In My Lifetime

"Let There Be Light" Sunday, May 8, 2022, Easter IV, Sunshine Cathedral in Second Life

Please join us in the virtual world of Second Life each Sunday at 2pm Pacific/ 5pm Eastern time. Download the interface at Secondlife.com, create your avatar, and join us at Sunshine Cathedral.

Call to Worship

Sunshine Cathedral is a different kind of church

where the past is past

and the future has infinite possibilities!

This is the day our God has made.

Let us rejoice and be glad in it

Opening Prayer

Almighty God, give us true faith, and make that faith grow in us day by day. And give us hope and love, so that we may serve our neighbors according to your will… now and forever. Amen.

Based on a prayer found at https://www.christianity.com/wiki/prayer/prayers-for-hope.html

The Lessons

Click Here for First Reading

The Wisdom of Nona Brooks

“Three weeks of study and treatment with [Emma Curtis Hopkins in Chicago] brought Mrs. Frank Bingham back to Pueblo radiant and with health and joy [whereas before, she had been quite ill]…Friends and neighbors began asking Mrs. Bingham to tell them what had brought about her transformation. Informal classes grew up in response to these requests; she gave in simple language what she had learned from Mrs. Hopkins. [My sisters and I] were always invited to these meetings, and knowing how much we needed what she was giving…we accepted.

We were, as a family, in sad condition physically and financially…

I, myself, was in very poor physical condition, being able to eat only very soft, [specially] prepared food. For more than a year I had been praying almost constantly, ‘Give me light.’ On the Sunday before we were to start our new lessons with Mrs. Bingham, I attended my church, where during the communion service the song to be sung was, “nearer My God to Thee.’ I could not bring myself to sing the first stanza, ‘nearer my God to Thee, nearer to Thee, e’en tho’ it be a cross that raiseth me.’ 

I rebelled – I and my family had had all the crosses we could possibly bear. As the congregation sang I was filled with an inner turmoil, but as the song progressed I realized a complete surrender of myself and of the family conditions in order that I might be nearer to God and so I was able to sing the last stanza with the others. 

It was during the fourth class lesson...with Mrs. Bingham that my whole being was completely filled with a great light – a light brighter than sunlight, brighter than any I had ever seen. It filled me! It surrounded me! I was conscious of nothing but that intense white light! I thought that of course all in the room had seen the light too, but they had not. I alone had this wonderful experience. I discovered that I had been instantly and completely healed. 

Tho’ the actual healing was instantaneous, yet I truly believe that the months and months of praying that I might receive light had been a preparation for the healing which had actually come to me in the form of light.”

Click Here for Gospel Reading

A reading from the Acts of the Apostles (9.1-18) 

Now, Saul, still breathing threats and violence against the Lord’s disciples, went to…[Damascus]…

On his journey, suddenly a light from the sky flashed around him. He fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?” He asked, “Who are you, Lord?” The reply came, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you have to do.”

The men who were traveling with him stood there speechless, for they had heard the voice but had seen no one. Saul got up from the ground, but when he opened his eyes he was unable to see. Therefore, they led him by the hand and brought him into Damascus. For three days, he was without sight and neither ate nor drank.

There was a disciple in Damascus named Ananias. In a vision, the Lord said to him, “Ananias.” He answered, “Here I am, Lord.” The Lord said to him, “Get up and go to the…house of Judas, and ask for a man from Tarsus named Saul. He is praying, and in a vision he has seen a man named Ananias come in and lay his hands on him so that he may regain his sight.”

Ananias answered, “Lord, I have heard from many people about this man and how much harm he has done to your saints in Jerusalem. Now he has come here [to cause trouble for] all who invoke your name.”

However, the Lord said to him, “Go, for this is the man I have chosen as a vessel to bring my name before the Gentiles and their governments and before the people of Israel. I myself will show him how much he will have to suffer for the sake of my name.”

And so Ananias went forth and entered the house. He laid his hands on Saul and said, “Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus who appeared to you on your way has sent me so that you may regain your sight and be filled with the holy Spirit.” Immediately, something like scales fell from his eyes, and he regained his sight. He got up and was baptized.”

Reflection by Rev. Dr. BK Hipsher

Click Here for Audio Let There Be Light

Imagine… Ananias hears God’s voice telling him to go minister to one of the most ruthless haters of the people who followed the way that Jesus taught. Quite understandably Ananias says (in my paraphrase), “Saul? You’re telling me to go minister to this guy who has persecuted, jailed, maybe even killed, my friends? You want ME to go minister to this guy who is hell bent on destroying even more of us?” You can see how this might be alarming to Ananias.

This is the story of Saul who later is known to us as St. Paul or Paul the Apostle. A large portion of what we call the New or Second Testament is filled with his letters to this church or that church after his conversion. He is a Pharisee who has lead the persecution of those who believed in Jesus’ teachings. What a weird choice of people to carry the message of Jesus’ teaching to the Gentiles.

Even his conversion is ironic in that he is struck down and blinded by light. But Ananias, ever faithful to God’s call goes to Saul, laid his hands on him and said, “Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus who appeared to you on your way has sent me so that you may regain your sight and be filled with the holy Spirit.” And Saul did see and did carry the message of the teachings of Jesus and the love of God to many, many places and people far and wide.

Light is a powerful element. It pierces the darkness so that we can travel and work at night. It provides heat, it disinfects, it cheers our spirit, and it can blind us when the intensity is beyond our capacity to perceive. In the creation story in Genesis God’s first words are ויהי אור  (v'y'hi or)  “Let there be light!” Everything else in creation followed that command by God.

Even on a sunny Sunday afternoon this time in history seems filled with darkness. From the greed of the rich, to the pandemic, to the unprovoked war Russia is waging on Ukraine, to droughts, earthquakes, volcanos, a looming famine, and the news this week that women in the United States are about to lose the right to control their own bodies, this seems like a tipping point in history. It feels a bit like the darkest hour of the night. And yet…

We know that the darkest night is always followed by the creeping slow return of the dawn. Even if the day that is dawning if full of dark clouds, the light still scatters the darkness. Even when we meet the dawning of the shortest day of the year, the light still comes as our earth rotates around the lifegiving sun.

It’s hard to believe that morning will come when we are at that darkest moment in the night. It’s difficult to remember that Spring will come when we are buried in the cold and snow of winter. And yet, it comes. The morning dawns and the Spring buds bloom and our hearts are once again filled with hope.

Today we are confronted by the story of Saul who became St. Paul, the Apostle Paul, a man who served God in ways we can only imagine. He persecuted the early Christians and many of the Jews of his time because he thought his list of 613 laws were what God required of us if God was to love us. But when he was blinded by a light as he traveled to his next destination to terrorize those who followed Jesus, he had to stop and listen to the voice of God telling him he was wrong. And when the Spirit came upon him he changed, he repented and began to do his best to bring the message of God’s love to all who would listen.

Where are the dark places in our lives that need the light of God’s love for us? Where are we unable to see God’s goodness? Can we open our mind and heart to dare to hope for a better tomorrow? Will we resolve to do our part to feed the hungry, clothe and house the homeless, visit the sick and work for prison reform? Will we open our eyes to see not only the darkness of the world but also the goodness of people even in the chaos? The Spirit of the living God can change us. Will we believe it? Will we allow ourselves to the changed?

Ken Yehi Ratzon Let it be so. Amen

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

Download SL20220508

   

"Return to Love" Sunday, January 9, 2022 Epiphany, Sunshine Cathedral of Second Life

Please join us in the virtual world of Second Life each Sunday at 2pm Pacific/ 5pm Eastern time. Download the interface at Secondlife.com, create your avatar, and join us at Sunshine Cathedral.

Call to Worship

Sunshine Cathedral is a different kind of church

where the past is past and the future has infinite possibilities!

This is the day our God has made.

            Let us rejoice and be glad in it!

Opening Prayer

Almighty God, to you all hearts are open, all desires known, and from you no secrets are hid. Cleanse the thoughts of our hearts by the inspiration of your holy Spirit that we may perfectly love you and worthily magnify your holy names. Amen.

The Lessons

CLICK HERE for Audio of Readings    

The Wisdom of Nona Brooks

 “God formed the universe out of [God’s] own substance…all that is…is Spirit; for, since Omnipresence is…there can be but one substance, and that substance must be the substance that is omnipresent, the God-substance.” 

The Wisdom of Christina Knox-Walthall

“There is only one presence and power in the entire universe…God, the Good, omnipotent. God created all space, the same God of love who made our planet made all planets and stars. The same God created all [people] in [the divine] image and likeness…All of space is filled with the same loving and protecting Spirit of God. Let us trust this loving Spirit within all [people]. Let us know that it is everywhere present.”

CLICK HERE for Audio of Gospel  

A Reading from the Gospel of Luke  (3.15-17, 21-22)

As the people began to experience a feeling of expectancy, they all wondered in their hearts whether John might be the Messiah.  John answered, telling them all: “I baptize you with water, but there is one coming who is more powerful than I am. I am not worthy to loosen the straps of his sandals. He will baptize you with the holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing fan is in his hand to clear his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his barn, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.”

After John had baptized all the people, and while Jesus was engaged in prayer after also having been baptized, heaven opened and the holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven: “You are my beloved One; in you I am well pleased.”

Reflection by Rev. Dr. BK Hipsher

CLICK HERE for Audio of "Return to Love"     

These days we often think of fire as the great destroyer of homes, businesses, wilderness, and human life. Over these past few years out of control wildfires have swept through populated areas around the globe wiping out everything in its path. Just this past week in the United States in Philadelphia a fire claimed 13 lives in one building, 7 of them children. Just outside Denver week before last there were as many as 1000 homes consumed in a matter of hours by fire.

But fire just as often keeps us alive. Tomorrow night when the temperature hits 5 degrees Fahrenheit / -15 degrees Celsius I will be very grateful for the fire that warms the water in the heating system in my home as I lay cozy in my bed. I will be grateful for the fire the burns in my water heater for my hot shower, the gas fireplace in my office, and the blue flames of my stove and oven in my kitchen.

You see fire is fire. When it is harnessed and controlled for our wellbeing it is a life giving element eclipsed only by water in its importance to sustaining human life. When it is out of control, swept by wind and dry conditions or coming from the center of the earth in a volcano it can destroy everything in its path. So is fire good or bad, a force for good or ill? The answer – it depends.

