se nos puede llamar hijos de Dios, y lo somos. Por eso, los que son del mundo no nos conocen, pues no han conocido a Dios. Queridos hermanos, ya somos hijos de Dios. Y aunque no se ve todavía lo que seremos después, sabemos que cuando Jesucristo aparezca seremos como él, porque lo veremos tal como es.”

And I say to you, Laurette has seen God. ¡Laurette ha visto a Dios! As have our loved ones whom we celebrate this weekend, as well as all the Saints with halos and those who walk around in ordinary semblance. They have seen God. Nuestros seres queridos y los santos han visto a Dios. Pero no solo los santos con sus halos perfectos. The ordinary have seen God too.

As poet Mary Oliver said:

“You do not have to be good.

You do not have to walk on your knees

for a hundred miles through the desert repenting.

You only have to let the soft animal of your body

love what it loves.”[2]

No tienes que ser bueno.
No tienes que caminar sobre tus rodillas, arrepintiéndote, durante cien millas a través del desierto. Sólo tienes que permitir que el suave animal de tu cuerpo ame aquello que ama.[3]

No tienen que ser buenos todo el tiempo, ni arrepentir para siempre. Solo dejen que su cuerpo ame lo que ame. Que linda idea. What a beautiful idea. Surely repentance has his place in a faithful life, but then we move on. And we move back to what we love. And are inspired by. And we share that love faithfully by loving our neighbor as ourself. Compartir nuestro amor fielmente a pesar de nuestros pecados, de nuestras flaquezas, y confiar que Dios nos tiene, esto es vivir la fe. Es amar a nosotros mismos como a nuestro prójimo.

How do we follow the example of ordinary people of faith, saints among us? As established, we do not need to be perfect. But we can be encouragers. Laurette siempre animaba a los demás y cuando pensamos en otros seres queridos hicieron lo mismo. Laurette and all our other loved ones whom we remember at the time of All the Saints and All the Faithful Departed, had in common that they were encouragers. We can be that, too.

Estamos en un tiempo en que muchas cosas grandes están pasando en nuestra nación y en otras naciones. La elección aquí. México y el medio de nuestro país están sufriendo con COVID-19. Bolivia tiene un nuevo líder y todavía veremos si esto sería bien por el país. We are seeing many big things happen in our world right now. Our election here. But also Mexico and the heartland of the US are suffering from COVID-19. And Bolivia has a new leader- and time will tell whether that is good for the people, or not. And these are just a few things. Probablemente hay otras cosas profundas pasando también.

And the saints help us remember to take a step back. To take the long view. Los santos nos recuerden que esto no es para siempre. Que todo estará bien. The saints tell us that all will be well, or at least St. Julian of Norwich does! So in the meantime, let us dig the faith out of each other. If there is something good, if there is something admirable, let us draw that out. Entretanto, que encontremos lo bien y la fe uno en el otro. Si hay algo admirable, que lo nutrimos uno en el otro. Let us not give up hope. Que no desesperemos. Because we know that when we appear cursed, that is when the blessings reign down. Porque sabemos que cuando todo parece perdido, allí es cuando Dios actúa y trae las bendiciones.

May we remember that one day, too, we will have a place not only here but with all the saints. Que recordemos que algún día tendremos un lugar no solo aquí pero en la familia de todos los santos.

As Mary Oliver ends her poem,

Whoever you are, no matter how lonely,

the world offers itself to your imagination,

calls to you like the wild geese, harsh and exciting -

over and over announcing your place

in the family of things.[4]

Quienquiera que seas, no importa cuán solo estés,
el mundo se ofrece a tu imaginación,
te llama como los gansos salvajes, chillones y emocionados,
una y otra vez anunciando tu lugar
en la familia de las cosas.[5]

Amen.


[1] Tracy Chapman, “Unsung Psalm,” Purple Rabbit Music.


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