"Come and See" Sunday, January 2, 2022 Christmas II, Sunshine Cathedral of Second Life
Please join us in the virtual world of Second Life each Sunday at 2pm Pacific/ 5pm Eastern time. Download the interface at Secondlife.com, create your avatar, and join us at Sunshine Cathedral.
Call to Worship
Sunshine Cathedral is a different kind of church
where the past is past and the future has infinite possibilities!
This is the day our God has made.
Let us rejoice and be glad in it!
Opening Prayer
Almighty God, to you all hearts are open, all desires known, and from you no secrets are hid. Cleanse the thoughts of our hearts by the inspiration of your holy Spirit that we may perfectly love you and worthily magnify your holy names. Amen.
“[Jesus]…said we were to do greater works than he did. At this stage of our development we find this nearly impossible to believe, but this is our destiny. I remember the words and the work of Jesus the Christ. I follow [the] way to the best of my present understanding. Miracles come to pass as I grow in consciousness.”
The Wisdom of Albert C. Grier
“[Jesus was] not like [God] but [was] one with God…He…many times called himself the Son of [Humanity]. That Jesus revealed God is true, but even more true it is that he revealed [humanity].”
John was standing with two of his disciples, and as he watched Jesus pass by, he said, “Behold, the Lamb of God.” On hearing him say this, the two disciples began to follow Jesus. When Jesus turned and saw them following him, he asked them, “What are you looking for?” They said to him, “Rabbi, where are you staying?” He answered them, “Come and see.” So they went and saw where he was staying, and they remained with him for the rest of that day.
One of the two who had heard John speak and had followed Jesus was Andrew, the brother of Simon Peter. The first thing Andrew did was to seek out his brother Simon and say to him, “We have found the Messiah” and he took him to Jesus. Jesus gazed at him and said, “You are Simon son of John. You will be called Cephas” (which, translated, is “Peter”).
The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. Encountering Philip, he said to him, “Follow me.” Philip came from the same town, Bethsaida, as Andrew and Peter. Philip found Nathanael and said to him, “We have found the one [the One for whom we’ve been waiting]—Jesus the son of Joseph, from Nazareth.” Nathanael said to him, “Can anything good come from Nazareth?” Philip replied, “Come and see.”
“Can anything good come from Nazareth?” Sounds familiar somehow doesn’t it? We’ve all heard it … Can anything good come from Frankfurt? Can anything good come from Mexico? Can anything good come from Iran? Can anything good come from Mississippi or Alabama? Can anything good come from the south side of Chicago, or south central LA, or Harlem, or the French Quarter, or…? We make assumptions about people based on where they live or where they come from all the time.
Our reading today from the first chapter of the gospel according to John jolts me every time I read it. I can hear Nathaniel sneering… “Nazareth? Give me a break. I’m not going to hear some bum from Nazareth. The messiah coming from Nazareth, ridiculous. I mean come on, can anything good come from Nazareth?” Even today, Nazareth is known as “the Arab capital of Israel” and if you’ve ever visited Israel you know that name is not one of honor but one of ridicule and disdain.
What causes us to make judgments about people based on where they come from? When traveling in Europe, people from the US (often referred to as Americans) are often judged as boorish or rude because they have been treated badly by someone from the US in the past. We all know that people with darker skin are treated dramatically differently in many western countries because they were originally brought to these lands as slaves or came as immigrants.
This is a good lesson for us on the first Sunday in the new year 2022. I am just a guilty as anyone I know for making judgments about people’s character based on where they come from. It’s not something I’m proud of mind you but it’s there inside me. I grew up in the racist and still segregated southern US. I’ve lived outside the country and experienced how people from the US are viewed from other countries. I now live in a state with one of the highest vaccination rates, the lowest crime rates, and the best healthcare in the world. Where I’m from, where I’ve lived, and where I live now defines me to some extent but only because people make assumptions about me based on those tidbits of information about me.
