Advent 1 B + Wait for the Lord (Bilingual) + 12.3.23
M. and A.
Campbell-Langdell
All Santos, Oxnard and
St Mike’s, Isla Vista
(Isaiah
64:1-9; Psalm
80:1-7, 16-18; 1
Corinthians 1:3-9; Mark
13:24-37)
Wait for the
Lord, whose day is near
Wait for the Lord, be strong take heart
This is a popular song in the Taizé tradition. Esta
es una canción popular de la tradición de Taize en Francia. Es hermoso y
pacífico y, sin embargo, hay un indicio de la forma en que se habla del Día del
Señor en las Escrituras. While
peaceful, it hints at the coming of the Lord.
“Be strong” and “take heart” are not words that are said when everything
is going well. Y el pasaje
de hoy de Isaías está lleno del conocimiento seguro de que esperamos y
suplicamos la presencia de Dios desde un lugar de quebrantamiento y dolor. And in Isaiah today we hear: “Oh that
you would rend the heavens and come down,” a lament. And in the imagery of tearing a garment, the
writer asks God to bridge the gap and join our human lament over the brokenness
of our world. Con la imagen de rasgar un vestimento, Isaías pide que
Dios alcanza a la humanidad tras nuestras diferencias.
Earlier this week I watched the movie “The Holdovers.” Mas
temprano esta semana vi la película “The Holdovers.” It tells the story of a Christmas
break in 1970 in a boys’ boarding school when there are just a few boys who are
held over during the holidays due to their family situations. Se
trata de un grupo de jóvenes que tiene que quedar en la escuela durante los tiempos
festivos. At first, the
boys all seem super entitled, and they clash with the stern and incalcitrant
professor who is put in charge of caring for them, who wants their break to be
full of a long study and exercise regimen. Los jóvenes
se ven muy malos, y su profesor es muy estricto. También hay una cocinera quien
está de luto porque ha perdido su único hijo en la Guerra en Vietnam. The head of the kitchen, Mary, is
also staying over as she mourns her only child who has just died in Vietnam. Se
nota que Mary y su hijo son moreno pero los otros son blancos. Mary and her son are black and a
point is made that he is the only recent Barton graduate to perish in Vietnam
(although in the opening scenes of the film we see that many graduates have
perished in World Wars I and II). After many of the boys are able to go with a
wealthy classmate who is going skiing to spend the rest of the break, only the
professor, the cook and one boy are left. Después de
que se van los otros chicos a esquiar, quedan atrás solo el profesor, un solo muchacho
y la cocinera, y se conocen más- hasta se convierten un poco en una familia. As they get to know each other at a
different level, the exterior veneer is removed. As they begin to share the real stories of
their lives, they begin to become genuine family for each other. Their pain
disrupts the jollity of the holiday, and it becomes a bridge that brings them
into a place of new connection and hope. Mientras que vemos
lo bonito del tiempo festivo, estamos recordados también de su dolor y
humanidad.[1] What I love about this film, and
about the passage from Isaiah today, is the reminder that we are all human. Complex,
liable to fail even when we try to do right. Somos complejos y estamos llenos de
alegrías y tristezas. Intentamos hacer lo correcto y, sin embargo, también
fallamos. We wait for
the Lord, and we await God’s coming.
In Isaiah it says:
“We have all
become like one who is unclean,
and all our righteous deeds are like a filthy cloth.”
“todas nuestras buenas obras son como un trapo sucio”
Bible commentators note that another translation of “filthy
cloth” here is “menstrual rag.” Disculpa por la palabra, pero “el
trapo sucio” aquí es un trapo menstrual. With apologies to sensitive ears, I include this point because
it makes the point that our humanity is what is at play here. Esto muestra
nuestra humanidad- es algo completamente natural. A period rag is not sinful;
it is just human. For observant Jews, being around one would make one ritually
unclean, but it is not a moral failing. Es
ritualmente impuro para un judío observante, pero no es malo. What is needed is not greater effort
on the part of humanity to become less human.
What we need is a bridge between our humanity and God. Lo
que necesitamos no es ser menos humano, sino buscar un puente entre nosotros y
Dios.