Fire is  a little bit like humans themselves really. We can be a force for good in the world, helping others, encouraging those who are discouraged, giving a hand to those in need. Or we can become self-centered, greedy, hateful, destructive to ourselves and those around us. But in the end, humans are humans and we are all made of the same stuff, created in the image of love that we call God. But we make a choice about how we will interact with the world.

When John was baptizing people and urging them to repent from their sins he was giving them a ritual to follow to remind us that we are not by nature evil, we are by nature good. And when we forget who we are we can symbolically wash away the stain of sin and death by entering the waters of baptism. But John knew that more was necessary than a ritual or even putting our will to bear upon our short comings. John knew that what is necessary to return to our true nature is a spiritual awakening, which he described as a cleansing fire that the teachings of Jesus would bring to our consciousness.

Today we celebrate Epiphany. This feast day in the Christian calendar commemorates two events of awakening and acknowledgement of God interacting with humanity – the Magi’s journey and visit to the child Jesus and the Holy Spirit descending on Jesus at his baptism. In the institutional church this feast day is described as the revelation of Jesus’ divinity, first to the Gentiles in the acknowledgment of these three foreign kings who journeyed over weeks and months to pay homage to him and in his baptism to those people who were in and near his own hometown, there with his own people and his early followers.

I guess what I’m thinking about today is the miracle that is embodied in the birth of every single human child. What a miracle this is when a baby is born. If you’ve ever been at or near the birth of a child you know that feeling, that RUSH of psychic energy that moves through a room when the child takes its first breath and cries. It makes me tingle just to think of it.

And I’m thinking about all of the other people who were at the Jordan river that day when Jesus was baptized. Did they see the dove flying above them? Did they hear the voice of God saying, not just to Jesus, but to them as well, “This is my belove child in whom I am well pleased”? If we are all made in the image of the One God can one of us be more special to God than another? I don’t think so. I believe that all of the stories that depict God loving Jesus give us a glimpse of how much God loves us.

And before you ask… no I do not think that any loving parent would make a human sacrifice of their child to appease a system that they themselves set up. But that is a discussion for another day. Our focus today is on the reality that we are all made from the same stardust that is the substance of the universe, the very substance of God. At our very essence we are love. And whether we are aware of it or not has no bearing on its truth.

As we begin this New Year in 2022 let us begin the journey back to our own birth, back to that moment of pure love, pure vulnerability, pure trust in God. And let us awaken to our own essence, our own belovedness as Jesus did at his baptism. Let us return to the beginning when all we knew was love. Amen.

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

Download SL20220109

 

Call to Worship

Sunshine Cathedral is a different kind of church

where the past is past and the future has infinite possibilities!

This is the day our God has made.

            Let us rejoice and be glad in it!

Opening Prayer

Almighty God, to you all hearts are open, all desires known, and from you no secrets are hid. Cleanse the thoughts of our hearts by the inspiration of your holy Spirit that we may perfectly love you and worthily magnify your holy names. Amen.

The Lessons

CLICK HERE for Audio of Readings    

The Wisdom of Nona Brooks

 “God formed the universe out of [God’s] own substance…all that is…is Spirit; for, since Omnipresence is…there can be but one substance, and that substance must be the substance that is omnipresent, the God-substance.” 

The Wisdom of Christina Knox-Walthall

“There is only one presence and power in the entire universe…God, the Good, omnipotent. God created all space, the same God of love who made our planet made all planets and stars. The same God created all [people] in [the divine] image and likeness…All of space is filled with the same loving and protecting Spirit of God. Let us trust this loving Spirit within all [people]. Let us know that it is everywhere present.”

CLICK HERE for Audio of Gospel  

A Reading from the Gospel of Luke  (3.15-17, 21-22)

As the people began to experience a feeling of expectancy, they all wondered in their hearts whether John might be the Messiah.  John answered, telling them all: “I baptize you with water, but there is one coming who is more powerful than I am. I am not worthy to loosen the straps of his sandals. He will baptize you with the holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing fan is in his hand to clear his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his barn, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.”

After John had baptized all the people, and while Jesus was engaged in prayer after also having been baptized, heaven opened and the holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven: “You are my beloved One; in you I am well pleased.”

Reflection by Rev. Dr. BK Hipsher

CLICK HERE for Audio of "Return to Love"     

These days we often think of fire as the great destroyer of homes, businesses, wilderness, and human life. Over these past few years out of control wildfires have swept through populated areas around the globe wiping out everything in its path. Just this past week in the United States in Philadelphia a fire claimed 13 lives in one building, 7 of them children. Just outside Denver week before last there were as many as 1000 homes consumed in a matter of hours by fire.

But fire just as often keeps us alive. Tomorrow night when the temperature hits 5 degrees Fahrenheit / -15 degrees Celsius I will be very grateful for the fire that warms the water in the heating system in my home as I lay cozy in my bed. I will be grateful for the fire the burns in my water heater for my hot shower, the gas fireplace in my office, and the blue flames of my stove and oven in my kitchen.

You see fire is fire. When it is harnessed and controlled for our wellbeing it is a life giving element eclipsed only by water in its importance to sustaining human life. When it is out of control, swept by wind and dry conditions or coming from the center of the earth in a volcano it can destroy everything in its path. So is fire good or bad, a force for good or ill? The answer – it depends.

Fire is  a little bit like humans themselves really. We can be a force for good in the world, helping others, encouraging those who are discouraged, giving a hand to those in need. Or we can become self-centered, greedy, hateful, destructive to ourselves and those around us. But in the end, humans are humans and we are all made of the same stuff, created in the image of love that we call God. But we make a choice about how we will interact with the world.

When John was baptizing people and urging them to repent from their sins he was giving them a ritual to follow to remind us that we are not by nature evil, we are by nature good. And when we forget who we are we can symbolically wash away the stain of sin and death by entering the waters of baptism. But John knew that more was necessary than a ritual or even putting our will to bear upon our short comings. John knew that what is necessary to return to our true nature is a spiritual awakening, which he described as a cleansing fire that the teachings of Jesus would bring to our consciousness.

Today we celebrate Epiphany. This feast day in the Christian calendar commemorates two events of awakening and acknowledgement of God interacting with humanity – the Magi’s journey and visit to the child Jesus and the Holy Spirit descending on Jesus at his baptism. In the institutional church this feast day is described as the revelation of Jesus’ divinity, first to the Gentiles in the acknowledgment of these three foreign kings who journeyed over weeks and months to pay homage to him and in his baptism to those people who were in and near his own hometown, there with his own people and his early followers.

I guess what I’m thinking about today is the miracle that is embodied in the birth of every single human child. What a miracle this is when a baby is born. If you’ve ever been at or near the birth of a child you know that feeling, that RUSH of psychic energy that moves through a room when the child takes its first breath and cries. It makes me tingle just to think of it.

And I’m thinking about all of the other people who were at the Jordan river that day when Jesus was baptized. Did they see the dove flying above them? Did they hear the voice of God saying, not just to Jesus, but to them as well, “This is my belove child in whom I am well pleased”? If we are all made in the image of the One God can one of us be more special to God than another? I don’t think so. I believe that all of the stories that depict God loving Jesus give us a glimpse of how much God loves us.

And before you ask… no I do not think that any loving parent would make a human sacrifice of their child to appease a system that they themselves set up. But that is a discussion for another day. Our focus today is on the reality that we are all made from the same stardust that is the substance of the universe, the very substance of God. At our very essence we are love. And whether we are aware of it or not has no bearing on its truth.

As we begin this New Year in 2022 let us begin the journey back to our own birth, back to that moment of pure love, pure vulnerability, pure trust in God. And let us awaken to our own essence, our own belovedness as Jesus did at his baptism. Let us return to the beginning when all we knew was love. Amen.

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

Download SL20220109

 

"Come and See" Sunday, January 2, 2022 Christmas II, Sunshine Cathedral of Second Life

Please join us in the virtual world of Second Life each Sunday at 2pm Pacific/ 5pm Eastern time. Download the interface at Secondlife.com, create your avatar, and join us at Sunshine Cathedral.

Call to Worship

Sunshine Cathedral is a different kind of church

where the past is past and the future has infinite possibilities!

This is the day our God has made.

            Let us rejoice and be glad in it!

Opening Prayer

Almighty God, to you all hearts are open, all desires known, and from you no secrets are hid. Cleanse the thoughts of our hearts by the inspiration of your holy Spirit that we may perfectly love you and worthily magnify your holy names. Amen.

The Lessons

CLICK HERE for Audio of Readings

The Wisdom of Barbara L. Wolfe

 “[Jesus]…said we were to do greater works than he did. At this stage of our development we find this nearly impossible to believe, but this is our destiny. I remember the words and the work of Jesus the Christ. I follow [the] way to the best of my present understanding. Miracles come to pass as I grow in consciousness.”

The Wisdom of Albert C. Grier

“[Jesus was] not like [God] but [was] one with God…He…many times called himself the Son of [Humanity]. That Jesus revealed God is true, but even more true it is that he revealed [humanity].”

CLICK HERE for Audio of Gospel

A Reading from the Fourth Gospel (John 1.35-46)

John was standing with two of his disciples, and as he watched Jesus pass by, he said, “Behold, the Lamb of God.” On hearing him say this, the two disciples began to follow Jesus. When Jesus turned and saw them following him, he asked them, “What are you looking for?” They said to him, “Rabbi, where are you staying?” He answered them, “Come and see.” So they went and saw where he was staying, and they remained with him for the rest of that day. 

One of the two who had heard John speak and had followed Jesus was Andrew, the brother of Simon Peter. The first thing Andrew did was to seek out his brother Simon and say to him, “We have found the Messiah” and he took him to Jesus. Jesus gazed at him and said, “You are Simon son of John. You will be called Cephas” (which, translated, is “Peter”).

The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. Encountering Philip, he said to him, “Follow me.” Philip came from the same town, Bethsaida, as Andrew and Peter. Philip found Nathanael and said to him, “We have found the one [the One for whom we’ve been waiting]—Jesus the son of Joseph, from Nazareth.” Nathanael said to him, “Can anything good come from Nazareth?” Philip replied, “Come and see.”

