In My Lifetime

"Resurrection Day" Sunday, April 17, 2022, Easter Sunday, 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

You have turned our mourning into dancing!

You have taken away our funeral clothes

and re-clothed us in joy,

so that our whole being—body, mind and soul—

might sing praise to you and not be silent.

Glory to the risen Christ! Hallelujah! Hallelujah!

The Lessons

Click Here for First Reading on Easter

A reading from the Fourth Gospel (John 20.1-16)

Early in the morning on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb and saw that the stone was moved away from the entrance. She ran at once to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one Jesus loved, gasping for breath. “They took the Master from the tomb. We don’t know where they’ve put him.”

Peter and the other disciple left immediately for the tomb. They ran, neck and neck. The other disciple got to the tomb first, outrunning Peter. Stooping to look in, he saw the pieces of linen cloth lying there, but he didn’t go in. Simon Peter arrived after him, entered the tomb, observed the linen cloths lying there, and the kerchief used to cover his head not lying with the linen cloths but separate, neatly folded by itself. Then the other disciple, the one who had gotten there first, went into the tomb, took one look at the evidence, and believed. No one yet knew from the Scripture that he had to rise from the dead. The disciples then went back home.

But Mary stood outside the tomb weeping. As she wept, she knelt to look into the tomb and saw two angels sitting there, dressed in white, one at the head, the other at the foot of where Jesus’ body had been laid. They said to her, “Woman, why do you weep?”

“They took my Master,” she said, “and I don’t know where they put him.” After she said this, she turned away and saw Jesus standing there. But she didn’t recognize him.

Jesus spoke to her, “Woman, why do you weep? Who are you looking for?”

She, thinking that he was the gardener, said, “Sir, if you took him, tell me where you put him so I can care for him.”

Jesus said, “Mary.”

Turning to face him, she said: “Rabboni! Teacher!”

Click Here for Final Reading Easter

The Wisdom of Rabbi Rami Shapiro

“I am not a Christian…but I am not willing to give up the resurrection so easily. I have been to the tomb of Joseph of Arimathea. I have seen where Jesus was laid, and where Mary Magdalene discovered him gone. I have stood in that tomb and felt its emptiness, and in that emptiness its power. I have spent moments alone in that place, and I have heard the cry, ‘He is risen!’ and I have understood it to mean that you and I can rise as well. I have felt the presence of the man, and have been touched by the power of the myth…

If this is…a story told that with each hearing we might move closer to Truth, then we have to ask not ‘what happened,’ but ‘what does the story mean?’

… Why do the women [of the story] see what the men cannot? Because the nature of the Divine as we experience it is essentially feminine. The embodied God is the Mother God; the universe is God’s body; matter is Mater/ Mother. The [story] is telling us that if you are to encounter Life you must open to your feminine consciousness, that aspect of yourself that resonates to the Whole, that deepest knowing that knows itself to be a part of and never apart from the reality of Life.

Why does Mary see Jesus as a
gardener? Because the gardener tills
the soil and removes the weeds. This is the task of humanity revealed in
Genesis. Jesus the Gardener reminds
us to break up the hard packed soil of
our lives, to let in the spirit that our body, like God’s body, the universe itself, might bring forth great beauty. But when he calls her name, when he enters into the intimacy of I and Thou, she knows him to be more that the Gardener, he is her teacher; the one who shows her how to care for her own garden…

We all seek meaning in the tomb of the dead. We all seek revelation, wisdom, and knowledge in the past. We are obsessed with the known, the conditioned, the fixed, and the frozen. But life lived in the moment is unknown, unconditioned, unfixed, and fluid. The living is not in the past or in the future, but only in the now. When Jesus calls Mary’s name he is calling her out of the tomb of the past and into the garden of the present.

Yet the present itself is quickly made past, if held on to. ‘Do not hold on to me,’ Jesus says to us. That would be another trap. It is not me…but what I teach that matters. This is why she calls him Rabbouni, rabbi, teacher, rather that Adonai, Lord. He does not asked to be worshipped, but heeded…

What does Jesus ask [us to] heed? Many things to be sure, but in the context of Easter one stands out: ‘Take up your cross and follow me!’ 

Why the cross? Because the way to realization requires the death of the ego, the mind obsessed with tombs, the mind that seeks the living among the dead. And follow him where? Not to Golgotha, but beyond it to the resurrection. Jesus is saying, take up the discipline of love and justice, let the ego that fears both be slain on the cross of service, and then body and soul will rise up, out of the tomb of the past into the eternally renewing present that is the Truth you seek…

Where you have taken refuge in despair, you need to hear Jesus call your name. Where your eyes are focused on the tomb, you need to hear Jesus call your name. Where you are trapped in the unfulfilled expectations of the past, you need to hear Jesus call your name.

And when you do you will know that Easter is not…a story of what was, but a revelation of what is, if you would only cease to seek the living among the dead.

Reflection by Rev. Dr. BK Hipsher

Click Here for Resurrection Day

After our reading from Rabbi Rami Shapiro I feel there is no need for another reflection. And yet it is Easter Sunday in the year 2022. Today we stand again in the tomb of despair, surrounded by grave clothes of 6 million who have died worldwide of Covid-19, surrounded by the grave clothes of the thousands who have already died and those who will perish today and tomorrow and the next day in Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, surrounded by those killed in war and violence all over the world. Today we stand in the dark, cool, damp tomb looking for answers.

Once again we are reminded that hope can manifest even in a tomb. When Mary went to where Jesus had been laid early on that first day of the week after he had been crucified, her anguish was multiplied by the fact that his body was no longer in the tomb. She ran to tell the others that the Romans had stolen his body so that it could not even be properly prepared in accordance with Jewish burial customs. You see Jesus was taken down from the cross just before the Sabbath began so the women could not perform their final mitzvah of washing and perfuming his body before he was laid in the tomb. And so the women came on the first morning after the Sabbath to finish the work they could not perform on Friday after sundown.

When the men came they surveyed the area, convinced that what Mary had told them was true and they left her there. But she stayed. She remained in her grief at the last place she knew his body had been laid. She wept. And in her teary eyes did not see that it was angels who asked her why she wept. But when Jesus called her name, she recognized him as her teacher, her rabbi.

Just as Rabbi Rami Shapiro described, I have been to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem. I have walked up the hill along the path that Jesus walked, dragging the cross as he climbed to Golgotha. I have seen the mockery that Christians have made of the holy place where he was crucified. I have seen the slab where his body supposedly was washed down before he was carried the short distance to the tomb given by Joseph of Arimathea for his body to be put at rest. I have stood in the very place where all of this is said to have taken place.

And yet at no time in my life have a felt the pain and sorry of Jesus death more acutely than this year. The convergence of Passover, Holy Week, and Ramadan has weighed heavily on my mind as the world seems to become more insane by the moment. It seems that despair upon despair has gripped this week. And yet, here we are again at Easter. And in the Northern Hemisphere the flowers and trees are blooming, the sun is shining and once again we hear the voice of our teacher calling our name, inviting us not to look to the future, not dwell on what has already passed away, but rather to live in the now, in this moment.

Jesus does not bid us carry the cross up the hill to Golgotha, rather Jesus bids us follow his example in this moment. Rabbi Shapiro says, “Where you have taken refuge in despair, you need to hear Jesus call your name. Where your eyes are focused on the tomb, you need to hear Jesus call your name. Where you are trapped in the unfulfilled expectations of the past, you need to hear Jesus call your name.

And when you do you will know that Easter is not…a story of what was, but a revelation of what is, if you would only cease to seek the living among the dead.”

If only we would cease to seek the living among the dead. THIS is where we find our hope, in helping the living, ministering to their needs, giving whatever aid and comfort we can to those who despair, to those how have no hope. We do not know what this year between Easter Sunday and Good Friday will bring. And thanks be to God we cannot know. Because the not knowing, the unknowing, is what forces us to live in the now. And this moment, now, is where hope is born.

Let us follow Jesus to a life of loving each other, helping our neighbor, treating the stranger as if they were members of our own family. We have heard Jesus call our name, we have seen the empty tomb, and now it is time to share the Good News that hope triumphs over despair and even death cannot separate us from the love that we share.

The world needs to hear the message of Easter this year more than ever. Death is not the end. The Ukrainian people are showing us the way. They know that whether they live or die what they fight for is their friends and neighbors. They know that capitulating to evil is not living. And they are showing the world the power of hope, the power of love, they are keeping resurrection alive for all of us in real time this year.

May they be victorious. May the souls of the departed rest in peace. May their memory be a blessing to the world. And may God give us the will and the courage to help them in this war with death. Because today we are reminded that love is more powerful than death. Christ is risen! Hallelujah! Hallelujah!

For a list of music suggested to meditate on for this service click the link below:

Download SL20220417

"Living in Abundance" Sunday,November 7 , 2021, 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

Click Here for Audio of the Opening Prayer

God is with us. Let us pray.

That we may be strengthened by divine grace for the tasks of this week.

That those who are in need will be helped and comforted.

That people of goodwill everywhere will seek peace and justice.

For these things we pray that the hearts of all humans may open. Amen.

The Lessons

Click Here for Audio of the first Reading    

A Reading from Scripture 1 Kings 17:8-16

The word of the Lord came to Elijah, saying, “Go now to Zarephath, which belongs to Sidon, and live there; for I have commanded a widow there to feed you.” So he set out and went to Zarephath. When he came to the gate of the town, a widow was there gathering sticks; he called to her and said, “Bring me a little water in a vessel, so that I may drink.” As she was going to bring it, he called to her and said, “Bring me a morsel of bread in your hand.”

But she said, “As the Lord your God lives, I have nothing baked, only a handful of meal in a jar, and a little oil in a jug; I am now gathering a couple of sticks, so that I may go home and prepare it for myself and my son, that we may eat it, and die.” Elijah said to her, “Do not be afraid; go and do as you have said; but first make me a little cake of it and bring it to me, and afterwards make something for yourself and your son. For thus says the Lord the God of Israel: The jar of meal will not be emptied and the jug of oil will not fail until the day that the Lord sends rain on the earth.”

She went and did as Elijah said, so that she as well as he and her household ate for many days. The jar of meal was not emptied, neither did the jug of oil fail, according to the word of the Lord that he spoke by Elijah.

Click Here for Audio of the Gospel Reading    

Words of Scripture from the Gospel according to Mark 12:38-44

As Jesus taught, he said,  “Beware of the scribes, who like to walk around in long robes, and to be greeted with respect in the marketplaces, and to have the best seats in the synagogues and places of honor at banquets! They devour widows’ houses and for the sake of appearance say long prayers. They will receive the greater condemnation.”

