Epifanía/ Epiphany 4 B + Prison/ Prision + 1.31.21

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M. Campbell-Langdell

All Santos, Oxnard

(Deut. 18:15–20; S./Ps. 111; 1 Cor. 8:1–13; S. Mar. 1:21–28)

“Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up. El conocimiento hincha de orgullo, en tanto que el amor edifica la comunidad.”

Wow, did I learn that as a younger priest. Because you come out of seminary so full of knowledge, and the ordination exams give you a false sense that if you just have the right answer, people will somehow be enlightened or blessed by your presence. El seminario le da una idea de que siempre tiene que tener la respuesta apropiada, y así es la gente iluminada.

But it’s not that simple. As you see in Jesus’ interaction with the man who is possessed today, he is in the temple and what is required here is not his intellect, but his heart and spirit. A heart to release this man from a spirit of bondage and fill him with the Holy Spirit. No es tan sencillo. Aquí en la escritura vemos que Jesús está en la sinagoga en Cafarnaúm y entra el señor con un demonio. Y no requiere intelecto, sino que Jesús tenga el amor y un espíritu para ayudarlo al señor. Para quitar el espíritu impuro y abrirle para recibir el Espíritu Santo.

At church we run into this all the time. We truly are a hospital for sinners. At feeding programs and when we are open in normal times all sorts of people come who are in distress. Sometimes I miss the mark- I try to deal with the situation intellectually or just meet the physical need that presents. But when Jesus is truly with me, I see the other hurts and try to listen to those, too. En la iglesia vemos que somos un hospital para los pecadores. En la dispensa o en Pan de Vida y o por teléfono viene o llama gente que está en necesidad. Y a veces trato de solucionar sus problemas intelectualmente o solo responder a la necesidad inmediata. Pero cuando siento que Jesús está conmigo, a veces escucho la necesidad más profunda y podemos orar o hacer algo para sanar a la persona.

Unclean spirits- we have all had some exposure to fears about uncleanness this year, very literally. Todos hemos sido en miedo de cosas impuras este año- en particular nos hemos protegido de COVID-19. We have all befriended the hand sanitizer or washing our hands. Todos hemos sido un poco más amigos del gel desinfectante o el jabón y agua. But I think this year has gone deeper. This time of COVID-19 has led to more isolation, which for many of us has led to facing internal demons. Este tiempo de pandemia nos ha aislado un poco mas, que nos ha hecho mirarnos un poco más a nuestros propios demonios. What are our crutches? Do we rely too much on food or drink, or social media or TV? ¿Estamos demasiados dependientes en comida, bebidas alcohólicas, las redes sociales o televisión? We need certain things to distract us from the fears of our lives, but we also need to invest time in prayer, in reading the Bible and in journaling and understanding our feelings so that we can release them to God as best we can, not just cover over the darkness. A veces las distracciones son útiles, pero necesitamos invertir tiempo en orar, en leer la Biblia, en escribir en nuestros diarios para entender mejor a nuestras emociones para poder liberarnos de ellos un poco. Para entender y no solo cubrir la oscuridad.

The man in today’s gospel reading needed the darkness to be released from him in order to let in the light of the Holy Spirit. El hombre en la lectura del evangelio de hoy necesitaba que la oscuridad sea liberado de el para dejar entrar la luz del Espíritu Santo.  What do you need to release today to let in the light? ¿Qué tiene que soltar Ud. hoy para dejar entrar la luz?

I know that during this time, worship online with you all has really helped me with this, as has reading the Bible daily and writing briefly daily in a prayer journal. Praying the healing rosary in Spanish four times a week and meeting with our English speakers to delve into another aspect of the Hebrew Scriptures or now the Gospel of Mark has helped me to grow spiritually and leave room to let the Holy Spirit in during this often dark time. Sé que para mí durante este tiempo la alabanza en línea con todos Ustedes me ha ayudado con esto. También leer la biblia diariamente y escribir diariamente en un jornal de oración. Rezando el rosario de sanidad cuatro días a la semana con los hispanohablantes y estudiar la biblia los miércoles con los inglés-hablantes me ha dejado espacio para el Espíritu Santo en este tiempo a veces muy oscuro.

I give thanks for you all on this Sunday of our annual meeting and close with some thoughts by the Sufi mystic Rumi, from his poem “A Community of the Spirit”:
Consider what you have been doing.

Why do you stay

with such a mean-spirited and dangerous partner?

…

Why do you stay in prison

when the door is so wide open?

Move outside the tangle of fear-thinking.[1]

The entrance door to the sanctuary is inside you.[2]

-Vacíate de la preocupación. ¿Por qué te quedas en prisión cuando la puerta es tan amplia? Muévete fuera de la maraña del miedo.[3]

Let us trust that when we let go of that which has held us captive, we open ourselves to the Holy Spirit who will renew our lives and fill them with joy again after all the suffering. Que confiemos que cuando dejamos salir lo que nos ha cautivado, estaremos abiertos al Espíritu Santo quien los renovara y nos traerá gozo de nuevo, después de tanto sufrimiento.


[2] https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/7234083-why-do-you-stay-in-prison-when-the-door-is#:~:text=Quotes%20%3E%20Quotable%20Quote-,%E2%80%9CWhy%20do%20you%20stay%20in%20prison%20when%20the%20door%20is,the%20sanctuary%20is%20inside%20you.%E2%80%9D

[3] https://www.lifeder.com/frases-rumi/

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