Reflection by Rev. Dr. BK Hipsher

CLICK HERE for Audio of Reflection "Come and See"

"Come and See"

“Can anything good come from Nazareth?” Sounds familiar somehow doesn’t it? We’ve all heard it … Can anything good come from Frankfurt? Can anything good come from Mexico? Can anything good come from Iran? Can anything good come from Mississippi or Alabama? Can anything good come from the south side of Chicago, or south central LA, or Harlem, or the French Quarter, or…? We make assumptions about people based on where they live or where they come from all the time.

Our reading today from the first chapter of the gospel according to John jolts me every time I read it. I can hear Nathaniel sneering… “Nazareth? Give me a break. I’m not going to hear some bum from Nazareth. The messiah coming from Nazareth, ridiculous. I mean come on, can anything good come from Nazareth?” Even today, Nazareth is known as “the Arab capital of Israel” and if you’ve ever visited Israel you know that name is not one of honor but one of ridicule and disdain.

What causes us to make judgments about people based on where they come from? When traveling in Europe, people from the US (often referred to as Americans) are often judged as boorish or rude because they have been treated badly by someone from the US in the past. We all know that people with darker skin are treated dramatically differently in many western countries because they were originally brought to these lands as slaves or came as immigrants.

This is a good lesson for us on the first Sunday in the new year 2022. I am just a guilty as anyone I know for making judgments about people’s character based on where they come from. It’s not something I’m proud of mind you but it’s there inside me. I grew up in the racist and still segregated southern US. I’ve lived outside the country and experienced how people from the US are viewed from other countries. I now live in a state with one of the highest vaccination rates, the lowest crime rates, and the best healthcare in the world. Where I’m from, where I’ve lived, and where I live now defines me to some extent but only because people make assumptions about me based on those tidbits of information about me.

Here we are on the second Sunday, the last Sunday, in Christmastide. Next week the creche will be gone, the Christmas decorations will be put away for another year and we begin again, a new year that we all hope and pray will be better but one we all dread will find some way to be even worse than last year. We’re making assumptions based on past experience. A friend of mine described anticipating the coming new year as looking at a door ajar and timidly pushing it open slowly with a long stick, terrified of what is behind that door.

We’ve also made a lot of assumptions about what Christmas is all about. Last week I said I want to know the true meaning of Christmas. Each year I struggle to understand what it’s all about. I honestly struggle to understand why the season captivates people who do not identify as Christian and those who do not view Jesus as the Messiah sent to save the world from sin.

Our reading from Albert C. Grier today contains, perhaps, one of the most important sentences I’ve ever read, “That Jesus revealed God is true, but even more true it is that he revealed [humanity].” I read it this way, the birth of Jesus reminds us that we are made in the image of the creator of the universe and that every single human being is precious to God and ought to be treated as such. The way Jesus lived, what he taught about economic justice, the way he brought healing to people in need, AND the way he spoke truth to power, when those in power were oppressing the people, IS what we are at our core.

I just do not subscribe to the doctrine that Jesus was without sin. I simply do not believe it. If Jesus was fully human then he became angry and lashed out at people and we have a record of this in the gospels. He ridiculed the Pharisees, he was hideously disrespectful to the Syrophoenician woman who asked for healing for her little daughter, he became so enraged that he overturned the tables of the money changers in the temple. Jesus was no meek and mild savior no matter how he’s “white washed” by some who make his very human nature into an idol that no longer even resembles a human being.

Jesus was born to young people who were not even yet married, born into poverty, because a refugee in Egypt at a young age, grew up the son of a carpenter in Nazareth, got tired, became angry, loved deeply and I sincerely hope he had sexual experiences. He wept at the tomb of his friend Lazarus. He even disrespected his own mother when she pushed him to help the wedding couple at the wedding in Cana when the shame of running out of wine would have been a terrible social stigma for them. He ate with sinners, disappeared into the  wilderness to rest… by all accounts Jesus was a person just like you and me.

But we try to make Jesus into something greater than ourselves. We ignore the reality that Jesus told his disciples in John 14:12 that they could do greater things than he was doing if they only believed they could do it. And this is the message of this last Sunday in Christmastide for us as well.

Jesus was born just like us. Jesus was born to unwed parents into impoverished circumstances. Jesus was taken from his homeland as an immigrant to another country to escape certain death. Jesus grew up the son of a carpenter, a tradesman, in a town that was rural and viewed with disdain. Jesus had real human experiences and showed us the way to be better people. Jesus was one of us and if Jesus is divine as most Christians believe, then we TOO are divine, made in the image of a loving creator and put here on earth to care for creation and for each other.

As we begin this new year 2022 we are not called to be meek and mild and “accept” the “choice” of those who refuse to be vaccinated and put us all at risk in a worldwide pandemic. We are called to speak truth to power, to advocate for those who have no privilege and therefore no voice. We are called to feed the hungry, clothe the naked, work for prison reform and truly care for those who are incarcerated, and in all cases do everything we can to ensure that everyone has access to healthcare, yes that’s what all those healing miracles were about.

We can do this. How do I know? Well there was a man named Jesus, born in Bethlehem and raised in Nazareth who lived a life that is our pattern for living a successful, meaningful life. Yes it’s dangerous to live that way. He was brutally executed at 33 years old for refusing to capitulate to the status quo. We must acknowledge that living in the pattern of Jesus is not always easy or safe.

“Nathanael said to [Philip], ‘Can anything good come from Nazareth?’ Philip replied, ‘Come and see.’” When we get to know each other we get to know Jesus. When we see our true selves and uncover the deep love that is placed in our heart by God we have a little glimpse of what Christmas really means. Amen.

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

Download SL20220102

 

Call to Worship

Sunshine Cathedral is a different kind of church

where the past is past and the future has infinite possibilities!

This is the day our God has made.

            Let us rejoice and be glad in it!

Opening Prayer

Almighty God, to you all hearts are open, all desires known, and from you no secrets are hid. Cleanse the thoughts of our hearts by the inspiration of your holy Spirit that we may perfectly love you and worthily magnify your holy names. Amen.

The Lessons

CLICK HERE for Audio of Readings

The Wisdom of Barbara L. Wolfe

 “[Jesus]…said we were to do greater works than he did. At this stage of our development we find this nearly impossible to believe, but this is our destiny. I remember the words and the work of Jesus the Christ. I follow [the] way to the best of my present understanding. Miracles come to pass as I grow in consciousness.”

The Wisdom of Albert C. Grier

“[Jesus was] not like [God] but [was] one with God…He…many times called himself the Son of [Humanity]. That Jesus revealed God is true, but even more true it is that he revealed [humanity].”

CLICK HERE for Audio of Gospel

A Reading from the Fourth Gospel (John 1.35-46)

John was standing with two of his disciples, and as he watched Jesus pass by, he said, “Behold, the Lamb of God.” On hearing him say this, the two disciples began to follow Jesus. When Jesus turned and saw them following him, he asked them, “What are you looking for?” They said to him, “Rabbi, where are you staying?” He answered them, “Come and see.” So they went and saw where he was staying, and they remained with him for the rest of that day. 

One of the two who had heard John speak and had followed Jesus was Andrew, the brother of Simon Peter. The first thing Andrew did was to seek out his brother Simon and say to him, “We have found the Messiah” and he took him to Jesus. Jesus gazed at him and said, “You are Simon son of John. You will be called Cephas” (which, translated, is “Peter”).

The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. Encountering Philip, he said to him, “Follow me.” Philip came from the same town, Bethsaida, as Andrew and Peter. Philip found Nathanael and said to him, “We have found the one [the One for whom we’ve been waiting]—Jesus the son of Joseph, from Nazareth.” Nathanael said to him, “Can anything good come from Nazareth?” Philip replied, “Come and see.”

Reflection by Rev. Dr. BK Hipsher

CLICK HERE for Audio of Reflection "Come and See"

"Come and See"

“Can anything good come from Nazareth?” Sounds familiar somehow doesn’t it? We’ve all heard it … Can anything good come from Frankfurt? Can anything good come from Mexico? Can anything good come from Iran? Can anything good come from Mississippi or Alabama? Can anything good come from the south side of Chicago, or south central LA, or Harlem, or the French Quarter, or…? We make assumptions about people based on where they live or where they come from all the time.

Our reading today from the first chapter of the gospel according to John jolts me every time I read it. I can hear Nathaniel sneering… “Nazareth? Give me a break. I’m not going to hear some bum from Nazareth. The messiah coming from Nazareth, ridiculous. I mean come on, can anything good come from Nazareth?” Even today, Nazareth is known as “the Arab capital of Israel” and if you’ve ever visited Israel you know that name is not one of honor but one of ridicule and disdain.

What causes us to make judgments about people based on where they come from? When traveling in Europe, people from the US (often referred to as Americans) are often judged as boorish or rude because they have been treated badly by someone from the US in the past. We all know that people with darker skin are treated dramatically differently in many western countries because they were originally brought to these lands as slaves or came as immigrants.

This is a good lesson for us on the first Sunday in the new year 2022. I am just a guilty as anyone I know for making judgments about people’s character based on where they come from. It’s not something I’m proud of mind you but it’s there inside me. I grew up in the racist and still segregated southern US. I’ve lived outside the country and experienced how people from the US are viewed from other countries. I now live in a state with one of the highest vaccination rates, the lowest crime rates, and the best healthcare in the world. Where I’m from, where I’ve lived, and where I live now defines me to some extent but only because people make assumptions about me based on those tidbits of information about me.

Here we are on the second Sunday, the last Sunday, in Christmastide. Next week the creche will be gone, the Christmas decorations will be put away for another year and we begin again, a new year that we all hope and pray will be better but one we all dread will find some way to be even worse than last year. We’re making assumptions based on past experience. A friend of mine described anticipating the coming new year as looking at a door ajar and timidly pushing it open slowly with a long stick, terrified of what is behind that door.

We’ve also made a lot of assumptions about what Christmas is all about. Last week I said I want to know the true meaning of Christmas. Each year I struggle to understand what it’s all about. I honestly struggle to understand why the season captivates people who do not identify as Christian and those who do not view Jesus as the Messiah sent to save the world from sin.