I know that, because we are complex humans, we may each have
hang-ups about turning to God or waiting for God. Podemos tener
preocupaciones sobre esperar para Dios como seres humanos. We may fear that God may be slow to
forgive, even as we have heard that God is running to us waiting to embrace us.
Or we may have experienced some pain or loss so deep that we are having a hard
time forgiving God. Tal vez sentimos que Dios no nos perdonara, pero
a veces yo creo que nos dificulta perdonar a Dios. This prayer in Isaiah echoes
all of that. Esto escuchamos en Isaías, aun en el momento en que el autor culpa
a Dios por alejarse del pueblo. The writer even goes so far as to
blame God for the people’s wrongdoing. If God hadn’t turned away, we would have
been able to do the right thing.
As the world around us turns jolly, we are invited into quiet. Into wonder.
Into silence. And waiting. Mientras que el mundo se pone
festivo, este tiempo de Adviento nos pide ir más lento, y prestar más atención.
But you may have noticed
a theme. Tal vez han notado un tema. Our
waiting does not change our humanity. We are not the ones who build the bridge.
No somos nosotros los quienes construyen el puente entre los seres
humanos y Dios. In
response to the question, “Is there anything I can do to make myself
enlightened?” Anthony de Mello is quoted as saying, “As little as you can do to
make the sun rise in the morning.” Dicen
que el teólogo Anthony de Mello dijo que no se puede hacer nada para iluminarnos.
“Then of what use,” the
questioner continues, “are the spiritual exercises you prescribe?” And the reply comes back, “[They] are to make
sure you are not asleep when the sun begins to rise.”[2] El sugiere que todo lo que
hacemos como gente de fe es para no estar dormidos cuando se levanta el sol. This, I think, is the meaning of
Jesus’ apocalyptic imagery in Mark alongside the parable of the fig leaves.
Esto es el significado del higo. We are
asked to stay awake, to refuse to be distracted by the noise, and instead pay
attention to a leaf budding on a tree.
Just as the prophet Elijah discovered that God was not in the wind, or
the earthquake, or the fire but was heard in a still, small voice (1 Kings 19:
11-13). Justo como Elías vio a Dios no en el viento, ni en el
terremoto, ni en el fuego sino en la voz tranquila de Dios, estamos invitados a
buscar las señales silenciosas de la nueva vida emergente de Dios. We are asked to notice the little things that speak of God’s
ongoing breath bringing new life, to pause and listen for a baby’s cry in the
midst of the cacophony of war and destruction.
Stay awake. Mantenganse
despiertos.
Wait for the Lord, whose day is near
Wait for the Lord, be strong, take heart.
Take heart, because what we wait for is our salvation. We may
fear the coming of God because of the overtones of judgment that we have heard
about. Que recordemos que esperamos no solo el juicio, pero
realmente esperamos nuestra salvación. We love to celebrate a baby, but the second coming is, let’s
face it, kind of scary. No tiene que ser demasiado temoroso. But it needn’t be negatively
scary. It is about renewing our sense of awe at the awe-full day of God’s
coming.
“Señor Dios
de los Ejércitos, restáuranos;
show the light of your countenance, and we shall be saved.”
We are wholly imperfect human beings. But God loves us that
way. Dios nos ama como los seres humanos perfectamente
imperfectos quienes somos. And we are invited to rest in God this Advent. Estamos invitados
a esperar a que Dios cierre la brecha de nuestra humanidad. Advent helps us remember that we are
human. And that we can embrace all of it. Podemos
abrazar toda nuestra humanidad en el Adviento. Even the parts we don’t
understand. Especially
those.
As we prepare for Christmas, we remember Jesus Christ who was
born many years ago. Mientras nos preparamos para la
Navidad, recordamos a Jesucristo, quien nació hace muchos años. But we also look forward to the light
of the One who is coming. Pero tambien miramos hacia El quien viene.
The Christ for whom we wait. El Salvador que hará nuevas todas las cosas. The potter who will mold all of us
into something new and wonderful. La que se lamenta con nosotras
para traer alegría duradera.
Amen.
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