Fully Alive in God

Well, the news just came out this week.  Mary Magdalene won the Golden Halo of this year’s Lent Madness!  Some of you may have heard me talking here and there about this somewhat silly and very enlightening game that many Christians were partaking in during Lent this year.   It is a contest that Christians were playing all over the country and world—in fact, Hawaii had quite a strong part in this game and we almost had Queen Emma Kaleleokalani as our winner.  But Mary Magdalene stole hearts and minds, and I am tempted to think we have a glimpse at why in the Easter gospel we hear today. Mary comes to the garden tomb, her heart heavy, and the veil of tears and grief enshroud her.  Jesus appears to her and the veil is lifted as she experiences that joyful encounter—that meeting with the Risen Lord.  The one who knows her and yet whom she doesn’t know in the same way as she did before.  He is shining now with a different light, has an even deeper wisdom, if it is possible.  Or perhaps sh

Pues escuchamos las noticias esta semana.  ¡María Magdalena ganó el premio del halo dorado!  Mary Magdalene won the Golden Halo!  Algunos de Uds. me han escuchado hablar del juego de Lent Madness, un juego que muchos cristianos hemos sido jugando durante la Cuaresma en que los varios santos están en batalla (no verdadera) para luchar para el halo dorado, el premio.   Aun Hawái estaba muy involucrado, pero al fin, la Magdalena ganó.  ¿Porque?  Yo creo que el evangelio de hoy nos dice un poco de esto.   Yo creo que tiene mucho que ver con la relación tan linda que tiene la Magdalena con Jesús y que queremos tener mucho de nosotros. María Magdalena viene al jardín y su corazón siente pesado dentro de si.  Su luto es como un velo de tristeza que cubre su vista espiritual, y al principio ni se puede reconocer al Cristo Resucitado.  Mary doesn’t recognize Jesus at first, but then she does after he calls her name.  Pero después de escuchar su voz suave llamando su nombre, ella se da cuenta d

Tremble, O earth, at the presence of the LORD, At the presence of the God of Jacob (Ps. 114:7) Salmo 114: 7: Tiembla, oh tierra, a la presencia de mi Soberano, * a la presencia del Dios de Jacob Entonces las mujeres salieron huyendo del sepulcro, pues estaban temblando, asustadas. Y no dijeron nada a nadie, porque tenían miedo. (San Marcos 16:8) So they went out and fled from the tomb, for terror and amazement had seized them; and they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid. (Mark 16:8) A whole lot of fear accompanies the resurrection scene that we hear today.  Hay mucho susto en la resurrección que vemos hoy en día.  The women are so afraid. They have come to this place to mourn, still shocked by all that has occurred.  Las mujeres han venido para llorar y decir adiós a Jesús, algo que no hicieron durante su muerte tan violenta.  One commentator points out there are no male disciples in this scene—just women ready to do the hard and gritty work of burying someone.  Las

His name was Trayvon.  You have probably heard his story.  Walking in a hooded sweatshirt to his father’s fiancé’s house, carrying skittles and an iced tea for his little brother.  Posiblemente han escuchado de Trayvon, quien estaba caminando con una botella de te helado y una bolsa de Skittles, llevando un suéter “hoodie” cuando alguien en la área en que estaba en Florida decidió que él era una amenaza.  Someone decided that Trayvon was a threat, and there was a scuffle of some sort, and Trayvon was shot.  Alguien le mató porque pareció un peligro. Now, as I saw on Facebook the other day, that maybe Trayvon has a new hoodie, the white robe of the martyr.  Posiblemente, como vi en Facebook el otro día, Trayvon tiene un Nuevo hoodie, el blanco chaleco de los mártires. Somebody pointed out that monks wear something that looks like a hoodie, and nobody thinks them dangerous.  ¿Porque es que un hoodie en un monje es algo pio y un hoodie en un joven negro es algo peligroso?  I don’t know

Author Phyllis Tickle suggested at the Ministry Fair Saturday before last that pretty soon we’re all going to want to call ourselves Judeo-Christians.  La autora Phyllis Tickle dijo el otro sábado que muy pronto vamos a querer llamarnos “Judeo-cristianos.”  Para algunos de Uds., este concepto no es nuevo, pero para otros es muy interesante pensar en el.  This is not news to some of us who grew up thinking of ourselves in relation to the Jewish faith, but for others it may be a good reminder in this, perhaps the most Judeo-Christian night of all. Because tonight is a truly Judeo-Christian night—we are reminded that in our Eucharist we carry on a venerable tradition, not only of remembering the fateful night so clear in our minds of when Jesus visited us and was about to face his death, but we also remember that Jesus was re-inventing for our sake the Passover meal—the story of our salvation told again, a new way.  Esta noche mantenga la tradición Judeo-cristiana porque en la santa euca

Cuando mi papa era un hippie joven, él viajó desde pequeño Kidlington, que queda cerca de Oxford en Inglaterra, hasta California.  When my father was a young hippie, he came to California to visit and was so impressed by the hospitality and loving openness of everyone he found here!  Él era tan impresionado por la gente con quien él estaba—por su generosidad, por las porciones grandes en los restaurantes, por los helados baratos y grandes del Rite Aid— ¡it was all like a groovy piece of apple pie!  Y todo el mundo le invito a quedar en su casa si fuera en su área.  Y de vez en cuando, él llegó a la casa de alguien que le había dicho “mi casa es su casa” y ellos estaban sorprendidos.  No pensaban que él lo tomara tan en serio sus palabras. Y era un poco incomodo… como dicen los jóvenes… Awkward!  El entendió mucho sobre lo bueno de la cultura americana y la cultura hippie, pero también como a veces son un poco superficiales y parecen más abiertos de lo que son. De la misma manera, en

When my father was a young hippie, in about the year 1972, he traveled to the United States from small Kidlington in Oxfordshire, England to explore and hitchhike.  He was impressed by everything—the big portions at restaurants, the huge Rite Aid ice cream cone, and the expansive spirit of those he met—everything big and American, like groovy apple pie.  He had so many great times meeting different people in his travels up and down California, and he said everyone was so generous—he came and left with almost nothing, but was helped out every step of the way.  And everyone had a hug and an invitation to show up at their place, anytime!  Except they didn’t always really mean it.  He tells me he surprised a couple of folks by showing up, quite caught up in the spirit, and these unwitting American hippies didn’t know what to do!  Had they said mi casa es su casa?  Well they didn’t quite expect him to just swing by!  Awkward….  He loved the wide open USA, and as you know from my story, almo