Here we are on the second Sunday, the last Sunday, in Christmastide. Next week the creche will be gone, the Christmas decorations will be put away for another year and we begin again, a new year that we all hope and pray will be better but one we all dread will find some way to be even worse than last year. We’re making assumptions based on past experience. A friend of mine described anticipating the coming new year as looking at a door ajar and timidly pushing it open slowly with a long stick, terrified of what is behind that door.
We’ve also made a lot of assumptions about what Christmas is all about. Last week I said I want to know the true meaning of Christmas. Each year I struggle to understand what it’s all about. I honestly struggle to understand why the season captivates people who do not identify as Christian and those who do not view Jesus as the Messiah sent to save the world from sin.
Our reading from Albert C. Grier today contains, perhaps, one of the most important sentences I’ve ever read, “That Jesus revealed God is true, but even more true it is that he revealed [humanity].” I read it this way, the birth of Jesus reminds us that we are made in the image of the creator of the universe and that every single human being is precious to God and ought to be treated as such. The way Jesus lived, what he taught about economic justice, the way he brought healing to people in need, AND the way he spoke truth to power, when those in power were oppressing the people, IS what we are at our core.
I just do not subscribe to the doctrine that Jesus was without sin. I simply do not believe it. If Jesus was fully human then he became angry and lashed out at people and we have a record of this in the gospels. He ridiculed the Pharisees, he was hideously disrespectful to the Syrophoenician woman who asked for healing for her little daughter, he became so enraged that he overturned the tables of the money changers in the temple. Jesus was no meek and mild savior no matter how he’s “white washed” by some who make his very human nature into an idol that no longer even resembles a human being.
Jesus was born to young people who were not even yet married, born into poverty, because a refugee in Egypt at a young age, grew up the son of a carpenter in Nazareth, got tired, became angry, loved deeply and I sincerely hope he had sexual experiences. He wept at the tomb of his friend Lazarus. He even disrespected his own mother when she pushed him to help the wedding couple at the wedding in Cana when the shame of running out of wine would have been a terrible social stigma for them. He ate with sinners, disappeared into the wilderness to rest… by all accounts Jesus was a person just like you and me.
But we try to make Jesus into something greater than ourselves. We ignore the reality that Jesus told his disciples in John 14:12 that they could do greater things than he was doing if they only believed they could do it. And this is the message of this last Sunday in Christmastide for us as well.
Jesus was born just like us. Jesus was born to unwed parents into impoverished circumstances. Jesus was taken from his homeland as an immigrant to another country to escape certain death. Jesus grew up the son of a carpenter, a tradesman, in a town that was rural and viewed with disdain. Jesus had real human experiences and showed us the way to be better people. Jesus was one of us and if Jesus is divine as most Christians believe, then we TOO are divine, made in the image of a loving creator and put here on earth to care for creation and for each other.
As we begin this new year 2022 we are not called to be meek and mild and “accept” the “choice” of those who refuse to be vaccinated and put us all at risk in a worldwide pandemic. We are called to speak truth to power, to advocate for those who have no privilege and therefore no voice. We are called to feed the hungry, clothe the naked, work for prison reform and truly care for those who are incarcerated, and in all cases do everything we can to ensure that everyone has access to healthcare, yes that’s what all those healing miracles were about.
We can do this. How do I know? Well there was a man named Jesus, born in Bethlehem and raised in Nazareth who lived a life that is our pattern for living a successful, meaningful life. Yes it’s dangerous to live that way. He was brutally executed at 33 years old for refusing to capitulate to the status quo. We must acknowledge that living in the pattern of Jesus is not always easy or safe.
“Nathanael said to [Philip], ‘Can anything good come from Nazareth?’ Philip replied, ‘Come and see.’” When we get to know each other we get to know Jesus. When we see our true selves and uncover the deep love that is placed in our heart by God we have a little glimpse of what Christmas really means. Amen.
