Recuerda que fuiste un esclavo / Remember that You Were a Slave

“Incluso como iglesia, vivimos con el miedo que genera el sistema de esclavos.  Como iglesia, nos hemos convertido en un proveedor de bienes y servicios religiosos ... y tememos no producir lo suficiente porque tememos que la gente se vaya y se lleve sus promesas financieras con ellos.   No es el modelo de una iglesia fiel, es un modelo de negocios que ve los bienes más elevados no como un crecimiento humano sino como un crecimiento numérico y la trinidad impía de asistencia, edificios y dinero en efectivo. Y Dios nos está mirando.   Y Dios no está diciendo "Recuerda que fuiste un esclavo".   Dios está diciendo, "Te has convertido en un esclavo."  Tú has vuelto a la esclavitud de la que te rescaté.” “Even as a church, we live in the fear that the slave system generates. As a church, we have become a provider of religious goods and services … and we fear not producing enough because we fear people leaving and taking their pledges with them.  It is not the model of a faithful church, it is a business model that sees the highest goods not as human thriving but of numerical growth and the unholy trinity of attendance, buildings and cash. And God is looking at us. And God is not saying “Remember that you were a slave.” God is saying, “You have become a slave.” You have returned to the bondage from which I rescued you.” Sermon by Mike Kinman for Virtual Bilingual Spanish/English Worship at All Saints Church, Pasadena at 1:00 p.m. on Sunday, April 18, 2021. Readings: Deuteronomio 5:11–22, Salmo 78:1–7, Romanos 13:8–10 y San Matteo 22:22–33. Read the text of the sermon in English here: https://allsaints-pas.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/MK210418Easter-3-1PM-Remember-that-you-were-a-slave.docx. Read the text of the sermon in Spanish here: https://allsaints-pas.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/MK210418Easter-3-1PM-Recuerda-que-fuiste-un-esclavo.docx. Watch the sermon on video on YouTube at https://youtu.be/K7I1c7BF3d0. View the entire 1:00 p.m. service for April 18, 2021 on YouTube at https://youtu.be/GBOExErFM9Q. Follow along with the service leaflet here: https://allsaints-pas.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/210418BilingualStreamingLit1pm-1.pdf. Join us every Sunday of the Covid-19 era for services on Zoom at 11:15 a.m. and 1:00 p.m. (and Rector's Forums at 10:00 a.m. when applicable). Know that you are loved! Follow All Saints Church on Twitter @ASCpas. Like us on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/AllSaintsPasadena/. Donate to support the mission and ministries of All Saints at https://allsaints-pas.org/donate/donate-now/.