Readings and Reflections from Sunshine Cathedral of Second Life, August 13, 2017
Call to Worship
We look at this world, focusing on the pain and confusion, the fears and hatred which seem to abound. For what can we hope?
We wait breathlessly for the goodness of creation to be made manifest in all the world, for this is the promise of God. God is always with us, guiding, rescuing, healing, restoring us.
Get ready, dear friends, the promises of God are true. Quiet our spirits and open our hearts. Bring us hope and peace.
http://www.ministrymatters.com/worship/entry/8282/new-worship-connection-july-23-2017
Opening Prayer
In the beauty of this place, we have come to pray, to worship, to receive healing and hope. We come from the struggles and triumphs of the week, needing to feel the soothing presence of God. Lord, be with us this day. Calm and soothe our souls. Cause us to rejoice that you have provided a special place where we may gather to talk of your presence and love; to sing your praises; and to be empowered to go forth to serve you. AMEN.
http://www.ministrymatters.com/all/entry/3010/worship-connection-august-23-2015
The Lessons
The Wisdom of Pope Francis
“To put it simply: the holy Spirit bothers us. Because [It] moves us…makes us walk…pushes the Church to go forward. And we are like Peter at the Transfiguration: ‘Ah, how wonderful it is to be here like this, all together!’ – But don’t bother us. We want the holy Spirit to doze off. We want to domesticate the holy Spirit. And that’s no good, because [the Spirit] is God…is that wind which comes and goes and you don’t know where. [The Spirit] is the power of God; [It] is the one who gives us consolation and strength to move forward. But: to move forward! And this bothers us. It’s so much nicer to be comfortable.”
2 Peter 1.12-13, 16-18 (CEV)
“You are holding firm to the truth that you were given. But I am still going to remind you of these things. In fact, I think I should keep on reminding you until I leave this body. When we told you about the power and [coming] of our Lord Jesus Christ, we were not telling clever stories that someone had made up. But with our own eyes we saw his true greatness. God…truly honored him by saying, ‘This is my own dear [Child], and I am pleased with him.’ We were there with Jesus on the holy mountain and heard this voice speak from heaven.”
Reflection by Rev. Dr. BK Hipsher, Virtual Chaplain, Sunshine Cathedral
The Only Thing That Stays the Same... is Change
Most of us have an idea of how we think “things” should go. We tend to think we know best. We often assume that our experience is the “normal” experience of “most” people. We have an idea of what our life path should be and we set goals based on those assumptions. We make plans and build our lives around them.
But for some of us our life plans are interrupted. Sometimes it’s illness. Sometimes it’s the death of a child, a partner, a parent. Sometimes it’s the never ending call to ministry. Sometimes it’s the muse of art that will not leave us alone to live a life of drudgery and financial accomplishments. Sometimes it’s addiction and the hard work of recovery.
In our gospel lesson today Peter makes reference to one of those times in his life when he stood on the mountain with Jesus and saw him transfigured before his eyes. In that moment he saw both Moses and Elijah, the two timeless figures of his religious tradition, who appeared there with Jesus. And for Peter life was perfect in that moment. His response was to try to “freeze” the moment and build his life around that feeling he had.
But there was other work for Peter to do in the world. Our gospel lesson today gives us a glimpse of that calling. He bears witness to God’s favor falling upon Jesus, his friend and teacher. Peter refers to God’s power working in Jesus’ life making clear that Jesus’ power came from God not from himself.
We want our lives to be tidy and predictable. We like to know what’s coming next. We want to believe that if we eat well, exercise, and take care of our bodies that we won’t get sick, but sometimes we do. We like to think that we can keep our children or spouse safe, but sometimes accidents happen. We cannot control what happens in our lives no matter how hard we try. What we can control is how we respond.
We must learn to enjoy and savor the good times in our lives yet understand that “this too shall pass.” We must learn to deal with the adversity and sorrow that comes to us and yet understand “this too shall pass.” We must understand that life is a process of beginning, learning, failing, and beginning again. And through all of this we have the spirit of God to comfort us and strengthen us even in our darkest hour and often when we are least aware of it’s presence.
The winds of change come to us in cycles. Just as the weather cycles from dry to rainy, from still to windy, from summer to winter, changes comes and goes through our lives. Change challenges us and pushes us to ever-greater limits. We find out what we’re made of not when everything is going well but when the tough times in life come. And they surely will come to us all.
Today as we look to a very uncertain future with talk of thermo-nuclear war, ever warming temperatures, white nationalists marching in the streets of Charlottsville, Virginia let us remember that no matter what happens in the weeks and months to come, we are not alone, we are not abandoned by our creator. It’s important for us to support one another, help one another, and remind each other that God’s presence is most fully felt in the relationships that we share with each other. When you sit with me you are sharing God’s love with me. When you let me know you care, you are acting as God’s agent in the world to show forth the love God has for us.
As we enter our time of prayer today may we be thankful for the events in our lives that cause us to grow and change. Let us be thankful for the spirit of God that is always with us, challenging, comforting, healing, and changing us. May we comfort those who are afflicted and afflict the comfortable so that we reach our full potential for justice and compassion in sharing God’s love with the world. Amen.