He sat down opposite the treasury, and watched the crowd putting money into the treasury. Many rich people put in large sums. A poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, which are worth a penny. Then he called his disciples and said to them, “Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put in more than all those who are contributing to the treasury. For all of them have contributed out of their abundance; but she out of her poverty has put in everything she had, all she had to live on.” 

Reflection by Rev. Dr. BK Hipsher

Click here for audio of  "Living in Abundance"    

As is the case with many readings from our sacred texts the lessons contained therein can be tricky to discern. For instance both of these texts are regularly used by shyster TV and internet preachers to get poor people to give their last dollar so that they can live in luxury flying around in private planes and eating fine food. So let’s understand that neither of these stories is about that kind of giving.

Let’s also understand that this is not a subtext for women financing the needs of men or women giving everything they have, even putting their child in peril of starvation, to meet the needs of a strange man that shows up at their door step. Now that we have those two things out of the way, now that we understand neither of these examples is what these stories are about, now we can move on to look at what these stories ARE about.

Let’s start with the reading from 1 Kings. Elijah is a magical figure in the Hebrew scriptures much as Jesus is in the Christian scriptures of what is called by some the “new” testament. Elijah shows up at the Passover Seder as a figure that “returns” to earth to herald a new age. Sound familiar? In fact, some people thought Jesus was Elijah returned. And Elijah even shows up in the Quran as a messenger or prophet of God.

So what is this story telling us? Clearly any story where Elijah appears is important. Well we could use the story of the blessing of the loaves and fishes or what is called the “Feeding of the Five Thousand” form then Christian testament. This story is related in all four gospels. Both of these stories tell of the miraculous extension of a limited amount of food to make an unlimited amount of meals. We know for sure in real life that this does not happen. So what gives here?

Let’s look at the second story in our gospel lesson that features Jesus watching people putting money into the treasury. But wait a minute… what did he say just BEFORE he sat down opposite the treasury to watch people putting in money. He says, “Beware of the scribes, who like to walk around in long robes, and to be greeted with respect in the marketplaces, and to have the best seats in the synagogues and places of honor at banquets! They devour widows’ houses and for the sake of appearance say long prayers. They will receive the greater condemnation.”

THEN he sits down to watch people putting money into the treasury. He knows that he will see the same scenario play out every time he sits down to observe this ritual. The rich will put in large sums of money. And the poorest, in an act of faith, will put in tiny amounts because they have so little. And so he uses this as a teaching tool for his disciples to help them understand that how the world judges money is not the true measure of the worth of an offering.

These two stories may or may not be about the faith of the women, we will leave that for another days’ discussions. But for sure both of these stories are about how we perceive whether we are living in want or living in abundance, whether we are living in scarcity or living in abundance, whether we are living in poverty or living in abundance. Now let me be clear, poverty means one thing when you have enough to eat and when you are hungry. But we are not talking here about our physical well-being, we are talking about our emotional and spiritual health.

For instance, I have had times in my life when I felt like I was the richest and most contented person on the planet with only a few dollars in my bank account. There have been other times when I was lonely and distraught about my life when I had all the money I needed and owed no one a penny. So clearly our outlook upon our circumstances need not be fixated on our bank balance or net worth. What IS important is how we perceive abundance.

Let me say here again… that it is very difficult to live in abundance when we are hungry. But there have been times when I turned down help out of false pride when I was sunk deep into a mindset of scarcity. When we live in an emotional and spiritual state of abundance we gladly accept the help we need because we know that there is enough for everyone. We know that it is not shameful to be in need, that what is shameful is to refuse help when we need it because pride clouds our minds with a mindset of poverty.

This principle also causes us to be greedy when we do have enough for ourselves. We neglect the poor in fear that we will give too much of what we have away and then not have enough ourselves. So living in a mindset of emotional and spiritual abundance is just as important when we have enough as when we are in need.

Here’s an example of what I mean, each month and year there is more than enough food grown in the world to feed everyone. But the rich buy more than they need and throw away tons of food because they have the resources to capture the food. It is incumbent upon those of us who have enough to share with those who do not have enough and that can ONLY happen when all of us live in the mindset that there is enough! Enough food, enough water, enough resources for everyone to have fresh water, food, shelter, and sanitary facilities.

When we all live in a mindset of scarcity then we tolerate people who find themselves experiencing homelessness and hunger. When did humanity stoop so low that we honestly allow ourselves to think that people living on the steps of churches covered in cardboard is acceptable? This is NOT acceptable. It is the job of government and religious and charitable organizations to join hands to ensure that every human’s basic needs are met.

What was identified in psychology as Maslow’s hierarchy of needs as the most basic needs of every human being are these: air, water, food, sex, sleep, clothing, shelter, healthcare, and personal, emotional, and financial security. The theory suggests that if every human being had these basic needs met then most of the ills of society simply would not exist. But we humans do not live in a mindset of abundance, we live in a mindset of scarcity. If I have enough I dare not share lest myself and my family go hungry or lose the little that we have.

As the holiday season approaches let us consider how we will give gifts this year. Consider how fortunate we are to have survived in this pandemic. Consider how blessed we are to live in the country where all we have to do is make an appointment to get vaccines we need to survive and thrive through flu season and the continuing pandemic. Let us all consider how we can share what we have with those who have less this holiday season.

Advent is just  a few weeks away now… let us give thanks for what we have been blessed with by practicing living in emotional and spiritual abundance knowing that what God wants for each of us is to be happy, joyous, and free. Amen.

For a list of music suggested to meditate on for this service click the link bel01:
Download SL20211107

 

 

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

Click Here for Audio of the Opening Prayer

God is with us. Let us pray.

That we may be strengthened by divine grace for the tasks of this week.

That those who are in need will be helped and comforted.

That people of goodwill everywhere will seek peace and justice.

For these things we pray that the hearts of all humans may open. Amen.

The Lessons

Click Here for Audio of the first Reading    

A Reading from Scripture 1 Kings 17:8-16

The word of the Lord came to Elijah, saying, “Go now to Zarephath, which belongs to Sidon, and live there; for I have commanded a widow there to feed you.” So he set out and went to Zarephath. When he came to the gate of the town, a widow was there gathering sticks; he called to her and said, “Bring me a little water in a vessel, so that I may drink.” As she was going to bring it, he called to her and said, “Bring me a morsel of bread in your hand.”

But she said, “As the Lord your God lives, I have nothing baked, only a handful of meal in a jar, and a little oil in a jug; I am now gathering a couple of sticks, so that I may go home and prepare it for myself and my son, that we may eat it, and die.” Elijah said to her, “Do not be afraid; go and do as you have said; but first make me a little cake of it and bring it to me, and afterwards make something for yourself and your son. For thus says the Lord the God of Israel: The jar of meal will not be emptied and the jug of oil will not fail until the day that the Lord sends rain on the earth.”

She went and did as Elijah said, so that she as well as he and her household ate for many days. The jar of meal was not emptied, neither did the jug of oil fail, according to the word of the Lord that he spoke by Elijah.

Click Here for Audio of the Gospel Reading    

Words of Scripture from the Gospel according to Mark 12:38-44

As Jesus taught, he said,  “Beware of the scribes, who like to walk around in long robes, and to be greeted with respect in the marketplaces, and to have the best seats in the synagogues and places of honor at banquets! They devour widows’ houses and for the sake of appearance say long prayers. They will receive the greater condemnation.”

He sat down opposite the treasury, and watched the crowd putting money into the treasury. Many rich people put in large sums. A poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, which are worth a penny. Then he called his disciples and said to them, “Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put in more than all those who are contributing to the treasury. For all of them have contributed out of their abundance; but she out of her poverty has put in everything she had, all she had to live on.” 

Reflection by Rev. Dr. BK Hipsher

Click here for audio of  "Living in Abundance"    

As is the case with many readings from our sacred texts the lessons contained therein can be tricky to discern. For instance both of these texts are regularly used by shyster TV and internet preachers to get poor people to give their last dollar so that they can live in luxury flying around in private planes and eating fine food. So let’s understand that neither of these stories is about that kind of giving.

Let’s also understand that this is not a subtext for women financing the needs of men or women giving everything they have, even putting their child in peril of starvation, to meet the needs of a strange man that shows up at their door step. Now that we have those two things out of the way, now that we understand neither of these examples is what these stories are about, now we can move on to look at what these stories ARE about.

Let’s start with the reading from 1 Kings. Elijah is a magical figure in the Hebrew scriptures much as Jesus is in the Christian scriptures of what is called by some the “new” testament. Elijah shows up at the Passover Seder as a figure that “returns” to earth to herald a new age. Sound familiar? In fact, some people thought Jesus was Elijah returned. And Elijah even shows up in the Quran as a messenger or prophet of God.

So what is this story telling us? Clearly any story where Elijah appears is important. Well we could use the story of the blessing of the loaves and fishes or what is called the “Feeding of the Five Thousand” form then Christian testament. This story is related in all four gospels. Both of these stories tell of the miraculous extension of a limited amount of food to make an unlimited amount of meals. We know for sure in real life that this does not happen. So what gives here?

Let’s look at the second story in our gospel lesson that features Jesus watching people putting money into the treasury. But wait a minute… what did he say just BEFORE he sat down opposite the treasury to watch people putting in money. He says, “Beware of the scribes, who like to walk around in long robes, and to be greeted with respect in the marketplaces, and to have the best seats in the synagogues and places of honor at banquets! They devour widows’ houses and for the sake of appearance say long prayers. They will receive the greater condemnation.”

THEN he sits down to watch people putting money into the treasury. He knows that he will see the same scenario play out every time he sits down to observe this ritual. The rich will put in large sums of money. And the poorest, in an act of faith, will put in tiny amounts because they have so little. And so he uses this as a teaching tool for his disciples to help them understand that how the world judges money is not the true measure of the worth of an offering.

These two stories may or may not be about the faith of the women, we will leave that for another days’ discussions. But for sure both of these stories are about how we perceive whether we are living in want or living in abundance, whether we are living in scarcity or living in abundance, whether we are living in poverty or living in abundance. Now let me be clear, poverty means one thing when you have enough to eat and when you are hungry. But we are not talking here about our physical well-being, we are talking about our emotional and spiritual health.

For instance, I have had times in my life when I felt like I was the richest and most contented person on the planet with only a few dollars in my bank account. There have been other times when I was lonely and distraught about my life when I had all the money I needed and owed no one a penny. So clearly our outlook upon our circumstances need not be fixated on our bank balance or net worth. What IS important is how we perceive abundance.