Our reading from Albert C. Grier today contains, perhaps, one of the most important sentences I’ve ever read, “That Jesus revealed God is true, but even more true it is that he revealed [humanity].” I read it this way, the birth of Jesus reminds us that we are made in the image of the creator of the universe and that every single human being is precious to God and ought to be treated as such. The way Jesus lived, what he taught about economic justice, the way he brought healing to people in need, AND the way he spoke truth to power, when those in power were oppressing the people, IS what we are at our core.

I just do not subscribe to the doctrine that Jesus was without sin. I simply do not believe it. If Jesus was fully human then he became angry and lashed out at people and we have a record of this in the gospels. He ridiculed the Pharisees, he was hideously disrespectful to the Syrophoenician woman who asked for healing for her little daughter, he became so enraged that he overturned the tables of the money changers in the temple. Jesus was no meek and mild savior no matter how he’s “white washed” by some who make his very human nature into an idol that no longer even resembles a human being.

Jesus was born to young people who were not even yet married, born into poverty, because a refugee in Egypt at a young age, grew up the son of a carpenter in Nazareth, got tired, became angry, loved deeply and I sincerely hope he had sexual experiences. He wept at the tomb of his friend Lazarus. He even disrespected his own mother when she pushed him to help the wedding couple at the wedding in Cana when the shame of running out of wine would have been a terrible social stigma for them. He ate with sinners, disappeared into the  wilderness to rest… by all accounts Jesus was a person just like you and me.

But we try to make Jesus into something greater than ourselves. We ignore the reality that Jesus told his disciples in John 14:12 that they could do greater things than he was doing if they only believed they could do it. And this is the message of this last Sunday in Christmastide for us as well.

Jesus was born just like us. Jesus was born to unwed parents into impoverished circumstances. Jesus was taken from his homeland as an immigrant to another country to escape certain death. Jesus grew up the son of a carpenter, a tradesman, in a town that was rural and viewed with disdain. Jesus had real human experiences and showed us the way to be better people. Jesus was one of us and if Jesus is divine as most Christians believe, then we TOO are divine, made in the image of a loving creator and put here on earth to care for creation and for each other.

As we begin this new year 2022 we are not called to be meek and mild and “accept” the “choice” of those who refuse to be vaccinated and put us all at risk in a worldwide pandemic. We are called to speak truth to power, to advocate for those who have no privilege and therefore no voice. We are called to feed the hungry, clothe the naked, work for prison reform and truly care for those who are incarcerated, and in all cases do everything we can to ensure that everyone has access to healthcare, yes that’s what all those healing miracles were about.

We can do this. How do I know? Well there was a man named Jesus, born in Bethlehem and raised in Nazareth who lived a life that is our pattern for living a successful, meaningful life. Yes it’s dangerous to live that way. He was brutally executed at 33 years old for refusing to capitulate to the status quo. We must acknowledge that living in the pattern of Jesus is not always easy or safe.

“Nathanael said to [Philip], ‘Can anything good come from Nazareth?’ Philip replied, ‘Come and see.’” When we get to know each other we get to know Jesus. When we see our true selves and uncover the deep love that is placed in our heart by God we have a little glimpse of what Christmas really means. Amen.

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

Download SL20220102

 

"The Work of Christmas" Sunday, December 26, 2021, Christmas I, 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 Spirit, we give you thanks for the birth of peace in the world again this Christmas. The joy we feel as we kneel at the manger is overwhelming. The love that blooms in our hearts flows out into the whole world. May we never let go of the hope this day brings to the world and may our lives unleash your goodness. Amen

CLICK HERE for Audio of Opening Prayer Christmas I 2021   

The Lessons

CLICK HERE for Audio of the Reading from Isaiah   

A Reading from Isaiah (9.2-7a)

The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of deep darkness a light has dawned.
You have enlarged the nation and increased their joy; they rejoice before you as people rejoice at the harvest, as [people] rejoice when dividing… plunder…
[Y]ou have shattered the yoke that burdens them, the bar across their shoulders, the rod of their oppressor.
For all the boots of tramping warriors and all the garments rolled in blood shall be burned as fuel for the fire.
For to us a child is born,  to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders.
And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting [Parent], [Sovereign] of Peace.
[The people’s understanding of God’s] greatness will grow continually  and there will be endless peace… justice and righteousness from that time on and forever.

CLICK HERE for Audio of the Gospel According to John    

A Reading from the Gospel According to John (1:1-18)

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. What has come into being in him was life, and the life was the light of all people. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.

There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. He came as a witness to testify to the light, so that all might believe through him. He himself was not the light, but he came to testify to the light. The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world.

He was in the world, and the world came into being through him; yet the world did not know him. He came to what was his own, and his own people did not accept him. But to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God, who were born, not of blood or of the will of the flesh or of the will of man, but of God.

And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a parent's only child, full of grace and truth. (John testified to this and cried out, "This was the one of whom I said, 'This one who comes after me ranks ahead of me because this one was before me.'") From this one’s fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. The law indeed was given through Moses; grace and truth came through the Christ. No one has ever seen God. It is God the only Child, who is close to the Parent's heart, who has made God known.

Reflection by Rev. Dr. BK Hipsher

CLICK HERE for Audio of "The Work of Christmas"    

Merry Christmas! In the world, today is the day AFTER Christmas. But in the church today is the 2^nd day of the 12 days of Christmas and the first Sunday in Christmastide. So here we are, decked out, “Christmasing” our way through these last days of the year. When the world stops celebrating we are just beginning!

Each year at this time I renew my quest to really understand the true meaning of Christmas. In the Advent season we get the clues each week, hope, peace, joy, and love. But these are abstract concepts. I want to know how to make them real in my life. I want to know the true meaning of Christmas.

The easy way out is to look to the manger, to the child newborn, wrapped in strips of cloth and laying there in the hay for warmth. When we imagine this scene  our hearts fill with love, we see the adoring parents, the animals drawing near to the smell of something new that has come into their midst. It would be easy to Vew this scene, just as you see in the creche and say this is Christmas. Yet I want to know the true meaning of Christmas.

We can imagine ourselves as shepherds in the fields, watching our flocks, looking out on the beauty of the landscape in the night as the sky covers us with the blanket of stars spectacular in their light show against the night sky and then a cloud moves and we see for the first time the star of Bethlehem burning in the night sky. As shepherds we know the sky as we know each  of our sheep and when we see the magnificence of the star the excitement we feel runs through our body like electricity! Wonder fills our minds and joy fills our hearts. But I want to know the true meaning of Christmas.

In our reading from the Isaiah chapter 9 we read about the prophecy of a light coming into the darkness of the world, giving us hope. We read of boundless joy, of burdens lifted. We read of an end to war and a leader rising to teach us how to live in endless peace, how to live with justice and with righteousness… forever.

There are those in the Christian community who use this scripture to support their supersessionist belief that their faith supersedes all other faith traditions, making them irrelevant and in error. For my money this does NOT seem like a good start on bringing peace to the world, disrespecting all other faith traditions. Clearly this idea that the birth of Jesus renders all other faith traditions unworthy of respect cannot be the true meaning of Christmas.

What then? Is there nothing in the Christmas story that is relevant to our lives, in this pandemic weary world, in these last days of the year? What can we learn from these ancient tales that can give us hope, that can let us rest in peace, that will fill our hearts with joy, and make us overflow with love? You see, this year I want to know the true meaning of Christmas.

Maybe it’s all here and still coming into being. Maybe it’s like the ingredients of a recipe laying on the kitchen counter ready to make the meal. Yes that’s it! The ingredients are here for us but where is the recipe? How do we put it all together? Ah THIS is the true meaning of Christmas. It is left to us to make the meal to feed the hungry, up to us to make peace with ourselves and our neighbors, up to us to spread God’s love in the world. Warriors boots and blood soaked garments will not burn unless we throw them into the fire.

Christmasing is not just one day a year, one season a year. Christmasing is a way of life, one day at a time, every day of every year for all our lives. That is the magic of Christmas… not that everything is made right on one day but that we work every day to bring hope, peace, joy and love into being for ourselves, our family, our clan, and the whole world. We must combine the ingredients, we must do the work to make the meal that feeds the hungry.

Let us leave each other today with the words of the great Howard Thurman who said, “When the song of the angel is still, when the star in the sky is gone, when kings and princes are home, when the when the shepherds are back with their sheep, the work of Christmas begins: to find the lost, to heal the broken, to feed the hungry, to release the prisoner, to rebuild the nations, to bring peace among people, to make music in the heart.”   Amen.

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

Download SL20211226

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 Spirit, we give you thanks for the birth of peace in the world again this Christmas. The joy we feel as we kneel at the manger is overwhelming. The love that blooms in our hearts flows out into the whole world. May we never let go of the hope this day brings to the world and may our lives unleash your goodness. Amen

CLICK HERE for Audio of Opening Prayer Christmas I 2021   

The Lessons

CLICK HERE for Audio of the Reading from Isaiah   

A Reading from Isaiah (9.2-7a)

The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of deep darkness a light has dawned.
You have enlarged the nation and increased their joy; they rejoice before you as people rejoice at the harvest, as [people] rejoice when dividing… plunder…
[Y]ou have shattered the yoke that burdens them, the bar across their shoulders, the rod of their oppressor.
For all the boots of tramping warriors and all the garments rolled in blood shall be burned as fuel for the fire.
For to us a child is born,  to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders.
And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting [Parent], [Sovereign] of Peace.
[The people’s understanding of God’s] greatness will grow continually  and there will be endless peace… justice and righteousness from that time on and forever.

CLICK HERE for Audio of the Gospel According to John    

A Reading from the Gospel According to John (1:1-18)

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. What has come into being in him was life, and the life was the light of all people. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.

There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. He came as a witness to testify to the light, so that all might believe through him. He himself was not the light, but he came to testify to the light. The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world.

He was in the world, and the world came into being through him; yet the world did not know him. He came to what was his own, and his own people did not accept him. But to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God, who were born, not of blood or of the will of the flesh or of the will of man, but of God.

And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a parent's only child, full of grace and truth. (John testified to this and cried out, "This was the one of whom I said, 'This one who comes after me ranks ahead of me because this one was before me.'") From this one’s fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. The law indeed was given through Moses; grace and truth came through the Christ. No one has ever seen God. It is God the only Child, who is close to the Parent's heart, who has made God known.

