"Many Gifts, One Spirit" Sunday, January 16, 2022 Epiphany II, MLK Day, 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.
I am in Birmingham because injustice is here. Just as the prophets of the eighth century B.C. left their villages and carried their "thus saith the Lord" far beyond the boundaries of their home towns, and just as the Apostle Paul left his village of Tarsus and carried the gospel of Jesus Christ to the far corners of the Greco Roman world, so am I compelled to carry the gospel of freedom beyond my own home town. Like Paul, I must constantly respond to the Macedonian call for aid.
Moreover, I am cognizant of the interrelatedness of all communities and states. I cannot sit idly by in Atlanta and not be concerned about what happens in Birmingham. Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly. Never again can we afford to live with the narrow, provincial "outside agitator" idea. Anyone who lives inside the United States can never be considered an outsider anywhere within its bounds.
The Wisdom of the Apostle Paul (1 Corinthians 12.4-11)
There are different varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit. There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. There are different forms of activity, but the same God who produces all of them in everyone.
To each of us, the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. To one, is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom; and to another, the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit. Another by the same Spirit is granted faith, while still another is granted the gift of healing by the same Spirit.
To one, is granted the gift of mighty deeds; to another, the gift of prophecy; and to yet another, the gift to discern spirits. One receives the gift of tongues and another the ability to interpret them. One and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing them individually to each person as the Spirit wills.
“To each of us, the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good…”
This passage from 1 Corinthians is a beautiful expansion upon the guiding principles of the great faiths of every religion on the planet… Treat others the way you would like to be treated and love your neighbor as yourself. And the great directive of theJewish tradition is the mandate to “treat the stranger as though they are part of your own family because you were once a stranger and you know how that feels.”
Never have these ideals been more important than today. As we went to sleep last night praying for the safety of the hostages at Congregation Beth Israel in Coleyville, Texas we spend this day, tomorrow, and every day reflecting on the dream The Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. dreamed.
We all have a part to play in this great struggle between good and evil, between racism and equality, between division and unity. Each of us are filled with the same spark of divinity, the same spirit of love, that manifests in many different ways as Paul wrote to the Corinthians. We are each called to enact our part in the drama of life, working for justice, and living in love.
None of us can do it alone. We must all work together to bring Dr. King’s dream to a lived reality. Each of us has a gift to contribute. Each of us has our own individual part to play in manifesting justice love in this world. Just as evil can never triumph over good, darkness can never overcome light. And let us all embrace the scientific truth that light is made up of a spectrum of color that is both seen and unseen, color that gathered together illuminates the beauty of creation like the mountains bathed in sunshine and the darkness of the night banished by the light of the dawn.
In the United States, tomorrow is the day set aside to remember that dream, the dream of a young black preacher who stood up and spoke truth to power, a young person who did not capitulate to the powers that, to this day, hold a racist hierarchy in place in the US and in many other countries around the world. King dreamed of a day when there would be no “us and them” no group who would refer to their neighbors as “other.”
Today we remember that young black preacher who dreamed. His words are more eloquent than any I could offer here today. So let us hear the sacred words of that young preacher again…
“Let us not wallow in the valley of despair, I say to you today, my friends.
So even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream. I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all [people] are created equal.
I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia, the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood.
I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.
I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character. I have a dream today.
I have a dream that one day down in Alabama with its vicious racists, with its governor having his lips dripping with the words of interposition and nullification, one day right down in Alabama little Black boys and Black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers. I have a dream today.
I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight, and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together.
This is our hope. This is the faith that I go back to the South with. With this faith, we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope. With this faith we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood. With this faith we will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together, to go to jail together, to stand up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day.
This will be the day when all of God's children will be able to sing with new meaning: My country, 'tis of thee, sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing. Land where my fathers died, land of the pilgrims' pride, from every mountainside, let freedom ring.
And if America is to be a great nation, this must become true. And so let freedom ring from the prodigious hilltops of New Hampshire. Let freedom ring from the mighty mountains of New York. Let freedom ring from the heightening Alleghenies of Pennsylvania. Let freedom ring from the snowcapped Rockies of Colorado. Let freedom ring from the curvaceous slopes of California. But not only that, let freedom ring from Stone Mountain of Georgia. Let freedom ring from Lookout Mountain of Tennessee. Let freedom ring from every hill and molehill of Mississippi. From every mountainside, let freedom ring.
And when this happens, and when we allow freedom ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God's children, Black … and white … , Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual: Free at last. Free at last. Thank God almighty, we are free at last.”
These words cannot be realized unless we all work for justice. This dream can never become a reality without each of us contributing our own particular gifts in the battle for justice to overcome the evil that divides us. Even though our brother Martin now sleeps, we are awake and alive to carry forth his dream of justice. Ken YehiRatzon Let it be so. Amen
For a list of music suggested to meditate on for this service click the link below:
"Many Gifts, One Spirit" Sunday, January 16, 2022 Epiphany II, MLK Day, 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.