For a list of music suggested to meditate on for this service click the link below:
"Come and See" Sunday, January 2, 2022 Christmas II, Sunshine Cathedral of Second Life
Please join us in the virtual world of Second Life each Sunday at 2pm Pacific/ 5pm Eastern time. Download the interface at Secondlife.com, create your avatar, and join us at Sunshine Cathedral.
Call to Worship
Sunshine Cathedral is a different kind of church
where the past is past and the future has infinite possibilities!
This is the day our God has made.
Let us rejoice and be glad in it!
Opening Prayer
Almighty God, to you all hearts are open, all desires known, and from you no secrets are hid. Cleanse the thoughts of our hearts by the inspiration of your holy Spirit that we may perfectly love you and worthily magnify your holy names. Amen.
“[Jesus]…said we were to do greater works than he did. At this stage of our development we find this nearly impossible to believe, but this is our destiny. I remember the words and the work of Jesus the Christ. I follow [the] way to the best of my present understanding. Miracles come to pass as I grow in consciousness.”
The Wisdom of Albert C. Grier
“[Jesus was] not like [God] but [was] one with God…He…many times called himself the Son of [Humanity]. That Jesus revealed God is true, but even more true it is that he revealed [humanity].”
John was standing with two of his disciples, and as he watched Jesus pass by, he said, “Behold, the Lamb of God.” On hearing him say this, the two disciples began to follow Jesus. When Jesus turned and saw them following him, he asked them, “What are you looking for?” They said to him, “Rabbi, where are you staying?” He answered them, “Come and see.” So they went and saw where he was staying, and they remained with him for the rest of that day.
One of the two who had heard John speak and had followed Jesus was Andrew, the brother of Simon Peter. The first thing Andrew did was to seek out his brother Simon and say to him, “We have found the Messiah” and he took him to Jesus. Jesus gazed at him and said, “You are Simon son of John. You will be called Cephas” (which, translated, is “Peter”).
The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. Encountering Philip, he said to him, “Follow me.” Philip came from the same town, Bethsaida, as Andrew and Peter. Philip found Nathanael and said to him, “We have found the one [the One for whom we’ve been waiting]—Jesus the son of Joseph, from Nazareth.” Nathanael said to him, “Can anything good come from Nazareth?” Philip replied, “Come and see.”
“Can anything good come from Nazareth?” Sounds familiar somehow doesn’t it? We’ve all heard it … Can anything good come from Frankfurt? Can anything good come from Mexico? Can anything good come from Iran? Can anything good come from Mississippi or Alabama? Can anything good come from the south side of Chicago, or south central LA, or Harlem, or the French Quarter, or…? We make assumptions about people based on where they live or where they come from all the time.
Our reading today from the first chapter of the gospel according to John jolts me every time I read it. I can hear Nathaniel sneering… “Nazareth? Give me a break. I’m not going to hear some bum from Nazareth. The messiah coming from Nazareth, ridiculous. I mean come on, can anything good come from Nazareth?” Even today, Nazareth is known as “the Arab capital of Israel” and if you’ve ever visited Israel you know that name is not one of honor but one of ridicule and disdain.
What causes us to make judgments about people based on where they come from? When traveling in Europe, people from the US (often referred to as Americans) are often judged as boorish or rude because they have been treated badly by someone from the US in the past. We all know that people with darker skin are treated dramatically differently in many western countries because they were originally brought to these lands as slaves or came as immigrants.
This is a good lesson for us on the first Sunday in the new year 2022. I am just a guilty as anyone I know for making judgments about people’s character based on where they come from. It’s not something I’m proud of mind you but it’s there inside me. I grew up in the racist and still segregated southern US. I’ve lived outside the country and experienced how people from the US are viewed from other countries. I now live in a state with one of the highest vaccination rates, the lowest crime rates, and the best healthcare in the world. Where I’m from, where I’ve lived, and where I live now defines me to some extent but only because people make assumptions about me based on those tidbits of information about me.