Let me say here again… that it is very difficult to live in abundance when we are hungry. But there have been times when I turned down help out of false pride when I was sunk deep into a mindset of scarcity. When we live in an emotional and spiritual state of abundance we gladly accept the help we need because we know that there is enough for everyone. We know that it is not shameful to be in need, that what is shameful is to refuse help when we need it because pride clouds our minds with a mindset of poverty.

This principle also causes us to be greedy when we do have enough for ourselves. We neglect the poor in fear that we will give too much of what we have away and then not have enough ourselves. So living in a mindset of emotional and spiritual abundance is just as important when we have enough as when we are in need.

Here’s an example of what I mean, each month and year there is more than enough food grown in the world to feed everyone. But the rich buy more than they need and throw away tons of food because they have the resources to capture the food. It is incumbent upon those of us who have enough to share with those who do not have enough and that can ONLY happen when all of us live in the mindset that there is enough! Enough food, enough water, enough resources for everyone to have fresh water, food, shelter, and sanitary facilities.

When we all live in a mindset of scarcity then we tolerate people who find themselves experiencing homelessness and hunger. When did humanity stoop so low that we honestly allow ourselves to think that people living on the steps of churches covered in cardboard is acceptable? This is NOT acceptable. It is the job of government and religious and charitable organizations to join hands to ensure that every human’s basic needs are met.

What was identified in psychology as Maslow’s hierarchy of needs as the most basic needs of every human being are these: air, water, food, sex, sleep, clothing, shelter, healthcare, and personal, emotional, and financial security. The theory suggests that if every human being had these basic needs met then most of the ills of society simply would not exist. But we humans do not live in a mindset of abundance, we live in a mindset of scarcity. If I have enough I dare not share lest myself and my family go hungry or lose the little that we have.

As the holiday season approaches let us consider how we will give gifts this year. Consider how fortunate we are to have survived in this pandemic. Consider how blessed we are to live in the country where all we have to do is make an appointment to get vaccines we need to survive and thrive through flu season and the continuing pandemic. Let us all consider how we can share what we have with those who have less this holiday season.

Advent is just  a few weeks away now… let us give thanks for what we have been blessed with by practicing living in emotional and spiritual abundance knowing that what God wants for each of us is to be happy, joyous, and free. Amen.

For a list of music suggested to meditate on for this service click the link bel01:
Download SL20211107

 

 

"Trick or Treat" Sunday, October 31, 2021, 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

Eternal Presence,

We face all that most concerns us:
our fears, the shadowed places of the mind; the coming of winter darkness;
the cold thin place between waking and sleep.

We call to mind the powerless, the lonely,
those who most fear the knock at the door;
all those deceived by the world’s empty promises; all those cowed by menaces or threats.

We stand with those weak in body, mind or spirit and those seduced by treats or hurt by tricks.

…[Y]our light shines into every darkness. You told us: pray ‘deliver us from evil’.
Your Spirit gives us hope, gives us courage, a candle in the window unhurt by the wind.

Amen

https://www.churchofengland.org/sites/default/files/2017-11/MTAG%20Reflective%20Prayer%20for%20All%20Hallows%20Eve%20to%20All%20Souls%20Day_0.pdf

The Lessons

Reading 10312021

The Wisdom of Ernest Holmes

“We believe in the individualization of the Spirit in us, and that all people are individualizations of the One Spirit.

We believe in the eternality, the immortality and the continuity of the individual soul, forever and ever expanding.

We believe that heaven is within us, and that we experience it to the degree that we become conscious of it…

We believe in the unity of all life, and that the highest God and the innermost God is one God. We believe that God is personal to all who feel this indwelling presence…

We believe in the eternal Goodness, the eternal Loving-kindness and the eternal Givingness of Life to All.

We believe…that the life of all is God.”

The Wisdom of Baha’i Scripture 

“Thou art My dominion and My dominion perisheth not…

Thou art My light and My light shall never be extinguished…

Thou art My glory and My glory fadeth not; 

thou art My robe and My robe shall never be outworn.”

Final Reading 10312021

The Prophet Isaiah (25.6-8)

On this mountain the LORD of hosts will make for all peoples a feast of rich food, a feast of well-aged wines, of rich food filled with marrow, of well-aged wines strained clear.
And God will…swallow up death forever.
Then the eternal GOD will wipe away the tears from all faces…

Wisdom from the Book of Revelation (21.3-5)

"See, the home of God is among mortals. God will dwell with them as their God; they will be God’s peoples, and God will truly be with them;

God will wipe every tear from their eyes. Death will be no more; mourning and crying and pain will be no more, for the first things have passed away."
And the one who was seated on the throne said, "See, I am making all things new." 

Reflection by Rev. Dr. BK Hipsher

Trick or Treat 10312021

Today we are caught between Holy Days in the church calendar, All Hallows Eve and All Saints / All Souls Day. October 31^st is celebrated as Halloween (or Hallowe'en), a word that is the shortened version of All Hallows Eve. November 1^st is celebrated as All Saints Day and November 2^nd, All Souls Day. These dates, when viewed in the church calendar, are focused on remembering those who have preceded us in death, celebrating their lives, remembering the contributions they made to our lives, and honoring their memories.

This holiday of remembering those we love who have died is central to many other cultural celebrations outside the context of the church as well. Día de los Muertos or Day of the Dead is celebrated in Mexico and by many whose roots come from Mexico. It occurs at this time of year from October 31 through November 2^nd as  joyous celebration of the ancestors marked with making altars with pictures of dead relatives and joyous remembering of times spent together with them. The animated movie Coco is a wonderful way to enjoy learning about this particular expression of the holiday.

The Day of the Dead celebrations go back 3000 years to the time of the Aztecs. In that ancient expression the remembrances were supposed to support the dead loved one in their multiple years travel through the levels of the afterlife to reach their final rest. In reality these remembrances served then as they do now to assist the living with their adjustment to life without their dead loved one. The construction of altars, called ofrendas, is a concrete action that serves to help the living remember, honor, and process the death of a loved one.

Yesterday I left my aunt’s home in Hartwell, Georgia on the South Carolina state line and drove south about an hour to Union Baptist Church just outside Laurens South Carolina. We placed flowers on the graves of my great grandparents on my maternal grandmother’s side and on the grave of her baby sister. We visited my grandmother and grandfather’s grave and the graves of my maternal grandfather’s parents. I am blessed to remember having two sets of great grandparents which is a blessing. We drove out to the old home places of these two sets of great grandparents and to my grandmother’s home. We drove around the town square of the town closest to where these homeplaces were located.

All day long I built my symbolic ofrenda as I pointed out these locations and recited memories of my dead relatives to my partner. It was not a sad time. It was a joyous time of memory and recitation of the impact these people had on my life. I like to think they know I still think of them and remember those happy days now so long ago. But whether they know or don’t know, it was healing for me to build my symbolic ofrenda and share the memories with my partner.

Today I ask you how will you build your symbolic ofrenda this week to remember those whom you love who have died? Maybe you can look at photos, or make favorite foods you have not enjoyed for years. Maybe you can tell your friends or spouses about those who are now dead who had an impact on your life. Building this altar of remembrance piece by piece helps us honor those who nurtured us to this point in life. Remembering helps us process the death of those we love and helps us learn to joyfully celebrate the gifts they shared with us.

Today during our prayers of the people I invite you to type the names of those who have had major positive impacts of your life, those who no longer walk the earth with us but whose memories remain with us each and every day. Death is as much a part of life as birth. And how we remember and honor those we love is what continues to nurture us long after they have left this mortal realm.

We remember those who have died today, an experience every human being will eventually share as they reach adulthood. So today I leave you with the commendation of the soul from the Burial Rite in the Episcopal Book of Common Prayer –

Give rest, O Christ, to your servant(s) with your saints,
where sorrow and pain are no more,
neither sighing, but life everlasting.

You only are immortal, the creator and maker of mankind; 
and we are mortal, formed of the earth, and to earth shall we 
return. For so did you ordain when you created me, saying, 
"You are dust, and to dust you shall return." All of us go down 
to the dust; yet even at the grave we make our song: Alleluia, 
alleluia, alleluia.

Give rest, O Christ, to your servant(s) with your saints,
where sorrow and pain are no more,
neither sighing, but life everlasting.

Into your hands, O merciful Savior, we commend your 
servants. Acknowledge, we humbly beseech you, a sheep of 
your own fold, a lamb of your own flock, a sinner of your 
own redeeming. Receive them into the arms of your mercy, 
into the blessed rest of everlasting peace, and into the 
glorious company of the saints in light. Amen.

For a list of music suggested to meditate on for this service click the link below.

Download SL20211031

 

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

Eternal Presence,

We face all that most concerns us:
our fears, the shadowed places of the mind; the coming of winter darkness;
the cold thin place between waking and sleep.

We call to mind the powerless, the lonely,
those who most fear the knock at the door;
all those deceived by the world’s empty promises; all those cowed by menaces or threats.

We stand with those weak in body, mind or spirit and those seduced by treats or hurt by tricks.

…[Y]our light shines into every darkness. You told us: pray ‘deliver us from evil’.
Your Spirit gives us hope, gives us courage, a candle in the window unhurt by the wind.

Amen

https://www.churchofengland.org/sites/default/files/2017-11/MTAG%20Reflective%20Prayer%20for%20All%20Hallows%20Eve%20to%20All%20Souls%20Day_0.pdf

The Lessons

Reading 10312021

The Wisdom of Ernest Holmes

“We believe in the individualization of the Spirit in us, and that all people are individualizations of the One Spirit.

We believe in the eternality, the immortality and the continuity of the individual soul, forever and ever expanding.

We believe that heaven is within us, and that we experience it to the degree that we become conscious of it…

We believe in the unity of all life, and that the highest God and the innermost God is one God. We believe that God is personal to all who feel this indwelling presence…

We believe in the eternal Goodness, the eternal Loving-kindness and the eternal Givingness of Life to All.

We believe…that the life of all is God.”

The Wisdom of Baha’i Scripture 

“Thou art My dominion and My dominion perisheth not…

Thou art My light and My light shall never be extinguished…

Thou art My glory and My glory fadeth not; 

thou art My robe and My robe shall never be outworn.”

Final Reading 10312021

The Prophet Isaiah (25.6-8)

On this mountain the LORD of hosts will make for all peoples a feast of rich food, a feast of well-aged wines, of rich food filled with marrow, of well-aged wines strained clear.
And God will…swallow up death forever.
Then the eternal GOD will wipe away the tears from all faces…

Wisdom from the Book of Revelation (21.3-5)

"See, the home of God is among mortals. God will dwell with them as their God; they will be God’s peoples, and God will truly be with them;

God will wipe every tear from their eyes. Death will be no more; mourning and crying and pain will be no more, for the first things have passed away."
And the one who was seated on the throne said, "See, I am making all things new." 