I am in Birmingham because injustice is here. Just as the prophets of the eighth century B.C. left their villages and carried their "thus saith the Lord" far beyond the boundaries of their home towns, and just as the Apostle Paul left his village of Tarsus and carried the gospel of Jesus Christ to the far corners of the Greco Roman world, so am I compelled to carry the gospel of freedom beyond my own home town. Like Paul, I must constantly respond to the Macedonian call for aid.
Moreover, I am cognizant of the interrelatedness of all communities and states. I cannot sit idly by in Atlanta and not be concerned about what happens in Birmingham. Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly. Never again can we afford to live with the narrow, provincial "outside agitator" idea. Anyone who lives inside the United States can never be considered an outsider anywhere within its bounds.
The Wisdom of the Apostle Paul (1 Corinthians 12.4-11)
There are different varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit. There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. There are different forms of activity, but the same God who produces all of them in everyone.
To each of us, the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. To one, is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom; and to another, the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit. Another by the same Spirit is granted faith, while still another is granted the gift of healing by the same Spirit.
To one, is granted the gift of mighty deeds; to another, the gift of prophecy; and to yet another, the gift to discern spirits. One receives the gift of tongues and another the ability to interpret them. One and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing them individually to each person as the Spirit wills.
“To each of us, the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good…”
This passage from 1 Corinthians is a beautiful expansion upon the guiding principles of the great faiths of every religion on the planet… Treat others the way you would like to be treated and love your neighbor as yourself. And the great directive of theJewish tradition is the mandate to “treat the stranger as though they are part of your own family because you were once a stranger and you know how that feels.”
Never have these ideals been more important than today. As we went to sleep last night praying for the safety of the hostages at Congregation Beth Israel in Coleyville, Texas we spend this day, tomorrow, and every day reflecting on the dream The Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. dreamed.
We all have a part to play in this great struggle between good and evil, between racism and equality, between division and unity. Each of us are filled with the same spark of divinity, the same spirit of love, that manifests in many different ways as Paul wrote to the Corinthians. We are each called to enact our part in the drama of life, working for justice, and living in love.
None of us can do it alone. We must all work together to bring Dr. King’s dream to a lived reality. Each of us has a gift to contribute. Each of us has our own individual part to play in manifesting justice love in this world. Just as evil can never triumph over good, darkness can never overcome light. And let us all embrace the scientific truth that light is made up of a spectrum of color that is both seen and unseen, color that gathered together illuminates the beauty of creation like the mountains bathed in sunshine and the darkness of the night banished by the light of the dawn.
In the United States, tomorrow is the day set aside to remember that dream, the dream of a young black preacher who stood up and spoke truth to power, a young person who did not capitulate to the powers that, to this day, hold a racist hierarchy in place in the US and in many other countries around the world. King dreamed of a day when there would be no “us and them” no group who would refer to their neighbors as “other.”
Today we remember that young black preacher who dreamed. His words are more eloquent than any I could offer here today. So let us hear the sacred words of that young preacher again…
“Let us not wallow in the valley of despair, I say to you today, my friends.
So even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream. I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all [people] are created equal.
I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia, the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood.
I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.
I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character. I have a dream today.
I have a dream that one day down in Alabama with its vicious racists, with its governor having his lips dripping with the words of interposition and nullification, one day right down in Alabama little Black boys and Black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers. I have a dream today.
I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight, and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together.
This is our hope. This is the faith that I go back to the South with. With this faith, we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope. With this faith we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood. With this faith we will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together, to go to jail together, to stand up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day.
This will be the day when all of God's children will be able to sing with new meaning: My country, 'tis of thee, sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing. Land where my fathers died, land of the pilgrims' pride, from every mountainside, let freedom ring.
And if America is to be a great nation, this must become true. And so let freedom ring from the prodigious hilltops of New Hampshire. Let freedom ring from the mighty mountains of New York. Let freedom ring from the heightening Alleghenies of Pennsylvania. Let freedom ring from the snowcapped Rockies of Colorado. Let freedom ring from the curvaceous slopes of California. But not only that, let freedom ring from Stone Mountain of Georgia. Let freedom ring from Lookout Mountain of Tennessee. Let freedom ring from every hill and molehill of Mississippi. From every mountainside, let freedom ring.
And when this happens, and when we allow freedom ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God's children, Black … and white … , Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual: Free at last. Free at last. Thank God almighty, we are free at last.”
These words cannot be realized unless we all work for justice. This dream can never become a reality without each of us contributing our own particular gifts in the battle for justice to overcome the evil that divides us. Even though our brother Martin now sleeps, we are awake and alive to carry forth his dream of justice. Ken YehiRatzon Let it be so. Amen
For a list of music suggested to meditate on for this service click the link below:
"Many Gifts, One Spirit" Sunday, January 16, 2022 Epiphany II, MLK Day, 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.
The Lessons
CLICK HERE for Audio of Excerpt from "Letter from a Birmingham Jail"
The Wisdom of Martin Luther King, Jr.