Reflection by Rev. Dr. BK Hipsher

CLICK HERE for Audio of "The Work of Christmas"    

Merry Christmas! In the world, today is the day AFTER Christmas. But in the church today is the 2^nd day of the 12 days of Christmas and the first Sunday in Christmastide. So here we are, decked out, “Christmasing” our way through these last days of the year. When the world stops celebrating we are just beginning!

Each year at this time I renew my quest to really understand the true meaning of Christmas. In the Advent season we get the clues each week, hope, peace, joy, and love. But these are abstract concepts. I want to know how to make them real in my life. I want to know the true meaning of Christmas.

The easy way out is to look to the manger, to the child newborn, wrapped in strips of cloth and laying there in the hay for warmth. When we imagine this scene  our hearts fill with love, we see the adoring parents, the animals drawing near to the smell of something new that has come into their midst. It would be easy to Vew this scene, just as you see in the creche and say this is Christmas. Yet I want to know the true meaning of Christmas.

We can imagine ourselves as shepherds in the fields, watching our flocks, looking out on the beauty of the landscape in the night as the sky covers us with the blanket of stars spectacular in their light show against the night sky and then a cloud moves and we see for the first time the star of Bethlehem burning in the night sky. As shepherds we know the sky as we know each  of our sheep and when we see the magnificence of the star the excitement we feel runs through our body like electricity! Wonder fills our minds and joy fills our hearts. But I want to know the true meaning of Christmas.

In our reading from the Isaiah chapter 9 we read about the prophecy of a light coming into the darkness of the world, giving us hope. We read of boundless joy, of burdens lifted. We read of an end to war and a leader rising to teach us how to live in endless peace, how to live with justice and with righteousness… forever.

There are those in the Christian community who use this scripture to support their supersessionist belief that their faith supersedes all other faith traditions, making them irrelevant and in error. For my money this does NOT seem like a good start on bringing peace to the world, disrespecting all other faith traditions. Clearly this idea that the birth of Jesus renders all other faith traditions unworthy of respect cannot be the true meaning of Christmas.

What then? Is there nothing in the Christmas story that is relevant to our lives, in this pandemic weary world, in these last days of the year? What can we learn from these ancient tales that can give us hope, that can let us rest in peace, that will fill our hearts with joy, and make us overflow with love? You see, this year I want to know the true meaning of Christmas.

Maybe it’s all here and still coming into being. Maybe it’s like the ingredients of a recipe laying on the kitchen counter ready to make the meal. Yes that’s it! The ingredients are here for us but where is the recipe? How do we put it all together? Ah THIS is the true meaning of Christmas. It is left to us to make the meal to feed the hungry, up to us to make peace with ourselves and our neighbors, up to us to spread God’s love in the world. Warriors boots and blood soaked garments will not burn unless we throw them into the fire.

Christmasing is not just one day a year, one season a year. Christmasing is a way of life, one day at a time, every day of every year for all our lives. That is the magic of Christmas… not that everything is made right on one day but that we work every day to bring hope, peace, joy and love into being for ourselves, our family, our clan, and the whole world. We must combine the ingredients, we must do the work to make the meal that feeds the hungry.

Let us leave each other today with the words of the great Howard Thurman who said, “When the song of the angel is still, when the star in the sky is gone, when kings and princes are home, when the when the shepherds are back with their sheep, the work of Christmas begins: to find the lost, to heal the broken, to feed the hungry, to release the prisoner, to rebuild the nations, to bring peace among people, to make music in the heart.”   Amen.

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

Download SL20211226

"Season of Love" Sunday, December 19, 2021, Advent 4, 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

CLICK HERE for Audio

Because too many people are wandering in the wilderness, because too many people are sitting in the valley of the shadow of death, because too many of our conversations are laced with conflict and rancor, we light candles…

Because people all over the world are suffering, and we’re too often distracted to notice, we light candles… 

Today we stop everything and light these candles: one for hope, one for peace, one for joy, and one for love… (Light the fourth candle in your Advent wreath.)

May the light from these candles overwhelm the world.

May the light from these candles illuminate the valley of the shadow of death.

May the light and fire from these candles burn away everything that is preventing God’s love from being born among us.

Friends, be not afraid, even now — even now — God’s love is overwhelming the world, on earth as it is in heaven!

https://www.saltproject.org/progressive-christian-blog/2020/11/17/advent-candle-lighting-litanies

Opening Prayer

Almighty God, to you all hearts are open, all desires known, and from you no secrets are hid. Cleanse the thoughts of our hearts by the inspiration of your holy Spirit that we may perfectly love you and worthily magnify your holy names. Amen.

The Lessons

CLICK HERE for Audio of the Readings    

The Wisdom of Blessed Oscar Wilde

Who, being loved, is poor?

The Wisdom of St. Mother Teresa

Love cannot remain by itself – it has no meaning. Love has to be put into action, and that action is service. The most terrible poverty is loneliness, and the feeling of being unloved. If you judge people, you have no time to love them.

CLICK HERE for Audio of the Gospel     

A Reading from Luke’s Gospel (1.39-46)

In those days Mary set out and went with haste to a Judean town in the hill country,where she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth.
When Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting, the child leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the holy Spirit and exclaimed with a loud cry, "Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb.

And why has this happened to me, that the mother of my Lord comes to me?
For as soon as I heard the sound of your greeting, the child in my womb leaped for joy. And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her by the Lord."

And Mary said, "My soul magnifies the Lord…”

Reflection by Rev. Dr. BK Hipsher

CLICK HERE for Audio of the Reflection "Season of Love" Advent 4 2021     

Today we arrive at the beginning of the final week in our journey to the manger. We have looked at the value of hope, the necessity of peace, the function of joy and logically we arrive at the reality of love in this final week of Advent. Today we’re going to look at what the word love means.

Love as a noun includes these meanings:

• strong affection for another arising out of kinship or personal ties. (e.g. maternal love for a child)

• affection based on admiration, benevolence, or common interests. (e.g. love for his old schoolmates)

• unselfish loyal and benevolent concern for the good of another: such as

o the parental concern of God for humankind

o familial concern for humankind

• a person's adoration of God

• capitalized,  GOD

So without even considering the word love as a verb we have a LOT to think about when we consider the question, “What is love?” I think it’s important to look at this question in the context of the entire Advent season. There’s a reason why the Sundays in the Advent season have specific themes attached to them, specific themes in a specific order.

The theme for Advent 1 is Hope. I think we can all agree that if we are living in despair we have triggered our evolutionary survival behaviors. We are hard wired to do anything and everything we can do to survive. That means our concern for others becomes secondary to our own survival. And in extreme cases of despair we can even become convinced that living is not worthwhile. Hope is absolutely essential to our ability to be empathetic to others. So hope and our ability to feel empathy for others is really a necessary component of our ability to feel and express love for others, for ourselves, for the planet, and for God.

Even if we have hope for the future we also need peace of mind and the theme of peace for Advent 2 builds on the presence of hope. Even if we have hope for the future we also need peace of mind so that we can let go and let God work in our lives. This requires us to quiet our minds, quiet our spirits, and make space to listen for the still small voice of God speaking to us through other people and in the Holy Spirit’s voice within. It is very difficult to hear the still small voice when the noise that results from a deficit of peace in our hearts prevails. So achieving the will to welcome and work for peace of mind is such an important part of our journey.

Last week we had the theme of joy for Advent 3. At first look it may seem like joy is the result of hope, peace and love. But in fact, joy is a contingent element in love. Have you ever been really angry with your partner and tried to get in touch with the love you know you have for them? I contend that unless we can find some measure of joy we are incapable of truly experiencing love for humanity. Anger blocks love, lethargy makes us indifferent to taking action that mobilizes love in the world.

Love is not a passive emotion that comes and overwhelms us from a source outside ourselves. Love can be experienced as a feeling or emotion that is the result of hope, peace, and joy. But at the end of the day, love is not just a feeling. Love is evidenced by the action we take in relation to our fellow humans, creatures, the earth… all of creation.

In our reading from Mother Teresa we heard, “Love cannot remain by itself – it has no meaning. Love has to be put into action, and that action is service. The most terrible poverty is loneliness, and the feeling of being unloved. If you judge people, you have no time to love them.”

Let’s just be really clear and honest with ourselves.

We don’t need to judge people when we live in hope.

We don’t need to judge people when we have peace of mind and spirit.

We don’t need to judge people when we are capable of really experiencing joy.

So let’s add one more reading to our service today, what I believe is a definitive reading on the topic of love, found in 1 Corinthians 13, “If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. 3 If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.

4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

8 Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. 9 For we know in part and we prophesy in part, 10 but when completeness comes, what is in part disappears. 11 When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became an adult, I put the ways of childhood behind me. 12 For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.

13 And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.”

Perhaps the best definition of love as an emotion is what we feel when we look into the face of a newborn baby. That is what Christmas reminds us of… the love that wells up inside us when we encounter the vulnerability, the hope, the peace, the joy of a newborn baby. As we enter this last week of Advent let us cultivate the ingredients that motivate us to take the action of love that makes a difference in the lives of people in the world. Let this be our meditation as we spend these last days leading to Christmas Eve.

May we all welcome the birth of love in the form of a tiny human newborn baby. My prayer and gift offered for each and every one of you this week is that you experience these things.

• “Hope is the thing with feathers that perches in the soul and sings the tune without the words and never stops at all.” – Emily Dickinson

• “Never be in a hurry; do everything quietly and in a calm spirit. Do not lose your inner peace for anything whatsoever, even if your whole world seems upset.” - Saint Francis de Sales

• “Joy is the holy fire that keeps our purpose warm and our intelligence aglow.” —Helen Keller

These are my gifts to you in this season. May the blessing of God rest upon you and upon all those whom you love. Amen.

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

Download SL20211219

Call to Worship

CLICK HERE for Audio

Because too many people are wandering in the wilderness, because too many people are sitting in the valley of the shadow of death, because too many of our conversations are laced with conflict and rancor, we light candles…

Because people all over the world are suffering, and we’re too often distracted to notice, we light candles… 

Today we stop everything and light these candles: one for hope, one for peace, one for joy, and one for love… (Light the fourth candle in your Advent wreath.)

May the light from these candles overwhelm the world.

May the light from these candles illuminate the valley of the shadow of death.

May the light and fire from these candles burn away everything that is preventing God’s love from being born among us.