Reflection by Rev. Dr. BK Hipsher

Trick or Treat 10312021

Today we are caught between Holy Days in the church calendar, All Hallows Eve and All Saints / All Souls Day. October 31^st is celebrated as Halloween (or Hallowe'en), a word that is the shortened version of All Hallows Eve. November 1^st is celebrated as All Saints Day and November 2^nd, All Souls Day. These dates, when viewed in the church calendar, are focused on remembering those who have preceded us in death, celebrating their lives, remembering the contributions they made to our lives, and honoring their memories.

This holiday of remembering those we love who have died is central to many other cultural celebrations outside the context of the church as well. Día de los Muertos or Day of the Dead is celebrated in Mexico and by many whose roots come from Mexico. It occurs at this time of year from October 31 through November 2^nd as  joyous celebration of the ancestors marked with making altars with pictures of dead relatives and joyous remembering of times spent together with them. The animated movie Coco is a wonderful way to enjoy learning about this particular expression of the holiday.

The Day of the Dead celebrations go back 3000 years to the time of the Aztecs. In that ancient expression the remembrances were supposed to support the dead loved one in their multiple years travel through the levels of the afterlife to reach their final rest. In reality these remembrances served then as they do now to assist the living with their adjustment to life without their dead loved one. The construction of altars, called ofrendas, is a concrete action that serves to help the living remember, honor, and process the death of a loved one.

Yesterday I left my aunt’s home in Hartwell, Georgia on the South Carolina state line and drove south about an hour to Union Baptist Church just outside Laurens South Carolina. We placed flowers on the graves of my great grandparents on my maternal grandmother’s side and on the grave of her baby sister. We visited my grandmother and grandfather’s grave and the graves of my maternal grandfather’s parents. I am blessed to remember having two sets of great grandparents which is a blessing. We drove out to the old home places of these two sets of great grandparents and to my grandmother’s home. We drove around the town square of the town closest to where these homeplaces were located.

All day long I built my symbolic ofrenda as I pointed out these locations and recited memories of my dead relatives to my partner. It was not a sad time. It was a joyous time of memory and recitation of the impact these people had on my life. I like to think they know I still think of them and remember those happy days now so long ago. But whether they know or don’t know, it was healing for me to build my symbolic ofrenda and share the memories with my partner.

Today I ask you how will you build your symbolic ofrenda this week to remember those whom you love who have died? Maybe you can look at photos, or make favorite foods you have not enjoyed for years. Maybe you can tell your friends or spouses about those who are now dead who had an impact on your life. Building this altar of remembrance piece by piece helps us honor those who nurtured us to this point in life. Remembering helps us process the death of those we love and helps us learn to joyfully celebrate the gifts they shared with us.

Today during our prayers of the people I invite you to type the names of those who have had major positive impacts of your life, those who no longer walk the earth with us but whose memories remain with us each and every day. Death is as much a part of life as birth. And how we remember and honor those we love is what continues to nurture us long after they have left this mortal realm.

We remember those who have died today, an experience every human being will eventually share as they reach adulthood. So today I leave you with the commendation of the soul from the Burial Rite in the Episcopal Book of Common Prayer –

Give rest, O Christ, to your servant(s) with your saints,
where sorrow and pain are no more,
neither sighing, but life everlasting.

You only are immortal, the creator and maker of mankind; 
and we are mortal, formed of the earth, and to earth shall we 
return. For so did you ordain when you created me, saying, 
"You are dust, and to dust you shall return." All of us go down 
to the dust; yet even at the grave we make our song: Alleluia, 
alleluia, alleluia.

Give rest, O Christ, to your servant(s) with your saints,
where sorrow and pain are no more,
neither sighing, but life everlasting.

Into your hands, O merciful Savior, we commend your 
servants. Acknowledge, we humbly beseech you, a sheep of 
your own fold, a lamb of your own flock, a sinner of your 
own redeeming. Receive them into the arms of your mercy, 
into the blessed rest of everlasting peace, and into the 
glorious company of the saints in light. Amen.

For a list of music suggested to meditate on for this service click the link below.

Download SL20211031

 

"There is Greatness in Us" Sunday, October 24, 2021, 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

[Holy One of Blessing],

[We] pray for all the souls on this planet that feel like they are not accepted and loved by others. May they feel your love, comfort, and peace all around them. [We] pray for all the souls that feel like they are alone and they have nobody else in this world. 

May they feel your almighty and unconditional love. For all the people out there who struggle with self-acceptance, allow them to feel your loving presence, your comfort, and your peace. [In your many names we pray.] Amen. 

https://prayerist.com/prayer/acceptanceofothers

The Lessons

CLICK HERE for Audio of First Reading

Wisdom of a Scottish Proverb

Do not judge by appearances; a rich heart may be under a poor coat. 

CLICK HERE for Audio of Final Reading

A Reading from First Samuel (1 Samuel 16.1-13)

Finally God said to Samuel, “You have mourned long enough for Saul, for I have rejected him as king... Now take a vial of olive oil and go to Bethlehem and find a man named Jesse, for I have selected one of his sons to rule.”

But Samuel asked, “How can I do that? If Saul hears about it, he will kill me.”

“Take a heifer with you,” God answered, “and say that you have come to make a sacred sacrifice. Then call Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will show you which of his sons to anoint.”

So Samuel did as he was told. When he arrived at Bethlehem, the elders of the city came trembling to meet him.

“What is wrong?” they asked. “Why have you come?”

Samuel replied, “All is well. I have come to sacrifice to our God. Purify yourselves and come with me to the sacrifice.”

And he performed the purification rite on Jesse and his sons, and invited them too.  

When they arrived, Samuel took one look at Eliab and thought, “Surely this is the chosen one!”

But God said to Samuel, “Don’t judge someone by their looks, for this is not the one. I don’t make decisions the way you do! People judge by outward appearance, but I look at a person’s heart and intentions.”

Then Jesse told his son Abinadab to step forward and walk in front of Samuel. But God said, “This is not the one either.”

Next Jesse summoned Shammah, but God said, “No, not this one.” 

In the same way all seven of his sons presented themselves to Samuel and were rejected.

“God has not chosen any of them,” Samuel told Jesse. “Are these all there are?”

“Well, there is the youngest,” Jesse replied. “But he’s out in the fields watching the sheep.”

“Send for him at once,” Samuel said, “for we will not sit down to eat until he arrives.”

So Jesse sent for him. He was a fine looking boy, ruddy-faced, and with pleasant eyes. And God said, “This is the one; anoint him.”

So as David stood there among his brothers, Samuel took the olive oil he had brought and poured it upon David’s head; and the Spirit of God came upon him and gave him great power from that day onward.

Reflection by Rev. Dr. BK Hipsher

CLICK HERE for Audio of "There is Greatness Inside Us"

Our story today from 1 Samuel is a pivotal story in our sacred texts. We enter the house of Jesse with Samuel sent to them to anoint the new king. Jesse presents his grown sons to Samuel but neither of them are the one that God has chosen to be anointed. And so Samuel, confused that none of these strapping young men is to be the anointed one asks, “Are these all there are?” David is just a lad in the fields watching the sheep. And when he is sent for and arrives, Samuel is confident that God wants him to anoint David.

Now perhaps the most important part of this story is Samuel’s reaction when he is presented the first son, Eliab. Samuel says to himself, “Surely this is the chosen one!”I imagine Eliab to be a strong, good looking young man with a confident regal air about him. Samuel sizes up Eliab and based on his outward appearance he assumes this is the one God has chosen, the first, probably the oldest, Jesse’s favorite perhaps.

The text of our reading says, “But God said to Samuel, ‘Don’t judge someone by their looks, for this is not the one. I don’t make decisions the way you do! People judge by outward appearance, but I look at a person’s heart and intentions.’” In other words, don’t judge a book by its cover. We must look inside a book to know what it is all about. And we must learn something about a person, we must try to know what is in their heart, before we can begin to make judgements about their worth and worthiness.

Now let’s get real, we size people up all the time. We do this first and foremost to determine if we are be in danger. This is an evolutionary process that is baked into us but we take an instinct that without informed exercise, can become bigotry, racism, and hate. If I’m walking to my car in a parking lot at night with no one else around and a man walks toward me, am I going to remind myself that I should not judge people on their outsides? Not likely. I’m going to yell, “Do not come any closer to me!” and if he persists in walking toward me, if I feel threatened I’m going to set off my car alarm and start trying to figure out how I can escape! Now this is an extreme example but this has happened to me and I very much doubt if I would or even could do anything different presented with the same circumstance again.

There are hundreds of circumstances that I can make a different decision every single day. When someone cuts me off in traffic or is driving the speed limit (heaven forbid) in the left lane on a highway I often jump to conclusions about who they are and why they are doing what they are doing. When I see a person who is dirty begging for money, my heart aches that I can’t “fix” their lives and still I wonder in my heart why they do not have a job when there are so many companies looking for workers. It’s only the NEXT thought that reminds me no one is going to hire someone who has no place to shower and make themselves presentable, someone who has no place to sleep but on the ground, someone who has no address, no documents to prove who they are.

Change in any society starts at the personal level. I may think that working on my own assumptions and attitudes cannot possibly have an effect on society. But that is not true. I have a sphere of influence. When I work on my on interior process, when my attitudes begin to change, when I keep trying to see the divinity in each and every human being, that will naturally flow out of me and influence those around me.

The other side of the coin is also important. I think Oprah Winfrey quoting Maya Angelou said it best, “When people show you who they are, believe them the first time. ~Maya Angelou
Remember this because it will happen many times in your life. When people show you who they are the first time believe them. Not the 29th. time. When a man doesn't call you back the first time, when you are mistreated the first time, when someone shows you lack of integrity or dishonesty the first time, know that this will be followed many, many other times, that will some point in life come back to haunt or hurt you. Live your life in truth. Don't pretend to be someone you're not. You will survive anything if you live your life from the point of view of truth.”

So the lesson embedded in our lesson today is to refrain from making assumptions based on someone’s outer appearance and instead try to discern what is in a person’s heart. Remember that Samuel anointed David based on God choosing David because God knew his heart. But David disappointed God, himself, and his people many times. He sent a friend into battle to be killed so that he could have his wife, he failed and failed and failed, but David continued to try to be a better man, a better king, a better follower of God.

This business of discerning is not easy. But it is necessary if we are to grow spiritually and avoid the trap of bigotry, racism, and hate. Today we try again. Tomorrow we try again. We continue to open our minds to the teaching of the spirit of holiness. Micah 6:8 is our guide, “… And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.” Amen.