Here we are on the second Sunday, the last Sunday, in Christmastide. Next week the creche will be gone, the Christmas decorations will be put away for another year and we begin again, a new year that we all hope and pray will be better but one we all dread will find some way to be even worse than last year. We’re making assumptions based on past experience. A friend of mine described anticipating the coming new year as looking at a door ajar and timidly pushing it open slowly with a long stick, terrified of what is behind that door.
We’ve also made a lot of assumptions about what Christmas is all about. Last week I said I want to know the true meaning of Christmas. Each year I struggle to understand what it’s all about. I honestly struggle to understand why the season captivates people who do not identify as Christian and those who do not view Jesus as the Messiah sent to save the world from sin.
Our reading from Albert C. Grier today contains, perhaps, one of the most important sentences I’ve ever read, “That Jesus revealed God is true, but even more true it is that he revealed [humanity].” I read it this way, the birth of Jesus reminds us that we are made in the image of the creator of the universe and that every single human being is precious to God and ought to be treated as such. The way Jesus lived, what he taught about economic justice, the way he brought healing to people in need, AND the way he spoke truth to power, when those in power were oppressing the people, IS what we are at our core.
I just do not subscribe to the doctrine that Jesus was without sin. I simply do not believe it. If Jesus was fully human then he became angry and lashed out at people and we have a record of this in the gospels. He ridiculed the Pharisees, he was hideously disrespectful to the Syrophoenician woman who asked for healing for her little daughter, he became so enraged that he overturned the tables of the money changers in the temple. Jesus was no meek and mild savior no matter how he’s “white washed” by some who make his very human nature into an idol that no longer even resembles a human being.
Jesus was born to young people who were not even yet married, born into poverty, because a refugee in Egypt at a young age, grew up the son of a carpenter in Nazareth, got tired, became angry, loved deeply and I sincerely hope he had sexual experiences. He wept at the tomb of his friend Lazarus. He even disrespected his own mother when she pushed him to help the wedding couple at the wedding in Cana when the shame of running out of wine would have been a terrible social stigma for them. He ate with sinners, disappeared into the wilderness to rest… by all accounts Jesus was a person just like you and me.
But we try to make Jesus into something greater than ourselves. We ignore the reality that Jesus told his disciples in John 14:12 that they could do greater things than he was doing if they only believed they could do it. And this is the message of this last Sunday in Christmastide for us as well.
Jesus was born just like us. Jesus was born to unwed parents into impoverished circumstances. Jesus was taken from his homeland as an immigrant to another country to escape certain death. Jesus grew up the son of a carpenter, a tradesman, in a town that was rural and viewed with disdain. Jesus had real human experiences and showed us the way to be better people. Jesus was one of us and if Jesus is divine as most Christians believe, then we TOO are divine, made in the image of a loving creator and put here on earth to care for creation and for each other.
As we begin this new year 2022 we are not called to be meek and mild and “accept” the “choice” of those who refuse to be vaccinated and put us all at risk in a worldwide pandemic. We are called to speak truth to power, to advocate for those who have no privilege and therefore no voice. We are called to feed the hungry, clothe the naked, work for prison reform and truly care for those who are incarcerated, and in all cases do everything we can to ensure that everyone has access to healthcare, yes that’s what all those healing miracles were about.
We can do this. How do I know? Well there was a man named Jesus, born in Bethlehem and raised in Nazareth who lived a life that is our pattern for living a successful, meaningful life. Yes it’s dangerous to live that way. He was brutally executed at 33 years old for refusing to capitulate to the status quo. We must acknowledge that living in the pattern of Jesus is not always easy or safe.
“Nathanael said to [Philip], ‘Can anything good come from Nazareth?’ Philip replied, ‘Come and see.’” When we get to know each other we get to know Jesus. When we see our true selves and uncover the deep love that is placed in our heart by God we have a little glimpse of what Christmas really means. Amen.
For a list of music suggested to meditate on for this service click the link below:
"Come and See" Sunday, January 2, 2022 Christmas II, Sunshine Cathedral of Second Life
Please join us in the virtual world of Second Life each Sunday at 2pm Pacific/ 5pm Eastern time. Download the interface at Secondlife.com, create your avatar, and join us at Sunshine Cathedral.