Friends, be not afraid, even now — even now — God’s love is overwhelming the world, on earth as it is in heaven!

https://www.saltproject.org/progressive-christian-blog/2020/11/17/advent-candle-lighting-litanies

Opening Prayer

Almighty God, to you all hearts are open, all desires known, and from you no secrets are hid. Cleanse the thoughts of our hearts by the inspiration of your holy Spirit that we may perfectly love you and worthily magnify your holy names. Amen.

The Lessons

CLICK HERE for Audio of the Readings    

The Wisdom of Blessed Oscar Wilde

Who, being loved, is poor?

The Wisdom of St. Mother Teresa

Love cannot remain by itself – it has no meaning. Love has to be put into action, and that action is service. The most terrible poverty is loneliness, and the feeling of being unloved. If you judge people, you have no time to love them.

CLICK HERE for Audio of the Gospel     

A Reading from Luke’s Gospel (1.39-46)

In those days Mary set out and went with haste to a Judean town in the hill country,where she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth.
When Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting, the child leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the holy Spirit and exclaimed with a loud cry, "Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb.

And why has this happened to me, that the mother of my Lord comes to me?
For as soon as I heard the sound of your greeting, the child in my womb leaped for joy. And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her by the Lord."

And Mary said, "My soul magnifies the Lord…”

Reflection by Rev. Dr. BK Hipsher

CLICK HERE for Audio of the Reflection "Season of Love" Advent 4 2021     

Today we arrive at the beginning of the final week in our journey to the manger. We have looked at the value of hope, the necessity of peace, the function of joy and logically we arrive at the reality of love in this final week of Advent. Today we’re going to look at what the word love means.

Love as a noun includes these meanings:

• strong affection for another arising out of kinship or personal ties. (e.g. maternal love for a child)

• affection based on admiration, benevolence, or common interests. (e.g. love for his old schoolmates)

• unselfish loyal and benevolent concern for the good of another: such as

o the parental concern of God for humankind

o familial concern for humankind

• a person's adoration of God

• capitalized,  GOD

So without even considering the word love as a verb we have a LOT to think about when we consider the question, “What is love?” I think it’s important to look at this question in the context of the entire Advent season. There’s a reason why the Sundays in the Advent season have specific themes attached to them, specific themes in a specific order.

The theme for Advent 1 is Hope. I think we can all agree that if we are living in despair we have triggered our evolutionary survival behaviors. We are hard wired to do anything and everything we can do to survive. That means our concern for others becomes secondary to our own survival. And in extreme cases of despair we can even become convinced that living is not worthwhile. Hope is absolutely essential to our ability to be empathetic to others. So hope and our ability to feel empathy for others is really a necessary component of our ability to feel and express love for others, for ourselves, for the planet, and for God.

Even if we have hope for the future we also need peace of mind and the theme of peace for Advent 2 builds on the presence of hope. Even if we have hope for the future we also need peace of mind so that we can let go and let God work in our lives. This requires us to quiet our minds, quiet our spirits, and make space to listen for the still small voice of God speaking to us through other people and in the Holy Spirit’s voice within. It is very difficult to hear the still small voice when the noise that results from a deficit of peace in our hearts prevails. So achieving the will to welcome and work for peace of mind is such an important part of our journey.

Last week we had the theme of joy for Advent 3. At first look it may seem like joy is the result of hope, peace and love. But in fact, joy is a contingent element in love. Have you ever been really angry with your partner and tried to get in touch with the love you know you have for them? I contend that unless we can find some measure of joy we are incapable of truly experiencing love for humanity. Anger blocks love, lethargy makes us indifferent to taking action that mobilizes love in the world.

Love is not a passive emotion that comes and overwhelms us from a source outside ourselves. Love can be experienced as a feeling or emotion that is the result of hope, peace, and joy. But at the end of the day, love is not just a feeling. Love is evidenced by the action we take in relation to our fellow humans, creatures, the earth… all of creation.

In our reading from Mother Teresa we heard, “Love cannot remain by itself – it has no meaning. Love has to be put into action, and that action is service. The most terrible poverty is loneliness, and the feeling of being unloved. If you judge people, you have no time to love them.”

Let’s just be really clear and honest with ourselves.

We don’t need to judge people when we live in hope.

We don’t need to judge people when we have peace of mind and spirit.

We don’t need to judge people when we are capable of really experiencing joy.

So let’s add one more reading to our service today, what I believe is a definitive reading on the topic of love, found in 1 Corinthians 13, “If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. 3 If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.

4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

8 Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. 9 For we know in part and we prophesy in part, 10 but when completeness comes, what is in part disappears. 11 When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became an adult, I put the ways of childhood behind me. 12 For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.

13 And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.”

Perhaps the best definition of love as an emotion is what we feel when we look into the face of a newborn baby. That is what Christmas reminds us of… the love that wells up inside us when we encounter the vulnerability, the hope, the peace, the joy of a newborn baby. As we enter this last week of Advent let us cultivate the ingredients that motivate us to take the action of love that makes a difference in the lives of people in the world. Let this be our meditation as we spend these last days leading to Christmas Eve.

May we all welcome the birth of love in the form of a tiny human newborn baby. My prayer and gift offered for each and every one of you this week is that you experience these things.

• “Hope is the thing with feathers that perches in the soul and sings the tune without the words and never stops at all.” – Emily Dickinson

• “Never be in a hurry; do everything quietly and in a calm spirit. Do not lose your inner peace for anything whatsoever, even if your whole world seems upset.” - Saint Francis de Sales

• “Joy is the holy fire that keeps our purpose warm and our intelligence aglow.” —Helen Keller

These are my gifts to you in this season. May the blessing of God rest upon you and upon all those whom you love. Amen.

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

Download SL20211219

"Joy is on the Way" Sunday, December 12, 2021, Advent 3, 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

Click Here for Audio Advent 3 - Joy 2021

When I look around, I see shadows of sadness, families who have lost loved ones [in the tornados this weekend], people in prison, people who are isolated and feel on their own…

When I look around, I see shadows of grief, people dreading the holidays because of painful memories, because they're recently divorced, [because they have lost loved ones,] because they don't want to spend another Christmas alone… 

In the face of sadness, we light a candle of joy...

In the face of grief, in the face of loss, we light a candle of joy... (Light the third candle in your Advent wreath.)

May the light from this candle overwhelm the world.

May the light from this candle say to all that God’s joy is coming, on earth as it already is in heaven.

Friends, be not afraid, God’s joy is at hand!

https://www.saltproject.org/progressive-christian-blog/2020/11/17/advent-candle-lighting-litanies

Opening Prayer

Click Here for Audio of  Opening Prayer  

Almighty God, to you all hearts are open, all desires known, and from you no secrets are hid. Cleanse the thoughts of our hearts by the inspiration of your holy Spirit that we may perfectly love you and worthily magnify your holy names. Amen.

The Lessons

Click Here for Audio Readings

From the Prophet Isaiah (12.3)

With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation.

The Wisdom of the Psalter (30.5)

Misfortune lasts for only a moment,
    while divine goodwill endures for a lifetime.
Weeping may last throughout the night, 
    but at daybreak there is rejoicing.

Words of the Apostle Paul (Philippians 4.4)

Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice.

CLICK Here for Audio Gospel 

A Reading from Luke’s Gospel (3.10-16)

The crowds asked John the baptizer, "What should we do?"
In reply John said to them, "Whoever has two coats must share with anyone who has none; and whoever has food must do likewise."Even tax collectors came to be baptized, and they asked him, "Teacher, what should we do?"
He said to them, "Collect no more than the amount prescribed for you."

Soldiers also asked him, "And we, what should we do?" He said to them, "Do not extort money from anyone by threats or false accusation, and be satisfied with your wages."

As the people were filled with expectation, and all were questioning in their hearts concerning John, whether he might be the Messiah, John answered all of them by saying, "I baptize you with water; but one who is more powerful than I is coming…He will baptize you with the holy Spirit and fire.

Reflection by Rev. Dr. BK Hipsher

CLICK HERE for Audio of "Joy Is On The Way"    

Joy is on the Way

It’s hard to believe we’ve arrived at the third Sunday of Advent. We’re now past the halfway point in our journey to Christmas. Just two weeks from today we will gather for our Christmas I Sunday service. All the hustle and bustle will be subsiding, all of the presents will be opened and most of the family visits and meals done. But today we feel the the mounting excitement of all that is to come in the next two weeks.

Advent 3 is the Sunday we celebrate joy. This is a hard thing as we review the past week, the rising numbers of CoVid… again, the news of devastating tornados in the US over this weekend, troop build ups on the border of Russia and Ukraine, and refugees on the border of Poland, the US, and other countries around the world. And yet here we are, on the edge of Christmas when we sing Joy to the World.

In Advent we live in a liminal space between the now and what will be. We wait and we look forward to the happy day when hope, peace, joy, and love are born anew in the world, for that day when the world pauses in its violence and anxiety to sing Silent Night together. Christmas is a time to spiritually rest, to renew our spirits, and to consider what a world that truly celebrates Christmas all year round could be like.

And when we get just a glimpse of what the world could be – unified, aware that we are all one family – the joy that fills our hearts is overwhelming. That is what Advent 3 is all about, contemplating the feeling of joy that we all can have when we awaken to the reality that we are all one human family, one beloved tribe.

What would it take to bring this concept, this idea to reality? Imagination. That is it. No complicated psychology, no international political science. Just the human imagination focused on the fact that we are all children of the One Parent who created us in her image, created us to love all of his creation.

It is no coincidence that hope, peace, and joy are the first three candles on our Advent wreath. These are the building blocks of love. Hope wipes away despair, peace conquers anxiety, and joy fills our hearts with laughter and forgiveness. This is the road to love, the love of Christ that fills us with compassion and calls us to be what we were made to be – kind, caring, empathetic, people who understand that hate is always overcome by love just as light obliterates the darkness.

In these last two weeks of our Advent journey let us open our hearts to the joy that is around us even as we pray for those who are grieving and experiencing pain. Let us remember that joy comes to us in supporting those who have a particularly difficult time at the holidays. Our joy need not trample on the emotions of another because we can channel our joy into being present to those who need us, lending a hand, offering to listen, sometimes just sitting quietly together.