For a list of music suggested to meditate on for this service click the link below.

Download SL20211024

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

[Holy One of Blessing],

[We] pray for all the souls on this planet that feel like they are not accepted and loved by others. May they feel your love, comfort, and peace all around them. [We] pray for all the souls that feel like they are alone and they have nobody else in this world. 

May they feel your almighty and unconditional love. For all the people out there who struggle with self-acceptance, allow them to feel your loving presence, your comfort, and your peace. [In your many names we pray.] Amen. 

https://prayerist.com/prayer/acceptanceofothers

The Lessons

CLICK HERE for Audio of First Reading

Wisdom of a Scottish Proverb

Do not judge by appearances; a rich heart may be under a poor coat. 

CLICK HERE for Audio of Final Reading

A Reading from First Samuel (1 Samuel 16.1-13)

Finally God said to Samuel, “You have mourned long enough for Saul, for I have rejected him as king... Now take a vial of olive oil and go to Bethlehem and find a man named Jesse, for I have selected one of his sons to rule.”

But Samuel asked, “How can I do that? If Saul hears about it, he will kill me.”

“Take a heifer with you,” God answered, “and say that you have come to make a sacred sacrifice. Then call Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will show you which of his sons to anoint.”

So Samuel did as he was told. When he arrived at Bethlehem, the elders of the city came trembling to meet him.

“What is wrong?” they asked. “Why have you come?”

Samuel replied, “All is well. I have come to sacrifice to our God. Purify yourselves and come with me to the sacrifice.”

And he performed the purification rite on Jesse and his sons, and invited them too.  

When they arrived, Samuel took one look at Eliab and thought, “Surely this is the chosen one!”

But God said to Samuel, “Don’t judge someone by their looks, for this is not the one. I don’t make decisions the way you do! People judge by outward appearance, but I look at a person’s heart and intentions.”

Then Jesse told his son Abinadab to step forward and walk in front of Samuel. But God said, “This is not the one either.”

Next Jesse summoned Shammah, but God said, “No, not this one.” 

In the same way all seven of his sons presented themselves to Samuel and were rejected.

“God has not chosen any of them,” Samuel told Jesse. “Are these all there are?”

“Well, there is the youngest,” Jesse replied. “But he’s out in the fields watching the sheep.”

“Send for him at once,” Samuel said, “for we will not sit down to eat until he arrives.”

So Jesse sent for him. He was a fine looking boy, ruddy-faced, and with pleasant eyes. And God said, “This is the one; anoint him.”

So as David stood there among his brothers, Samuel took the olive oil he had brought and poured it upon David’s head; and the Spirit of God came upon him and gave him great power from that day onward.

Reflection by Rev. Dr. BK Hipsher

CLICK HERE for Audio of "There is Greatness Inside Us"

Our story today from 1 Samuel is a pivotal story in our sacred texts. We enter the house of Jesse with Samuel sent to them to anoint the new king. Jesse presents his grown sons to Samuel but neither of them are the one that God has chosen to be anointed. And so Samuel, confused that none of these strapping young men is to be the anointed one asks, “Are these all there are?” David is just a lad in the fields watching the sheep. And when he is sent for and arrives, Samuel is confident that God wants him to anoint David.

Now perhaps the most important part of this story is Samuel’s reaction when he is presented the first son, Eliab. Samuel says to himself, “Surely this is the chosen one!”I imagine Eliab to be a strong, good looking young man with a confident regal air about him. Samuel sizes up Eliab and based on his outward appearance he assumes this is the one God has chosen, the first, probably the oldest, Jesse’s favorite perhaps.

The text of our reading says, “But God said to Samuel, ‘Don’t judge someone by their looks, for this is not the one. I don’t make decisions the way you do! People judge by outward appearance, but I look at a person’s heart and intentions.’” In other words, don’t judge a book by its cover. We must look inside a book to know what it is all about. And we must learn something about a person, we must try to know what is in their heart, before we can begin to make judgements about their worth and worthiness.

Now let’s get real, we size people up all the time. We do this first and foremost to determine if we are be in danger. This is an evolutionary process that is baked into us but we take an instinct that without informed exercise, can become bigotry, racism, and hate. If I’m walking to my car in a parking lot at night with no one else around and a man walks toward me, am I going to remind myself that I should not judge people on their outsides? Not likely. I’m going to yell, “Do not come any closer to me!” and if he persists in walking toward me, if I feel threatened I’m going to set off my car alarm and start trying to figure out how I can escape! Now this is an extreme example but this has happened to me and I very much doubt if I would or even could do anything different presented with the same circumstance again.

There are hundreds of circumstances that I can make a different decision every single day. When someone cuts me off in traffic or is driving the speed limit (heaven forbid) in the left lane on a highway I often jump to conclusions about who they are and why they are doing what they are doing. When I see a person who is dirty begging for money, my heart aches that I can’t “fix” their lives and still I wonder in my heart why they do not have a job when there are so many companies looking for workers. It’s only the NEXT thought that reminds me no one is going to hire someone who has no place to shower and make themselves presentable, someone who has no place to sleep but on the ground, someone who has no address, no documents to prove who they are.

Change in any society starts at the personal level. I may think that working on my own assumptions and attitudes cannot possibly have an effect on society. But that is not true. I have a sphere of influence. When I work on my on interior process, when my attitudes begin to change, when I keep trying to see the divinity in each and every human being, that will naturally flow out of me and influence those around me.

The other side of the coin is also important. I think Oprah Winfrey quoting Maya Angelou said it best, “When people show you who they are, believe them the first time. ~Maya Angelou
Remember this because it will happen many times in your life. When people show you who they are the first time believe them. Not the 29th. time. When a man doesn't call you back the first time, when you are mistreated the first time, when someone shows you lack of integrity or dishonesty the first time, know that this will be followed many, many other times, that will some point in life come back to haunt or hurt you. Live your life in truth. Don't pretend to be someone you're not. You will survive anything if you live your life from the point of view of truth.”

So the lesson embedded in our lesson today is to refrain from making assumptions based on someone’s outer appearance and instead try to discern what is in a person’s heart. Remember that Samuel anointed David based on God choosing David because God knew his heart. But David disappointed God, himself, and his people many times. He sent a friend into battle to be killed so that he could have his wife, he failed and failed and failed, but David continued to try to be a better man, a better king, a better follower of God.

This business of discerning is not easy. But it is necessary if we are to grow spiritually and avoid the trap of bigotry, racism, and hate. Today we try again. Tomorrow we try again. We continue to open our minds to the teaching of the spirit of holiness. Micah 6:8 is our guide, “… And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.” Amen.

For a list of music suggested to meditate on for this service click the link below.

Download SL20211024

"The Journey Continues" Sunday, October 10, 2021, 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

We give thanks today for fifty years of ministry at Sunshine Cathedral. We remember the many faithful members, staff, and clergy who have poured their love of God into service to support the ministries of Sunshine Cathedral. Today we bless them, we give thanks for them, and we pray for those who continue to keep this church  that is embarking upon its second half century vital,  traveling the road to liberty for those who are oppressed. May we share God’s love in the world. Amen.

Lessons

Click Here for Audio of Archbishop Tutu Reading

The Wisdom of Archbishop Desmond Tutu

Liberation is costly. Even after the Lord had delivered the Israelites from Egypt, they had to travel through the desert. They had to bear the responsibilities and difficulties of freedom. There was starvation and thirst and they kept complaining. They complained that their diet was monotonous. Many of them preferred the days of bondage and the fleshpots of Egypt.

We must remember that liberation is costly. It needs unity. We must hold hands and refuse to be divided. We must be ready. Some of us will not see the day of our liberation physically. But those people will have contributed to the struggle. Let us be united, let us be filled with hope, let us be those who respect one another.

Click Here for Audio of Exodus Reading

Wisdom of the Torah (Exodus 16.2-10, 13-18)

The whole community of Israelites began complaining to Moses and Aaron in the desert. They said, “It would have been better if we had died in  Egypt. At least there we had plenty to eat. We had all the food we needed. But now you have brought us out here into this desert to make us all die from hunger.”

Then God said to Moses, “I will cause food to fall from the sky. This food will be for you to eat. Every day the people should go out and gather the food they need that day… So Moses and Aaron said to the Israelites, “Tonight you will see divine power…

You have been complaining… So tomorrow morning you will see the Glory of God… Then Moses said, “In the evening Providence will provide meat to eat, and in the morning you will have bread. God will do this in response to your complaining…which was against God, not us. What can we do? So your complaints are really against God.”

Then Moses said to Aaron, “Tell the whole community to come together before the Lord...” So Aaron spoke…and while he was talking, the people turned and looked into the desert. And they saw the God’s Glory appear in a cloud.

That evening, flocks of quail came and filled the camp, and in the morning dew lay on the ground all around it. After the dew was gone, something like thin flakes of frost was on the ground. When the Israelites saw it, they asked each other, “What is that?” because they did not know what it was. So Moses told them, “This is the food Heaven is giving you to eat.  Each of you should gather what you need…

So that is what they did. Some people gathered a large amount, some people gathered a little. But when they measured what they had gathered, there was no shortage and there was none left over. Everyone gathered just what they needed.

Reflection by Rev. Dr. BK Hipsher

The Journey Continues Click Here for Audio

In the month of October we celebrate 50 years of ministry at our mother church, Sunshine Cathedral in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. As we look back from where we have come, we also turn our view to what comes next. It’s the way we humans are built it seems. At the end of each day we look back at the day past and also forward to the journey of the day ahead.

On this autumn day in 2021 we also celebrate the fact that we have managed to survive a worldwide pandemic. And although there are still places where CoVid rages even the most conservative medical advisors agree that because vaccine rates are rising, we can now begin to imagine what life will be like for us when we can gather and travel and enjoy liberation from the lockdowns, and social distancing, and mask wearing that has limited our ability to interact with others.

This has been a long journey. This journey has been hard on all of us. Most of all it has been a nightmare for those 700,000 American families, and the 4.8 million families worldwide who have lost loved ones. There have been multiple times over the past 18 months when we have felt angry and hopeless. We have felt alone and lonely to point of despair.

In our reading from the Torah today in Exodus we find the Israelites who had been freed from bondage in Egypt driven to the point of despair when they find themselves in the middle of the journey between slavery and freedom. They are living in the “in between time,” not yet there but oh so tired of the journey. They were hungry and tired and in need of a sign to give them encouragement.

