Cuaresma/Lent 2 A + Trust God - Confíe en Dios + 3/1/26

 

M. Campbell-Langdell

All Santos, Oxnard

(Génesis 12:1–4ª; Salmo 121; Romanos 4:1–5, 13–17; San Juan 3:1–17)

Good morning/ buenos días y bienvenidos. Welcome!

We have a full and exciting morning, with a baptism and some very iconic scriptures. Tenemos una mañana repleta de un bautismo y de unas escrituras muy interesantes.
I recently got to watch a show called “Death by Lightning.” It's about the presidency of James Garfield, and it also details the background of the person who would assassinate him just three months into his presidency.

Recientemente vi una serie llamada “Death By Lightning”, que trataba sobre James Garfield y su breve tiempo como presidente de los EE. UU.

 But what struck me most about this miniseries is how Garfield interacted with his vice President, Chester A. Arthur, who actually served the almost 4 years remaining of Garfield’s presidential term after Garfield's assassination.

Pero lo que me interesó fue la interacción entre Garfield y Arthur, su vicepresidente, porque al inicio parecen de lados muy opuestos.
Arthur at first seems to be a rather terrible politician, just interested in drinking and in benefiting from the riches of the New York ports, where he's been collecting fees. And in the course of his relationship with Garfield, he sees Garfield as an honest and resolute man amid all sorts of political infighting.

Al inicio, Arthur es un tipo muy malo, solo tomando alcohol e interesado en ganar riquezas, especialmente en el puerto de Nueva York, donde ha sido colector de impuestos. Pero él ve a Garfield como un líder mejor y se impresiona por sus diferencias.
Ocurrieron muchas cosas en el país en aquella época, entre ellas, esfuerzos para integrar a la población afroamericana en la sociedad.

All sorts of things are happening in the government at the time, including efforts to integrate the now free black population into the nation. Garfield tries to follow up on promises that have been made and not fulfilled.  Arthur becomes a better man.

Con los esfuerzos de Garfield, Arthur se vuelve un hombre mejor.

Y todo esto me hace pensar en el evangelio de hoy.

All this makes me think of today's gospel message.

Nicodemus was in a very different camp from. Jesus. He was associated with the leadership of the Pharisees. He was part of the group that was monitoring Jesus, really trying to undermine him, and eventually had him killed.

Nicodemo es de un grupo que no apoya a Jesús y, de hecho, está pensando en cómo combatir su ministerio. Al fin tienen parte en su muerte.

 Despite their differences, Jesus welcomes Nicodemus.  And Nicodemus may seem clueless in this passage, but he has a very different worldview from Jesus'.

A pesar de sus diferencias, Jesús tiene una conversación con Nicodemo y es evidente que sus puntos de vista son bastante distintos.

Nicodemus is also changed by this encounter. You can see hints in the gospels that he becomes a better person as a result of this interaction. Se ve en el evangelio que Nicodemo se convierte en una mejor persona tras esta interacción.

And Nicodemus goes to visit Jesús at night. This is an interesting aspect because it brings to mind how nighttime is a time of wondering, worrying, and dreaming.  I was asked recently in a group setting. What keeps you up in the middle of the night?

Por la noche enfrentamos nuestros miedos y también soñamos con cómo puede ser. Así que es muy interesante que Jesús y Nicodemo se reúnan en la noche.

And I was thinking about that in light of the state of the church, and I thought, yes, we always talk about numbers, right? But to be honest, sometimes more than that, I want people to know that there is a church that is there for them.

En la noche quiero que la gente sepa que hay una iglesia que los ama y no está enfocada en el juicio de Dios sino en su amor y abrazo.

I want folks who are worrying and wondering at night to know about God's love and not focus on God's judgment. There is a church that cares for them. Yes, Jesus is a judge, but we leave that part up to God. And we say you are a beloved child of God, regardless of where your journey has led you.

Jesús es el juez, como decimos en el credo, pero nosotros no somos jueces. Podemos compartir el amor de Dios.

So many hear that Christians, especially Christian nationalists, despise them for being immigrants, queer, experiencing homelessness, or being disabled.

El mensaje que muchos reciben es un rencor de ciertos cristianos “nacionalistas” que no respetan a la gente pobre, ni a los sin hogar, ni a los inmigrantes, ni a la gente gay ni a las personas con discapacidades.  

Instead, everybody needs to hear, including the cisgender straight white men, that they are beloved. And there's nothing wrong with them. Just for being who they are. They are what God made them to be.
Dios nos hizo cada uno bien y amado en su imagen, y esto incluye a todo el mundo.

One of the things Jesus is talking about here, when he says, "God so loved the world," this beautiful passage we've heard in different contexts and times, is the love of God and the sense of eternity we share; it's not just for the by-and-by. It's in the here and now.

Jesús quiere que sintamos ese amor de Dios y esta eternidad que tenemos en Dios, no solo en el porvenir, sino también ahora mismo.

And that is what we do during baptisms! We get to live into the love of God here and now. Yes, things are not perfect. But Evelina is a beloved child of God, and we get to celebrate her and her relationship with God today, even as we renew our own baptismal vows.

Nosotros celebramos el reino de Dios a nuestro alrededor en cada bautismo, diciendo que Evelina y nosotros todos somos los hijos e hijas de Dios.
In the beautiful psalm for today, Psalm 121, we hear: I lift up my eyes to the hills; from where is my help to come?

El salmo dice: Mi socorro viene del Señor, * que hizo los cielos y la tierra.

The psalm says God watches over you, and I think about that.

Dios nos guarda cada día, en cada momento.
God is watching out for us every day. Not focused on judgment, but just loving us and helping us along our way.

Dios quiere acompañarnos en nuestro camino.

In a moment, we will reaffirm our baptismal vows and all that we believe.  That we will work for justice and the dignity of every human being, that we will support her in her journey, and we will.

En un par de momentos reafirmamos nuestros votos bautismales y decimos que vamos a apoyar a Evelina en su camino con Cristo. Y lo haremos.
And we also trust that God will be with her every step of the way. Just as God is with us, every single step of the way.

Dios nos acompaña en cada paso, incluso a Evelina.

So today, come to Jesus, as if in the night, and say, I know you've got me. I'm going to place my fears in your hands. My concern about the Earth's survival. About people suffering. About the church being given a bad name because people have only seen a bad example of it. All of our personal fears can go into God’s hands, too.

Hoy venimos ante Dios y ponemos nuestros temores en sus manos hábiles. Temores de la crisis climática, del sufrimiento de la gente, del mal nombre que tienen los cristianos, o cualquier temor personal que tengamos.

We say to God today, I am going to trust you! I'm going to trust that interacting with those who are different from me is worth it. We trust that God will work through all these things to bring all things into completion of the goals of the kingdom.

Confiemos en Dios hoy. Hablamos con gente diferente y él ayudará a lograr el entendimiento mutuo. Que el reino se verá a nuestro alrededor.
We ask all this in Jesus’ name. Esto pedimos y clamamos en el nombre de Jesús.

Amen.