I am in Birmingham because injustice is here. Just as the prophets of the eighth century B.C. left their villages and carried their "thus saith the Lord" far beyond the boundaries of their home towns, and just as the Apostle Paul left his village of Tarsus and carried the gospel of Jesus Christ to the far corners of the Greco Roman world, so am I compelled to carry the gospel of freedom beyond my own home town. Like Paul, I must constantly respond to the Macedonian call for aid.
Moreover, I am cognizant of the interrelatedness of all communities and states. I cannot sit idly by in Atlanta and not be concerned about what happens in Birmingham. Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly. Never again can we afford to live with the narrow, provincial "outside agitator" idea. Anyone who lives inside the United States can never be considered an outsider anywhere within its bounds.
CLICK HERE for Audio of Reading from 1 Corinthians 12
The Wisdom of the Apostle Paul (1 Corinthians 12.4-11)
There are different varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit. There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. There are different forms of activity, but the same God who produces all of them in everyone.
To each of us, the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. To one, is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom; and to another, the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit. Another by the same Spirit is granted faith, while still another is granted the gift of healing by the same Spirit.
To one, is granted the gift of mighty deeds; to another, the gift of prophecy; and to yet another, the gift to discern spirits. One receives the gift of tongues and another the ability to interpret them. One and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing them individually to each person as the Spirit wills.
Reflection by Rev. Dr. BK Hipsher
CLICK HERE for Audio of "One Spirit Many Gifts" 01162022
One Spirit, Many Gifts
“To each of us, the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good…”
This passage from 1 Corinthians is a beautiful expansion upon the guiding principles of the great faiths of every religion on the planet… Treat others the way you would like to be treated and love your neighbor as yourself. And the great directive of theJewish tradition is the mandate to “treat the stranger as though they are part of your own family because you were once a stranger and you know how that feels.”
Never have these ideals been more important than today. As we went to sleep last night praying for the safety of the hostages at Congregation Beth Israel in Coleyville, Texas we spend this day, tomorrow, and every day reflecting on the dream The Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. dreamed.
We all have a part to play in this great struggle between good and evil, between racism and equality, between division and unity. Each of us are filled with the same spark of divinity, the same spirit of love, that manifests in many different ways as Paul wrote to the Corinthians. We are each called to enact our part in the drama of life, working for justice, and living in love.
None of us can do it alone. We must all work together to bring Dr. King’s dream to a lived reality. Each of us has a gift to contribute. Each of us has our own individual part to play in manifesting justice love in this world. Just as evil can never triumph over good, darkness can never overcome light. And let us all embrace the scientific truth that light is made up of a spectrum of color that is both seen and unseen, color that gathered together illuminates the beauty of creation like the mountains bathed in sunshine and the darkness of the night banished by the light of the dawn.
In the United States, tomorrow is the day set aside to remember that dream, the dream of a young black preacher who stood up and spoke truth to power, a young person who did not capitulate to the powers that, to this day, hold a racist hierarchy in place in the US and in many other countries around the world. King dreamed of a day when there would be no “us and them” no group who would refer to their neighbors as “other.”
Today we remember that young black preacher who dreamed. His words are more eloquent than any I could offer here today. So let us hear the sacred words of that young preacher again…
“Let us not wallow in the valley of despair, I say to you today, my friends.
So even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream. I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all [people] are created equal.
I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia, the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood.
I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.
I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character. I have a dream today.
I have a dream that one day down in Alabama with its vicious racists, with its governor having his lips dripping with the words of interposition and nullification, one day right down in Alabama little Black boys and Black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers. I have a dream today.
I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight, and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together.
This is our hope. This is the faith that I go back to the South with. With this faith, we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope. With this faith we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood. With this faith we will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together, to go to jail together, to stand up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day.
This will be the day when all of God's children will be able to sing with new meaning: My country, 'tis of thee, sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing. Land where my fathers died, land of the pilgrims' pride, from every mountainside, let freedom ring.
And if America is to be a great nation, this must become true. And so let freedom ring from the prodigious hilltops of New Hampshire. Let freedom ring from the mighty mountains of New York. Let freedom ring from the heightening Alleghenies of Pennsylvania. Let freedom ring from the snowcapped Rockies of Colorado. Let freedom ring from the curvaceous slopes of California. But not only that, let freedom ring from Stone Mountain of Georgia. Let freedom ring from Lookout Mountain of Tennessee. Let freedom ring from every hill and molehill of Mississippi. From every mountainside, let freedom ring.
And when this happens, and when we allow freedom ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God's children, Black … and white … , Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual: Free at last. Free at last. Thank God almighty, we are free at last.”
These words cannot be realized unless we all work for justice. This dream can never become a reality without each of us contributing our own particular gifts in the battle for justice to overcome the evil that divides us. Even though our brother Martin now sleeps, we are awake and alive to carry forth his dream of justice. Ken Yehi Ratzon Let it be so. Amen
For a list of music suggested to meditate on for this service click the link below:
Download SCSL_20220116
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