As our senior pastor Rev Dr Durrell Watkins said in his sermon this morning, Moses could have said to them, “Get over it! We’re just not there yet. Get a grip!” But he did not do that. He could have said, “YES! Freedom requires a lot of us and liberty is not without cost.” He could have berated them for not trusting God. But he did not do that. He called them ALL together, the ones who complained and the ones who were undoubtedly trying to encourage their fellow travelers. He could have blamed the ones who refused to accept their circumstances and simply complained about the leadership rather than understanding that the journey from bondage to freedom is not accomplished in a day or a week or a month or a year.

But Moses did not do that. Instead he heard the cries of the people and Moses called the people together and encouraged them. Moses gave them vision of the future where they would not have to fear for their lives. He did not blame some and encourage others. He called them together in unity and encouraged all of them.

This is where we find ourselves today. We have been enslaved to a virus that moves between us in the air we breathe. We have been scarred emotionally by the reality that any person we meet in any context can breathe out a virus that can kill us. We have been confused by the messaging of our leaders. We have blamed each other for not taking this seriously. And some of us have already died on the journey. Others of us will not make it to the promised land of having CoVid 19 under control.

But make no mistake miracles are happening around us. Just as the food fell from the sky to feed the Israelites in the desert, 30 years of vaccine research allowed people all around the world to create and manufacture a vaccine in less than a year. And just as manna fell from heaven each day, the numbers of vaccinated people around the world increases day by day by day. But… the journey continues.

We are all coming to terms with the reality that there is no one to blame for what we’ve been through. There’s no good reason to keep blaming people who have been brainwashed by propaganda and misinformation for the prolonged nightmare of CoVid 19 infections. We just have to come to terms with the fact that we are still on the journey for now and for better or worse we are all in this together.

Now some of us will continue to complain and some of us will be able to encourage others. For my part I’m ready to lay down the blame game and embrace the reality that we are all in this together. I think the words of Bishop Desmond Tutu are just the balm our souls need today. So let me quote him here again as we go out to continue our journey back to health as a world community. He said,

“We must remember that liberation is costly. It needs unity. We must hold hands and refuse to be divided. We must be ready. Some of us will not see the day of our liberation physically. But those people will have contributed to the struggle. Let us be united, let us be filled with hope, let us be those who respect one another.”

This is my prayer today as we set out on another day, another week, another month, another year of our journey as a human race. Let us work for unity. Let us be the prophets of unity. Let us love one another and hold the hand of our neighbor as we trudge the road toward liberty. Amen.

For a list of music suggested to meditate on for this service click the link below.

Download SL20211010

"Still Shining" Sunday, October 3, 2021, 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

God is with us. Let us pray.

That we may be strengthened by divine grace for the tasks of this week.

That those who are in need will be helped and comforted.

That people of goodwill everywhere will seek peace and justice.

For these things we pray that the hearts of all humans may open.

Amen

Lessons

First Reading Click Here

The Wisdom of Kenneth L. Patton

Let us worship with our eyes and ears and fingertips; let us love the world through heart and mind and body. 

We feed our eyes upon the mystery and revelation in the faces of our brothers and sisters.

We seek to know the wistfulness of the very young and the very old, the wistfulness of people in all times of life. 

We seek to understand the shyness behind arrogance, the fear behind pride, the tenderness behind clumsy strength, the anguish behind cruelty.

All life flows into a great common life, if we will only open our eyes to our companions.

Let us worship, not in bowing down, not with closed eyes and stopped ears.

Let us worship with the opening of all the windows of our beings, with the full outstretching of our spirits.

Life comes with singing and laughing, with tears and confiding, with a rising wave too great to be held in the mind and heart and body, to those who have fallen in love with life.

Let us worship, and let us learn to love.

Final Reading Click Here

Words of Scripture (Matthew 16.18, Psalm 79, Galatians 6.9)  Jesus said, “I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it.” The Psalmist wrote, “We your people, the sheep of your pasture, will give thanks to you forever; from generation to generation we will recount your praise.” And St. Paul encouraged, “Let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.” 

Reflection by Rev. Dr. BK Hipsher

Still Shining! 10032021

Today we celebrate the goodness that is placed in every human heart. We spend enough time recounting the ills of the world. Today we come together to see a better future, to celebrate divine spark that is placed in every human heart, to look to the future in the light of God’s love that shines forth from us if we simply focus on God’s love for us.

We live in a remarkable time in history, a time when technology has outpaced our ability to put it to use. We live in a time of global communication and unprecedented ability to move people and resources from one place on the earth to another. We live in a time when what might have been the most devastating plague in the history of humanity has an end because a vaccine that might have taken a decade to make was produced in a one year span using technology that has been developed over thirty year’s time.

We live in a time when communication can speed around the world in an instant. The internet makes it possible for me to have meetings on a regular basis attended by me in the US, by my colleagues in UK and Germany, and discuss business with others in India, or Japan, or China, or Australia all at the same time. Our only issue is trying to find a time when someone is not attending the meeting in the middle of the night!

We live in a world that could only have been imagined just 50 years ago. Virtually every part of our daily life, if described 50 years ago, would have sounded like science fiction. Electric cars, space tourism, plant based burgers that taste like beef, wind farms and solar arrays that look like the landing base for a spaceship. ALL of these things are real and all of them benefit humanity.

Yes we have more work to do to reverse global warming, to demand that all people have access to food, clean water, shelter, and medicine including life saving vaccines. But we now have the ability to organize and make social movements happen more quickly. All it takes is our willingness to act, our willingness to call out to the divine nature that lives in every human heart. All it takes is for us to focus the light that emanates from a heart that is filled with love and compassion.

So what holds us back? What makes people greedy and self-centered? Why does it seem that bigotry and hatred seem to win the day? It’s all caused by one simple little word…. Fear. People who act in hateful ways are afraid that they will lose what little they have. They are afraid that if they share their bread they won’t have enough for themselves and their children. They’re afraid they’re not enough. They’re afraid that God does not love them. That is what is at the bottom of it all.

This week I read something completely magical on my friend Rev Dr Jim Merritt’s Facebook page. It’s a modern day midrash on the story of the woman who touched the hem of Jesus’ robe and was healed of her illness. It is attributed to Jay Hulme, a British trans poet-mystic-preacher-human. It’s called,

“Jesus at the Gay Bar

He’s here in the midst of it –

right at the centre of the dance floor,

robes hitched up to His knees

to make it easy to spin.

At some point in the evening

a boy will touch the hem of His robe

and beg to be healed, beg to be

anything other than this;

and He will reach His arms out,

sweat-damp, and weary from dance.

He’ll cup this boy’s face in His hand

and say,

my beautiful child,

there is nothing in this heart of yours

   that ever needs to be healed.”

This is the truth. We are made in the image of love, made to love, made for love, made from love. It is only fear that can separate us from love. And so today we renew our commitment again to love. We commit ourselves to compassion. We pray for God to open our hearts so that the light placed there by God herself can shine forth to a weary world cloaked in the darkness of fear.

We pray for our own light to shine so that others may find their way to love. Amen.

For a list of music suggested to meditate on for this service click the link below.

Download SL20211003

"So Unto Others ..." Sunday, September 16, 2021, 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

This is the day our God has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it!

Opening Prayer

OpeningPrayer 20210926

Eternal One, remind us that whatever we do to others we do to ourselves. When we are judgmental and angry with another we damage our very souls. Teach us your way of love and keep our minds firmly fixed on sharing your love.

We ask this in your many names. Amen.

Lessons

Readings 20210926

The Wisdom of the Dalai Lama

“Our prime purpose in this life is to help others. And if you can't help them, at least don't hurt them.”

The wisdom of Brene Brown

“We are biologically, cognitively, physically, and spiritually wired to love, to be loved, and to belong. When those needs are not met, we don't function as we were meant to. We break. We fall apart. We numb. We ache. We hurt others.”

Gospel 20210926

A Reading from the Gospel According to Matthew in Chapter 7

Ask, Seek, Knock

7 “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. 8 For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.

9 “Which of you, if your son asks for bread, will give him a stone? 10 Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? 11 If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Parent in heaven give good gifts to those who ask! 

12So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.

Reflection by Rev. Dr. BK Hipsher

Do Unto Others 20210926

The great scholar Karen Armstrong is a (s)hero of mine. She has written on the great religions of the world in a way that is easy to read and understand by everyone. Simply reading her books is the equivalent of a graduate seminar in studying world religions. I was privileged to meet her and be her driver for a visit she made to Cambridge years ago and she is as  lovely a person as she is brilliant as a scholar and teacher. But all of her work can be distilled into one simple quote, “Compassion… asks us to look into our own hearts, discover what gives us pain, and then refuse, under any circumstance whatsoever, to inflict that pain on anybody else.”

Karen Armstrong contends that compassion is THE central tenet in ALL the world’s religions. So that the basis of all religion is what Christians refer to as the Golden Rule, “Do unto others as you would have them do to you.” And in the Jewish tradition it is often expressed as Rabbi Hillel said, "That which is hateful to you, do not do to your fellow. That is the whole Torah; the rest is the explanation; go and learn."

The Torah documents this principle in many instances: 

“You shall not wrong a stranger or oppress him, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt”(Ex.22:20).

“You shall not oppress a stranger, for you know the soul of the stranger, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt” (Ex.23:9).

“The stranger who resides with you shall be to you as one of your citizens; you shall love him as yourself, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt” (Lev.19:34).

“You too must befriend the stranger, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt” (Deut.10:19)

“You shall not hate an Egyptian, for you were stranger in his land” (Deut.23:8).

“Always remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt; therefore do I enjoin you to observe this commandment” (Deut. 24:22)

This week we saw one of the most heartbreaking examples of treating the stranger in the most egregious way any of us could imagine – chased, intimidated, even whipped with a leather strap by men on horseback for the crime of coming to the United States asking for asylum. Now please do not misunderstand me. I am not saying that immigration and economic migration is an easy issue to deal with or that the challenges are easy to solve. But the images of men on horses nearly trampling human beings is burned into my mind in a way I hope I never, ever forget.

Today I want to consider a completely selfish reason to treat others as we would like to be treated. The selfish reason to treat others as we would like to be treated is that when we violate this principle we do violence to others but I believe that we do equal or greater violence to OURSELVES. When I lose my temper and act like a jerk what that stupidity does to me is extreme, it is awful. What this violation of the Golden and Silver rule does is reminds me that I am capable of going against my own divine human nature.

Perhaps the worst violence the Christian tradition does to those of us who adhere to its better principles is the idea that human beings are born in sin. This is one of the greatest heresies of Christianity that has been codified as God’s truth for too long. The only thing anyone need do to prove to themselves how in error this doctrine is, is just to look at a newborn baby. There is no possible way any thinking and feeling human being can say that this tiny, helpless child is evil.