Let us open our hearts to one another. Let hope and peace and joy overflow within us as our hearts fill with compassion for the world. When we embrace the joy of the season we, too can sing out the words of Mary the mother of Jesus, "My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior …” Amen

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

Download SL20211212

Call to Worship

Click Here for Audio Advent 3 - Joy 2021

When I look around, I see shadows of sadness, families who have lost loved ones [in the tornados this weekend], people in prison, people who are isolated and feel on their own…

When I look around, I see shadows of grief, people dreading the holidays because of painful memories, because they're recently divorced, [because they have lost loved ones,] because they don't want to spend another Christmas alone… 

In the face of sadness, we light a candle of joy...

In the face of grief, in the face of loss, we light a candle of joy... (Light the third candle in your Advent wreath.)

May the light from this candle overwhelm the world.

May the light from this candle say to all that God’s joy is coming, on earth as it already is in heaven.

Friends, be not afraid, God’s joy is at hand!

https://www.saltproject.org/progressive-christian-blog/2020/11/17/advent-candle-lighting-litanies

Opening Prayer

Click Here for Audio of  Opening Prayer  

Almighty God, to you all hearts are open, all desires known, and from you no secrets are hid. Cleanse the thoughts of our hearts by the inspiration of your holy Spirit that we may perfectly love you and worthily magnify your holy names. Amen.

The Lessons

Click Here for Audio Readings

From the Prophet Isaiah (12.3)

With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation.

The Wisdom of the Psalter (30.5)

Misfortune lasts for only a moment,
    while divine goodwill endures for a lifetime.
Weeping may last throughout the night, 
    but at daybreak there is rejoicing.

Words of the Apostle Paul (Philippians 4.4)

Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice.

CLICK Here for Audio Gospel 

A Reading from Luke’s Gospel (3.10-16)

The crowds asked John the baptizer, "What should we do?"
In reply John said to them, "Whoever has two coats must share with anyone who has none; and whoever has food must do likewise."Even tax collectors came to be baptized, and they asked him, "Teacher, what should we do?"
He said to them, "Collect no more than the amount prescribed for you."

Soldiers also asked him, "And we, what should we do?" He said to them, "Do not extort money from anyone by threats or false accusation, and be satisfied with your wages."

As the people were filled with expectation, and all were questioning in their hearts concerning John, whether he might be the Messiah, John answered all of them by saying, "I baptize you with water; but one who is more powerful than I is coming…He will baptize you with the holy Spirit and fire.

Reflection by Rev. Dr. BK Hipsher

CLICK HERE for Audio of "Joy Is On The Way"    

Joy is on the Way

It’s hard to believe we’ve arrived at the third Sunday of Advent. We’re now past the halfway point in our journey to Christmas. Just two weeks from today we will gather for our Christmas I Sunday service. All the hustle and bustle will be subsiding, all of the presents will be opened and most of the family visits and meals done. But today we feel the the mounting excitement of all that is to come in the next two weeks.

Advent 3 is the Sunday we celebrate joy. This is a hard thing as we review the past week, the rising numbers of CoVid… again, the news of devastating tornados in the US over this weekend, troop build ups on the border of Russia and Ukraine, and refugees on the border of Poland, the US, and other countries around the world. And yet here we are, on the edge of Christmas when we sing Joy to the World.

In Advent we live in a liminal space between the now and what will be. We wait and we look forward to the happy day when hope, peace, joy, and love are born anew in the world, for that day when the world pauses in its violence and anxiety to sing Silent Night together. Christmas is a time to spiritually rest, to renew our spirits, and to consider what a world that truly celebrates Christmas all year round could be like.

And when we get just a glimpse of what the world could be – unified, aware that we are all one family – the joy that fills our hearts is overwhelming. That is what Advent 3 is all about, contemplating the feeling of joy that we all can have when we awaken to the reality that we are all one human family, one beloved tribe.

What would it take to bring this concept, this idea to reality? Imagination. That is it. No complicated psychology, no international political science. Just the human imagination focused on the fact that we are all children of the One Parent who created us in her image, created us to love all of his creation.

It is no coincidence that hope, peace, and joy are the first three candles on our Advent wreath. These are the building blocks of love. Hope wipes away despair, peace conquers anxiety, and joy fills our hearts with laughter and forgiveness. This is the road to love, the love of Christ that fills us with compassion and calls us to be what we were made to be – kind, caring, empathetic, people who understand that hate is always overcome by love just as light obliterates the darkness.

In these last two weeks of our Advent journey let us open our hearts to the joy that is around us even as we pray for those who are grieving and experiencing pain. Let us remember that joy comes to us in supporting those who have a particularly difficult time at the holidays. Our joy need not trample on the emotions of another because we can channel our joy into being present to those who need us, lending a hand, offering to listen, sometimes just sitting quietly together.

Let us open our hearts to one another. Let hope and peace and joy overflow within us as our hearts fill with compassion for the world. When we embrace the joy of the season we, too can sing out the words of Mary the mother of Jesus, "My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior …” Amen

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

Download SL20211212

"Righteous Peace" Sunday, December 5, 2021, Advent 2, 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

Click Here for Audio Advent 2 Peace

Advent 2 Candle Lighting

The first Sunday of the month is our regular Sunday for Communion. But during Lent and Advent we forego Communion Sunday until the anticipated festival, which is Christmas I on December 26. As we move into the new year 2022 we will have our communion services on the last Sunday in each month.

Today is the second Sunday in Advent, the candle of Peace…

Because of war, because of violence in our communities, because there is still so much unrest in our hearts, we light a candle of peace...

Because hatred is still so strong, because so many swords have not yet been beaten into ploughshares, we light a candle of peace…  

May the light from this candle overwhelm the world.

May the light from this candle say to all that God’s peace is coming, on earth as it already is in heaven.

Friends, be not afraid, God’s peace is at hand!

https://www.saltproject.org/progressive-christian-blog/2020/11/17/advent-candle-lighting-litanies

Opening Prayer

Click Here for Audio of  Opening Prayer  

Almighty God, to you all hearts are open, all desires known, and from you no secrets are hid. Cleanse the thoughts of our hearts by the inspiration of your holy Spirit that we may perfectly love you and worthily magnify your holy names. Amen.

The Lessons

Click Here for Audio of First Reading    

From the Writings of Baruch (5.1-4)

Take off the garment of your sorrow and affliction, O Jerusalem, 

and put on forever the beauty of the glory from God.
Put on the robe of the righteousness that comes from God; 

put on your head the diadem of the glory of the Everlasting;
for God will show your splendor everywhere under heaven.
For God will give you evermore the name, "Righteous Peace, Godly Glory."

Click Here for Audio of  Gospel   

A Reading from Luke’s Gospel (3.1-6)

In the fifteenth year of the reign of Emperor Tiberius, when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, and Herod was ruler of Galilee, and his brother Philip ruler of the region of Ituraea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias ruler of Abilene, during the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John son of Zechariah in the wilderness.

John went into all the region around the Jordan, proclaiming a baptism of repentance…,
as it is written in the book of Isaiah, "The voice of one crying out in the wilderness: 'Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths clear. Every valley shall be filled, and every mountain and hill shall be made low, and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough ways made smooth; and all flesh shall see the salvation of God.'"

Reflection by Rev. Dr. BK Hipsher

Click Here for Audio of Advent 2 Reflection "Righteous Peace"

This is the second Sunday in Advent, the Sunday with the theme – Peace. When we lit our Advent candle today our reading for that candle mirrored our gospel reading. So often when the think of peace we first focus on that which hinders peace.

In our candle lighting we called to mind violence, war, and hatred. In our gospel reading we find a quote from Isaiah the prophet that described peace as filling every valley and smoothing out the mountains so that the way is smooth. In both of these readings we might get the impression that whatever is outside us must be calmed and smoothed and soothed before we can experience peace.

We must remember that much of how the world works and many of the passages in our sacred texts are rooted in dualism. For instance, in Romans 8:6 we read, “For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace.” Here at Sunshine Cathedral we do not believe that we must set aside our humanness, our bodies, our sexuality in order to be righteous. We believe that human beings are made in the image of God and that our bodies are not in constant conflict with our spirits.

So our reading from Baruch reflects this wholistic view of what it means to be human but gives us some valuable guidance on what we can do to realize peace.

First we are instructed to, “Take off the garment of [our] sorrow and affliction…” We are not required to prove that we are compassionate and concerned about those who are oppressed and in need in this world by wallowing in despair. We can let go of sorrow when we grieve and we can embrace healing as it seeps into our lives. So our first act in achieving peace is to “Let Go, and Let God” when it comes to things that are out of our control. We are not required to perseverate on sadness, sorrow and pain to prove we are good people, to prove that we love God and the family of humanity.

Secondly we are instructed to take positive action, “… put on forever the beauty of the glory from God. Put on the robe of the righteousness that comes from God…” This image of taking off one garment and putting on another garment is a beautiful way of describing how our internal spirit is completely integrated and connected to our human body. So what does it mean to put on a robe of righteousness. Well I think it means that we are to focus our minds on what it means to be righteous.

When we look up the word righteous in the dictionary we see synonyms like ethical, decent, just, and honorable. These words describe how we treat ourselves and how we treat others. And most of you know from doing your own therapy and self-reflection that how we treat ourselves is ultimately how we treat others.

• When we judge ourselves harshly we will inevitably judge others harshly.
• When we expect perfection of ourselves, we will expect perfection from others and we will be disappointed.
• When we disrespect our own bodies we will disrespect the humanity of another.
• When we act justly toward ourselves, we are likely to act justly toward others.

One of the most flawed people I ever knew in my life taught me one of the most important lessons of life, “Treat yourself as you would treat your very best friend.” You would forgive your best friend for falling short, for losing her temper, for being stressed out to the point of despair. And if we say to ourselves the same thing we might say to our very best friend we begin to live into what it means to be righteous.

Finally, we take the actions of removing the robe of affliction and putting on the robe of righteousness, our scripture says that God will put upon our heads (into our minds) “… the diadem of glory of the Everlasting.” We will no longer be known as someone who makes themselves a martyr to our own shortcomings and to the evils of the world. Instead we will be known by the name, “Righteous Peace, Godly Glory." People with whom we interact will know that we are centered in God’s peace not in the anxiety and stress of the evil in the world.

Now none of this means that we should segregate ourselves from reality. Perhaps we ought to limit how much news and bad news media we consume. But we still need to know what is going on the world. Keeping our mind on God does not mean that we ignore science and injustice. In fact, keeping our minds on God and living in peace means that we do everything we can to work for justice and to keep ourselves safe from CoVid and from other kinds of illness.