Sunshine Cathedral is a different kind of church
where the past is past and the future has infinite possibilities!
This is the day our God has made.
Let us rejoice and be glad in it!
Opening Prayer
Almighty God, to you all hearts are open, all desires known, and from you no secrets are hid. Cleanse the thoughts of our hearts by the inspiration of your holy Spirit that we may perfectly love you and worthily magnify your holy names. Amen.
The Lessons
CLICK HERE for Audio of Readings
The Wisdom of Barbara L. Wolfe
“[Jesus]…said we were to do greater works than he did. At this stage of our development we find this nearly impossible to believe, but this is our destiny. I remember the words and the work of Jesus the Christ. I follow [the] way to the best of my present understanding. Miracles come to pass as I grow in consciousness.”
The Wisdom of Albert C. Grier
“[Jesus was] not like [God] but [was] one with God…He…many times called himself the Son of [Humanity]. That Jesus revealed God is true, but even more true it is that he revealed [humanity].”
CLICK HERE for Audio of Gospel
A Reading from the Fourth Gospel (John 1.35-46)
John was standing with two of his disciples, and as he watched Jesus pass by, he said, “Behold, the Lamb of God.” On hearing him say this, the two disciples began to follow Jesus. When Jesus turned and saw them following him, he asked them, “What are you looking for?” They said to him, “Rabbi, where are you staying?” He answered them, “Come and see.” So they went and saw where he was staying, and they remained with him for the rest of that day.
One of the two who had heard John speak and had followed Jesus was Andrew, the brother of Simon Peter. The first thing Andrew did was to seek out his brother Simon and say to him, “We have found the Messiah” and he took him to Jesus. Jesus gazed at him and said, “You are Simon son of John. You will be called Cephas” (which, translated, is “Peter”).
The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. Encountering Philip, he said to him, “Follow me.” Philip came from the same town, Bethsaida, as Andrew and Peter. Philip found Nathanael and said to him, “We have found the one [the One for whom we’ve been waiting]—Jesus the son of Joseph, from Nazareth.” Nathanael said to him, “Can anything good come from Nazareth?” Philip replied, “Come and see.”
Reflection by Rev. Dr. BK Hipsher
CLICK HERE for Audio of Reflection "Come and See"
"Come and See"
“Can anything good come from Nazareth?” Sounds familiar somehow doesn’t it? We’ve all heard it … Can anything good come from Frankfurt? Can anything good come from Mexico? Can anything good come from Iran? Can anything good come from Mississippi or Alabama? Can anything good come from the south side of Chicago, or south central LA, or Harlem, or the French Quarter, or…? We make assumptions about people based on where they live or where they come from all the time.
Our reading today from the first chapter of the gospel according to John jolts me every time I read it. I can hear Nathaniel sneering… “Nazareth? Give me a break. I’m not going to hear some bum from Nazareth. The messiah coming from Nazareth, ridiculous. I mean come on, can anything good come from Nazareth?” Even today, Nazareth is known as “the Arab capital of Israel” and if you’ve ever visited Israel you know that name is not one of honor but one of ridicule and disdain.
What causes us to make judgments about people based on where they come from? When traveling in Europe, people from the US (often referred to as Americans) are often judged as boorish or rude because they have been treated badly by someone from the US in the past. We all know that people with darker skin are treated dramatically differently in many western countries because they were originally brought to these lands as slaves or came as immigrants.
This is a good lesson for us on the first Sunday in the new year 2022. I am just a guilty as anyone I know for making judgments about people’s character based on where they come from. It’s not something I’m proud of mind you but it’s there inside me. I grew up in the racist and still segregated southern US. I’ve lived outside the country and experienced how people from the US are viewed from other countries. I now live in a state with one of the highest vaccination rates, the lowest crime rates, and the best healthcare in the world. Where I’m from, where I’ve lived, and where I live now defines me to some extent but only because people make assumptions about me based on those tidbits of information about me.