And our reading today from the wisdom of Brene Brown speaks of the truth of our own divinity and what causes us to stray from our best selves. She says, “We are biologically, cognitively, physically, and spiritually wired to love, to be loved, and to belong. When those needs are not met, we don't function as we were meant to. We break. We fall apart. We numb. We ache. We hurt others.”

So there’s the bottom line.... Do you want the world to be a kinder place? Be kind to those you meet. You want people to love each other? Love those who are acting in less than loving ways in your life. When you see someone in need ask them what you can do to meet their needs? Understand that when someone acts awful in your presence, that you need to say a prayer for them rather than reacting because there are needs in their lives that are not being met and that is causing them to act in unloving ways. Pray for them rather than reacting.

Let’s try it this week, just for one week. Let’s try to treat others the way we want to be treated and let’s do our best not to treat others in ways we would not want to be treated. Amen.

For a list of music suggested to meditate on for this service click the link below.

Download SL20210926

 

"So Unto Others ..." Sunday, September 16, 2021, 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

This is the day our God has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it!

Opening Prayer

OpeningPrayer 20210926

Eternal One, remind us that whatever we do to others we do to ourselves. When we are judgmental and angry with another we damage our very souls. Teach us your way of love and keep our minds firmly fixed on sharing your love.

We ask this in your many names. Amen.

Lessons

Readings 20210926

The Wisdom of the Dalai Lama

“Our prime purpose in this life is to help others. And if you can't help them, at least don't hurt them.”

The wisdom of Brene Brown

“We are biologically, cognitively, physically, and spiritually wired to love, to be loved, and to belong. When those needs are not met, we don't function as we were meant to. We break. We fall apart. We numb. We ache. We hurt others.”

Gospel 20210926

A Reading from the Gospel According to Matthew in Chapter 7

Ask, Seek, Knock

7 “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. 8 For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.

9 “Which of you, if your son asks for bread, will give him a stone? 10 Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? 11 If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Parent in heaven give good gifts to those who ask! 

12So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.

Reflection by Rev. Dr. BK Hipsher

Do Unto Others 20210926

The great scholar Karen Armstrong is a (s)hero of mine. She has written on the great religions of the world in a way that is easy to read and understand by everyone. Simply reading her books is the equivalent of a graduate seminar in studying world religions. I was privileged to meet her and be her driver for a visit she made to Cambridge years ago and she is as  lovely a person as she is brilliant as a scholar and teacher. But all of her work can be distilled into one simple quote, “Compassion… asks us to look into our own hearts, discover what gives us pain, and then refuse, under any circumstance whatsoever, to inflict that pain on anybody else.”

Karen Armstrong contends that compassion is THE central tenet in ALL the world’s religions. So that the basis of all religion is what Christians refer to as the Golden Rule, “Do unto others as you would have them do to you.” And in the Jewish tradition it is often expressed as Rabbi Hillel said, "That which is hateful to you, do not do to your fellow. That is the whole Torah; the rest is the explanation; go and learn."

The Torah documents this principle in many instances: 

“You shall not wrong a stranger or oppress him, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt”(Ex.22:20).

“You shall not oppress a stranger, for you know the soul of the stranger, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt” (Ex.23:9).

“The stranger who resides with you shall be to you as one of your citizens; you shall love him as yourself, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt” (Lev.19:34).

“You too must befriend the stranger, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt” (Deut.10:19)

“You shall not hate an Egyptian, for you were stranger in his land” (Deut.23:8).

“Always remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt; therefore do I enjoin you to observe this commandment” (Deut. 24:22)

This week we saw one of the most heartbreaking examples of treating the stranger in the most egregious way any of us could imagine – chased, intimidated, even whipped with a leather strap by men on horseback for the crime of coming to the United States asking for asylum. Now please do not misunderstand me. I am not saying that immigration and economic migration is an easy issue to deal with or that the challenges are easy to solve. But the images of men on horses nearly trampling human beings is burned into my mind in a way I hope I never, ever forget.

Today I want to consider a completely selfish reason to treat others as we would like to be treated. The selfish reason to treat others as we would like to be treated is that when we violate this principle we do violence to others but I believe that we do equal or greater violence to OURSELVES. When I lose my temper and act like a jerk what that stupidity does to me is extreme, it is awful. What this violation of the Golden and Silver rule does is reminds me that I am capable of going against my own divine human nature.

Perhaps the worst violence the Christian tradition does to those of us who adhere to its better principles is the idea that human beings are born in sin. This is one of the greatest heresies of Christianity that has been codified as God’s truth for too long. The only thing anyone need do to prove to themselves how in error this doctrine is, is just to look at a newborn baby. There is no possible way any thinking and feeling human being can say that this tiny, helpless child is evil.

And our reading today from the wisdom of Brene Brown speaks of the truth of our own divinity and what causes us to stray from our best selves. She says, “We are biologically, cognitively, physically, and spiritually wired to love, to be loved, and to belong. When those needs are not met, we don't function as we were meant to. We break. We fall apart. We numb. We ache. We hurt others.”

So there’s the bottom line.... Do you want the world to be a kinder place? Be kind to those you meet. You want people to love each other? Love those who are acting in less than loving ways in your life. When you see someone in need ask them what you can do to meet their needs? Understand that when someone acts awful in your presence, that you need to say a prayer for them rather than reacting because there are needs in their lives that are not being met and that is causing them to act in unloving ways. Pray for them rather than reacting.

Let’s try it this week, just for one week. Let’s try to treat others the way we want to be treated and let’s do our best not to treat others in ways we would not want to be treated. Amen.

For a list of music suggested to meditate on for this service click the link below.

Download SL20210926

 

"So Unto Others ..." Sunday, September 16, 2021, 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

This is the day our God has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it!

Opening Prayer

OpeningPrayer 20210926

Eternal One, remind us that whatever we do to others we do to ourselves. When we are judgmental and angry with another we damage our very souls. Teach us your way of love and keep our minds firmly fixed on sharing your love.

We ask this in your many names. Amen.

Lessons

Readings 20210926

The Wisdom of the Dalai Lama

“Our prime purpose in this life is to help others. And if you can't help them, at least don't hurt them.”

The wisdom of Brene Brown

“We are biologically, cognitively, physically, and spiritually wired to love, to be loved, and to belong. When those needs are not met, we don't function as we were meant to. We break. We fall apart. We numb. We ache. We hurt others.”

Gospel 20210926

A Reading from the Gospel According to Matthew in Chapter 7

Ask, Seek, Knock

7 “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. 8 For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.

9 “Which of you, if your son asks for bread, will give him a stone? 10 Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? 11 If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Parent in heaven give good gifts to those who ask! 

12So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.

Reflection by Rev. Dr. BK Hipsher

Do Unto Others 20210926

The great scholar Karen Armstrong is a (s)hero of mine. She has written on the great religions of the world in a way that is easy to read and understand by everyone. Simply reading her books is the equivalent of a graduate seminar in studying world religions. I was privileged to meet her and be her driver for a visit she made to Cambridge years ago and she is as  lovely a person as she is brilliant as a scholar and teacher. But all of her work can be distilled into one simple quote, “Compassion… asks us to look into our own hearts, discover what gives us pain, and then refuse, under any circumstance whatsoever, to inflict that pain on anybody else.”

Karen Armstrong contends that compassion is THE central tenet in ALL the world’s religions. So that the basis of all religion is what Christians refer to as the Golden Rule, “Do unto others as you would have them do to you.” And in the Jewish tradition it is often expressed as Rabbi Hillel said, "That which is hateful to you, do not do to your fellow. That is the whole Torah; the rest is the explanation; go and learn."

The Torah documents this principle in many instances: 

“You shall not wrong a stranger or oppress him, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt”(Ex.22:20).

“You shall not oppress a stranger, for you know the soul of the stranger, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt” (Ex.23:9).

“The stranger who resides with you shall be to you as one of your citizens; you shall love him as yourself, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt” (Lev.19:34).

“You too must befriend the stranger, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt” (Deut.10:19)

“You shall not hate an Egyptian, for you were stranger in his land” (Deut.23:8).

“Always remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt; therefore do I enjoin you to observe this commandment” (Deut. 24:22)

This week we saw one of the most heartbreaking examples of treating the stranger in the most egregious way any of us could imagine – chased, intimidated, even whipped with a leather strap by men on horseback for the crime of coming to the United States asking for asylum. Now please do not misunderstand me. I am not saying that immigration and economic migration is an easy issue to deal with or that the challenges are easy to solve. But the images of men on horses nearly trampling human beings is burned into my mind in a way I hope I never, ever forget.

Today I want to consider a completely selfish reason to treat others as we would like to be treated. The selfish reason to treat others as we would like to be treated is that when we violate this principle we do violence to others but I believe that we do equal or greater violence to OURSELVES. When I lose my temper and act like a jerk what that stupidity does to me is extreme, it is awful. What this violation of the Golden and Silver rule does is reminds me that I am capable of going against my own divine human nature.

Perhaps the worst violence the Christian tradition does to those of us who adhere to its better principles is the idea that human beings are born in sin. This is one of the greatest heresies of Christianity that has been codified as God’s truth for too long. The only thing anyone need do to prove to themselves how in error this doctrine is, is just to look at a newborn baby. There is no possible way any thinking and feeling human being can say that this tiny, helpless child is evil.

And our reading today from the wisdom of Brene Brown speaks of the truth of our own divinity and what causes us to stray from our best selves. She says, “We are biologically, cognitively, physically, and spiritually wired to love, to be loved, and to belong. When those needs are not met, we don't function as we were meant to. We break. We fall apart. We numb. We ache. We hurt others.”

So there’s the bottom line.... Do you want the world to be a kinder place? Be kind to those you meet. You want people to love each other? Love those who are acting in less than loving ways in your life. When you see someone in need ask them what you can do to meet their needs? Understand that when someone acts awful in your presence, that you need to say a prayer for them rather than reacting because there are needs in their lives that are not being met and that is causing them to act in unloving ways. Pray for them rather than reacting.

Let’s try it this week, just for one week. Let’s try to treat others the way we want to be treated and let’s do our best not to treat others in ways we would not want to be treated. Amen.

For a list of music suggested to meditate on for this service click the link below.

Download SL20210926

 

"I Am Life" Sunday, July 18, 2021, 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

CtoW 20210718

Deuteronomy 30:19

This day I call the heavens and the earth as witnesses ... that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live.

Opening Prayer

OpeningPrayer 20210718

O God, you are my life. You have breathed into me the breath of life, and I have become a living being (Genesis 2:7). My very existence and my being flow from you. In you I live and move and have my being (Acts 17:28). You are the Vine, and I am a true branch of yours (John 15:5)...

[Holy One,] Let your life flow through me and flow and flow throughout this day. O Life, live into me. Encompass me and all that I am; well up within me. O Spring of Life, let your river flow through my heart, soul, mind, and strength (John 7:38)...

Amen

https://wildatheart.org/prayer/life-prayer

Lessons

Reading 20210718

Readings from the Fourth Gospel (John 11.17-25, 35-36, 38-44; 14.5-6 ) 

When Jesus arrived [to visit Lazarus, Mary, and Martha], he learned that Lazarus had already been in the tomb for four days.  Now Bethany was near Jerusalem, about two miles distant, and many from the religious community had come to Martha and Mary to console them for the loss of their brother.

When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went forth to meet him, while Mary remained at home. Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. But even now I know that God will grant you whatever you ask.” 

Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.” Martha replied, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day.” Jesus then said to her,

“I am the resurrection and the life.
Whoever believes in me,
even though they die, will live,
Jesus began to weep, causing the onlookers to say, “See how greatly he loved him!” 

Gospel 20210718

The Reading from the gospel according to John continues...

Jesus came to the tomb. It was a cave, with a stone closing the entrance. Jesus said, “Take away the stone.” Martha, the dead man’s sister, said to him, “Lord, by now there will be a stench, for he has been dead for four days.”

Jesus replied, “Did I not tell you that if you have faith you will see the glory of God?” And so they removed the stone. Then Jesus looked up and said,

“Abba, I thank you for hearing me. I know that you always hear me…

When he had said this, he cried out in a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” 

The dead man came out, his hands and feet bound with linen bands, and his face wrapped in a cloth. Then Jesus said to them, “Untie him and let him go free.” 

[At a later time], Thomas said to Jesus, “Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?”

Jesus replied,

“I am the way, and the truth, and the life.
No one comes to God
except through me.”

Reflection by Rev. Dr. BK Hipsher

I Am Life 20210718

Today’s readings from the Gospel according to John contains two major themes that those who have been involved in the Christian tradition undoubtedly have heard before – the story of Jesus raising his friend Lazarus from the dead and Jesus proclaiming “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to God except through me.” We are confronted today with how precious human life is and with the importance of how we spend our lives.

There is a teaching in the Talmud (Sanhedrin 37a) saying: “Whoever saves a single life is considered by scripture to have saved the whole world.” Think of it, the concept is staggering. This simple principle has the power within it to change the world as we know it and the course of human history.

Around us there are so many things out of our control – droughts, fires, climate change in general, war, hackers, and of course, people who refuse to take a vaccine that can stop a worldwide deadly pandemic mutating to a variant that is vaccine resistant. There are many days when I can only watch 30 minutes of Nora O’Donnell giving me the “bad” news highlights. I just get overwhelmed with the death and destruction in the world and it emotionally paralyses me.

If I could raise people from the dead I would have rushed to Surfside, Florida and raised them all! And even if I could do much simpler things – For instance, if I could make a perfectly intelligent friend of my partner understand that climate change and racism are real, I would spend time trying to convince her. If I could move people who are so stupid that they refuse a life-saving vaccine... If I could motivate them to take that shot and live, I would do it. What is it they say? You can lead a horse to water but you can’t make it drink.

So what can I do to affect the ultimate out comes of these things? Some would say nothing. I’m here today to say that each and every one of us can do our part, one day at a time, and change the course of history. Because as another Jewish text teaches us – We are not expected to finish the work of repairing the world but neither are we free to desist from it. In other words, we are duty bound as people of faith to do our part.

And this teaching from the Talmud gives us the motivation. If I save one life, ONE LIFE, I am saving the whole world. Because each human life contains within it the divine spark of the creator in whose image we are made. The power of one human saving the life of one other human is too much to comprehend. And this “saving of a life” can be literal or figurative. For instance, when we work for prison reform we are saving a life, when we demand humane immigration policy we are saving a life, when we work for police reform we are saving lives. And when we work for economic justice we are saving the lives of those who will never have the opportunity to be educated.

“Whoever saves a single life is considered by scripture to have saved the whole world.” What if Einstein had been killed? What if Louis Pasteur had not discovered that disinfectants kill germs? What if Alexander Fleming had not discovered penicillin? What if the scientists in Wuhan had not decoded the novel corona virus that allowed mRNA vaccine research tools to be used to create vaccines more quickly than at any time in human history? And what if a child destined for a bullet from a mass shooter would have discovered the next thing that will save humanity from extinction?

“Whoever saves a single life is considered by scripture to have saved the whole world.” When we feed the hungry we are doing God’s work. When we mentor a young person raised in poverty without role models for education, work ethics, negotiation, networking, and self-worth - we are saving one life. When we encourage a young woman to expect to be paid what she is worth - we are saving one life. When we stand up against racism, bigotry, and hatred - we are saving a life, perhaps our very own.

“Whoever saves a single life is considered by scripture to have saved the whole world.” It occurs to me that saving one life includes me. CoVid was not good to me. I’ve gained weight, turned to old destructive habits of over eating and over working. These things are not good for my health. How can I do the work I am expected to do in the world if I am not healthy? Simple answer, I can’t.

No I can’t raise the dead still being recovered in Surfside. I can’t solve the immigration crisis, I can’t magically wave a wand and get prison and police reform enacted. I can’t pass laws that will allow for child and elder care or give access to post-secondary education to a generation of the poor. But I can take care of my own health. I can do my work, one day at a time. I can mentor my great nephew. I can lend my voice to groups and organizations working for justice. “Whoever saves a single life is considered by scripture to have saved the whole world.”

Let us pray. Holy One let this day be the beginning of a new life, a life that is based on preserving the precious gift of life you have given me so that I may have the strength and stamina to work for justice for another. This is my prayer today for us all. And let us say, amen.

For a list of music suggested to meditate on for this service click the link below.

Download SL20210718

"The Love of God," Pride IV, Sunday, June 27, 2021, Sunshine Cathedral

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

CtoW20210627

God has shown us what is good, and what then is required of us?

To act justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with our God.

Jesus says: Anyone who welcomes you welcomes me, and anyone who welcomes me welcomes the One who sent me.

The Spirit says, "Come." Let each one who hears the Spirit say, "Come," for all are welcome here.

Opening Prayer

OpeningPrayer20210627

Weaver of justice let us be your hands and feet!

May we follow the Spirit’s lead and work for justice and equality for our LGBTQIA+, brown and black siblings.

In prayer we say that Black Lives Matter, that our LGBTQIA+ siblings are made in your image, and we are committed to your ministry of reconciliation.

In your mercy, hear our prayer. Amen.

https://ministrylink.org/pride-2020/

The Lessons

Readins20210627

The Acts of the Apostles (16.13-15)

On the Sabbath we went outside the city gate to the river, where we expected to find a place of prayer. We sat down and began to speak to the women who had gathered there. One of those listening was a woman from the city of Thyatira named Lydia, a dealer in purple cloth. She was a worshiper of God.

The Lord opened her heart to respond to Paul’s message. When she and the members of her household were baptized, she invited us to her home. “If you consider me a believer in the Lord,” she said, “come and stay at my house.” And she persuaded us.

The Gospel of Thomas (114)

Simon Peter said, "Mary should leave us, for females are not worthy..." Jesus said, "See, I am going to…make her male so that she too might become a living spirit that resembles you males. For every female that makes itself male will enter the realm of heaven."

 A Song of David (2 Samuel 1.25-26)

“How the mighty have fallen in battle!
    Jonathan lies slain on your heights.

I grieve for you, my dear Jonathan;
    you were very dear to me.
Your love for me was wonderful,
    more wonderful than that of women.

Gospel20210627

Listen to the Good News of Jesus as told by St. Matthew (8.5-8, 10, 13)

When Jesus had entered Capernaum, a centurion came to him, asking for help. 

“Lord,” he said, “my servant lies at home paralyzed, suffering terribly.”

Jesus said to him, “Shall I come and heal him?”

The centurion replied, “Lord, I do not deserve to have you come under my roof. But just say the word, and my servant will be healed.”  

When Jesus heard this, he was amazed and said to those following him, “Truly I tell you, I have not found anyone in Israel with such great faith. Then Jesus said to the centurion, “Go! Let it be done just as you believed it would.” And his servant was healed at that moment.

Reflection by Rev. Dr. BK Hipsher

Love of God 20210627

Today we come to the last Sunday in June, the last Sunday in Pride Month, we are calling it Pride IV in our church calendar. Now there may be many who identify as Christian who would consider everything I am going to say as anathema, as a lie, even as blasphemy against God. But I say to you today that I consider their hateful rhetoric that teaches God does not love her LGBTQI children and does not approve of his own creation ... that is blasphemy. To me the denigration of the love of one human being for another is the ultimate blasphemy.

In our readings today we have four vignettes of people whose love did not conform to the norm: a woman who is a merchant bending her gender and functioning as a man in the business world, the image of Jesus making clear that males are not elevated over females, David grieving for Jonathan and declaring that his love for Jonathan was greater than the love of a woman, and a gospel story of a Roman centurion who comes to beg Jesus to heal his servant, his companion, a young man whom he clearly loved.

You have heard so-called Christians tell us over and over that God hates LGBTQI people. You have heard it said and preached, screamed and shouted, that the bible says God forbids the love of a same-gender couple. They have declared that our love for our partners condemns us to hell. We have been told that if our lives do not conform to societal gender norms we are not worthy of Holy Communion, that are not welcome in houses of worship. We have been expelled from so called “Christian” congregations. We have been condemned, excluded, hated, and shunned... but not by God.

Today I stand before you a minister in God’s church, declared a priest forever in order of Melchizedek at my ordination, serving in the line of Peter himself and imbued with the authority granted to Peter by Jesus himself when he said to him, “ ... whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven." Today I declare that you are released from the bonds of hatred and exclusion. Today I say to you with full confidence in God’s grace that you ARE love, you are a child of the author of the universe, made in the very image of love and when God made you God said, “You are good!”

As we come to the end of Pride Month here at Sunshine Cathedral we begin today a new year looking forward to June 1, 2022 when we pray that more of our LGBTQI siblings will live free of fear and violence. We vow today to do our duty throughout the coming year to stand up for justice, to give voice to the voiceless, to support those who are outcast, to stand up for anyone anywhere who is oppressed, abused, or overlooked.

Today we covenant together to hear and to speak the words of Jesus who said to everyone everywhere, “Come to me all of you who are burdened and tired and frightened and I will give you peace and rest.” Amen.

 For a list of music suggested to meditate on for this service click the link below.

Download SL20210627