Here we are on the second Sunday, the last Sunday, in Christmastide. Next week the creche will be gone, the Christmas decorations will be put away for another year and we begin again, a new year that we all hope and pray will be better but one we all dread will find some way to be even worse than last year. We’re making assumptions based on past experience. A friend of mine described anticipating the coming new year as looking at a door ajar and timidly pushing it open slowly with a long stick, terrified of what is behind that door.
We’ve also made a lot of assumptions about what Christmas is all about. Last week I said I want to know the true meaning of Christmas. Each year I struggle to understand what it’s all about. I honestly struggle to understand why the season captivates people who do not identify as Christian and those who do not view Jesus as the Messiah sent to save the world from sin.
Our reading from Albert C. Grier today contains, perhaps, one of the most important sentences I’ve ever read, “That Jesus revealed God is true, but even more true it is that he revealed [humanity].” I read it this way, the birth of Jesus reminds us that we are made in the image of the creator of the universe and that every single human being is precious to God and ought to be treated as such. The way Jesus lived, what he taught about economic justice, the way he brought healing to people in need, AND the way he spoke truth to power, when those in power were oppressing the people, IS what we are at our core.
I just do not subscribe to the doctrine that Jesus was without sin. I simply do not believe it. If Jesus was fully human then he became angry and lashed out at people and we have a record of this in the gospels. He ridiculed the Pharisees, he was hideously disrespectful to the Syrophoenician woman who asked for healing for her little daughter, he became so enraged that he overturned the tables of the money changers in the temple. Jesus was no meek and mild savior no matter how he’s “white washed” by some who make his very human nature into an idol that no longer even resembles a human being.
Jesus was born to young people who were not even yet married, born into poverty, because a refugee in Egypt at a young age, grew up the son of a carpenter in Nazareth, got tired, became angry, loved deeply and I sincerely hope he had sexual experiences. He wept at the tomb of his friend Lazarus. He even disrespected his own mother when she pushed him to help the wedding couple at the wedding in Cana when the shame of running out of wine would have been a terrible social stigma for them. He ate with sinners, disappeared into the wilderness to rest… by all accounts Jesus was a person just like you and me.
But we try to make Jesus into something greater than ourselves. We ignore the reality that Jesus told his disciples in John 14:12 that they could do greater things than he was doing if they only believed they could do it. And this is the message of this last Sunday in Christmastide for us as well.
Jesus was born just like us. Jesus was born to unwed parents into impoverished circumstances. Jesus was taken from his homeland as an immigrant to another country to escape certain death. Jesus grew up the son of a carpenter, a tradesman, in a town that was rural and viewed with disdain. Jesus had real human experiences and showed us the way to be better people. Jesus was one of us and if Jesus is divine as most Christians believe, then we TOO are divine, made in the image of a loving creator and put here on earth to care for creation and for each other.
As we begin this new year 2022 we are not called to be meek and mild and “accept” the “choice” of those who refuse to be vaccinated and put us all at risk in a worldwide pandemic. We are called to speak truth to power, to advocate for those who have no privilege and therefore no voice. We are called to feed the hungry, clothe the naked, work for prison reform and truly care for those who are incarcerated, and in all cases do everything we can to ensure that everyone has access to healthcare, yes that’s what all those healing miracles were about.
We can do this. How do I know? Well there was a man named Jesus, born in Bethlehem and raised in Nazareth who lived a life that is our pattern for living a successful, meaningful life. Yes it’s dangerous to live that way. He was brutally executed at 33 years old for refusing to capitulate to the status quo. We must acknowledge that living in the pattern of Jesus is not always easy or safe.
“Nathanael said to [Philip], ‘Can anything good come from Nazareth?’ Philip replied, ‘Come and see.’” When we get to know each other we get to know Jesus. When we see our true selves and uncover the deep love that is placed in our heart by God we have a little glimpse of what Christmas really means. Amen.
For a list of music suggested to meditate on for this service click the link below:
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