Our peace of mind is not divorced from our health or our mental attitudes. We are not at the mercy of circumstances. There are actions we can take to help us attain peace. On this Sunday of Peace in our Advent season let me leave you with this from Romans 14:19, “So then let us pursue what makes for peace and for mutual upbuilding.” When we become more peaceful that “rubs off” on those we meet. Peace spreads from one person to another even more easily than hatred and fear.

Let us focus on what we can do by treating others with respect even when they may not be acting in a respectful way, let us open our hearts to hope, let us allow ourselves to love unconditionally. This is the path to peace.

Let us pray,

God grant us the serenity to accept the things we cannot change,

Courage to change the things we can,

And the wisdom to know the difference. Amen.

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

Download SL20211205

Call to Worship

"Let Not Your Hearts Be Troubled" Sunday, November 28 , 2021,Advent 1, 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

Click here for Audio of Advent 1 Candle Lighting

Advent 1 Candle Lighting

Today begins our journey through Advent to Christmas morning when we see the face of God in the baby Jesus lying in a manger. Our journey is one that restores our faith in humanity and sets aside the anxiety of the year past as we turn to face the future in expectant hope of peace, love and the return on joy to our lives. And yet we must confront the realities of this world.

When [we] look around, [we]  see shadows of hunger. Particularly in this time of pandemic, so many neighbors, nearby and around the world, will go to bed hungry tonight…

When[we] look around, [we]  see shadows of injustice, the rich getting richer and the poor getting poorer — and someone somewhere will fall asleep under a bridge tonight…

In the face of hunger, we light a candle of hope…

In the face of injustice, in the face of despair, we light a candle of hope… (Light the first candle in the Advent wreath.)

Let the light from this candle say to all that God’s hope is coming, on earth as it already is in heaven.

Friends, be not afraid, God’s hope is at hand!

https://www.saltproject.org/progressive-christian-blog/2020/11/17/advent-candle-lighting-litanies

Opening Prayer

Click Here for Audio of  Opening Prayer   

Almighty God, to you all hearts are open, all desires known, and from you no secrets are hid. Cleanse the thoughts of our hearts by the inspiration of your holy Spirit that we may perfectly love you and worthily magnify your holy names. Amen.

The Lessons

Click Here for Audio of First Reading    

The Prophet Jerimiah (29.11-14a)

I (your God) know full well the plans I have for you, plans for your welfare and not for your misfortune, plans that will offer you a future filled with hope.

When you call out to me and come forth and pray to me, I will listen to you. When you search for me, you will find me. When you seek me with all your heart, I will allow you to discover me, says the sovereign God. 

Click Here for Audio of Gospel Reading     

A Reading from the Fourth Gospel (14.1-6, 11-12, 27)

“Do not let your hearts be troubled.
You place your trust in God. 
Trust also in me.

In my Family home there are many rooms.
If there were not,
would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you?
And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself,
so that where I am, you may also be.
You know the way to the place I am going.”

Thomas said to him, “Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?”

Jesus replied, “I am the way…”

Believe me when I say
that I am in God
and God is in me.
But if you do not,
then believe
because of the works themselves.

“Amen, amen, I say to you,
the one who believes in me
will also do the works that I do,
and indeed will do even greater ones than these…

“Peace I leave with you,
my peace I give to you.
Not as the world gives
do I give it to you.
Do not let your hearts be troubled;
be not afraid.

Reflection by Rev. Dr. BK Hipsher

Click Here for Audio of Reflection for Advent 1 "Let Not Your Hearts Be Trouble"    

Let Not Your Hearts Be Troubled: A Message of Hope 

“Lord, we do not know where we are going. How can we know the way?” On this first Sunday of Advent this statement has never been more true. As we come to the second year of the beginning of Advent with the world still in the throes of a global pandemic all any of us want to know is where we are going. We have lived in anxiety now for nearly 2 years.

The words of the prophet Jeremiah are a healing balm for our soul. The words sound like they were sent to us on this day thousands of years later… “I (your God) know full well the plans I have for you, plans for your welfare and not for your misfortune, plans that will offer you a future filled with hope.”

Hope is what we want. Hope is what we need. Hope is what we seek. We need to hope that one day CoVid will not dominate our lives. We need to hang on to hope that democracies will survive and thrive. We hope and work for a day when  the basic human needs of all God’s children are met… clean water, food, clothing, shelter, and work that gives our lives meaning and provides for the needs of our family.

Jesus reminds us to trust in a power greater than ourselves. His words assure us that he and others have traveled roads filled with dread, regret, and fear and that he knows our anxiety. We are assured that God is ever preparing for goodness for us. But even for me these ancient words cannot sooth my dread or assuage my fear. There are days when I think, “How much more can we take before we break. There are days when I do not have the physical, mental, emotional, or spiritual strength to go looking for God.

And it is invariably on those days that I am reminded that God is always looking for me, always reaching out to me. God is not waiting for me to come and pay homage as if God had the petty mind of a human king. Instead God is actively seeking us, always looking for us and always looking out for our well-being.

Does that mean that when something bad happenes in our lives that we’ve done something wrong or that God has deserted us? No! Life happens. There is randomness in the chaos of life. But when there are disappointments, or pain, or fear, or even death God is there with us. God is ever near to us. And God seeks us out when we do not have the strength to raise our hands to ask for help.

All we have to do is be open to God’s presence, be open to God’s grace. It often comes to us through the kindness of other people. Sometimes through the love of animals. And always in the sacred assurance that we are never left to face any difficulty alone because God is our comforter, our ever present need in times of trial.

As we move into this Advent season once again, traveling the road toa Christmas morning, actively waiting for the miracle of love to once again descend on the earth I say to you the words of Jesus, “Let not your hearts be troubled” Believe that your Eternal Parent is always near and ready to support us even in times of trial. None of us knows what the New Year will bring. But one thing we do know, that we will be here for each other. This community of faith provides hope to those who come here and that hope extends to the whole world.

Because as the psalmist says (Psalm 139),

You have searched me, Lord,
    and you know me.
You know when I sit and when I rise;
    you perceive my thoughts from afar.
You discern my going out and my lying down;
    you are familiar with all my ways.
Before a word is on my tongue
    you, Lord, know it completely.
You hem me in behind and before,
    and you lay your hand upon me.
Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,
    too lofty for me to attain.

Where can I go from your Spirit?
    Where can I flee from your presence?
If I go up to the heavens, you are there;
    if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.
If I rise on the wings of the dawn,
    if I settle on the far side of the sea,
even there your hand will guide me,
    your right hand will hold me fast.
If I say, “Surely the darkness will hide me
    and the light become night around me,”
even the darkness will not be dark to you;
    the night will shine like the day,
    for darkness is as light to you.

Let us pray,

We thank you for the gift of hope this Advent season. Fill us with the confidence that comes with a deep faith in your love. Help us trust your unwavering presence. Bless our waiting. Make it Holy. Bless our anticipation of Christmas in this holy season. Amen.

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

Download SL20211128

Call to Worship

Click here for Audio of Advent 1 Candle Lighting

Advent 1 Candle Lighting

Today begins our journey through Advent to Christmas morning when we see the face of God in the baby Jesus lying in a manger. Our journey is one that restores our faith in humanity and sets aside the anxiety of the year past as we turn to face the future in expectant hope of peace, love and the return on joy to our lives. And yet we must confront the realities of this world.

When [we] look around, [we]  see shadows of hunger. Particularly in this time of pandemic, so many neighbors, nearby and around the world, will go to bed hungry tonight…

When[we] look around, [we]  see shadows of injustice, the rich getting richer and the poor getting poorer — and someone somewhere will fall asleep under a bridge tonight…

In the face of hunger, we light a candle of hope…

In the face of injustice, in the face of despair, we light a candle of hope… (Light the first candle in the Advent wreath.)

Let the light from this candle say to all that God’s hope is coming, on earth as it already is in heaven.

Friends, be not afraid, God’s hope is at hand!

https://www.saltproject.org/progressive-christian-blog/2020/11/17/advent-candle-lighting-litanies

Opening Prayer

Click Here for Audio of  Opening Prayer   

Almighty God, to you all hearts are open, all desires known, and from you no secrets are hid. Cleanse the thoughts of our hearts by the inspiration of your holy Spirit that we may perfectly love you and worthily magnify your holy names. Amen.

The Lessons

Click Here for Audio of First Reading    

The Prophet Jerimiah (29.11-14a)

I (your God) know full well the plans I have for you, plans for your welfare and not for your misfortune, plans that will offer you a future filled with hope.

When you call out to me and come forth and pray to me, I will listen to you. When you search for me, you will find me. When you seek me with all your heart, I will allow you to discover me, says the sovereign God. 

Click Here for Audio of Gospel Reading     

A Reading from the Fourth Gospel (14.1-6, 11-12, 27)

“Do not let your hearts be troubled.
You place your trust in God. 
Trust also in me.

In my Family home there are many rooms.
If there were not,
would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you?
And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself,
so that where I am, you may also be.
You know the way to the place I am going.”

Thomas said to him, “Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?”

Jesus replied, “I am the way…”

Believe me when I say
that I am in God
and God is in me.
But if you do not,
then believe
because of the works themselves.

“Amen, amen, I say to you,
the one who believes in me
will also do the works that I do,
and indeed will do even greater ones than these…

“Peace I leave with you,
my peace I give to you.
Not as the world gives
do I give it to you.
Do not let your hearts be troubled;
be not afraid.

Reflection by Rev. Dr. BK Hipsher

Click Here for Audio of Reflection for Advent 1 "Let Not Your Hearts Be Trouble"    

Let Not Your Hearts Be Troubled: A Message of Hope 

“Lord, we do not know where we are going. How can we know the way?” On this first Sunday of Advent this statement has never been more true. As we come to the second year of the beginning of Advent with the world still in the throes of a global pandemic all any of us want to know is where we are going. We have lived in anxiety now for nearly 2 years.

The words of the prophet Jeremiah are a healing balm for our soul. The words sound like they were sent to us on this day thousands of years later… “I (your God) know full well the plans I have for you, plans for your welfare and not for your misfortune, plans that will offer you a future filled with hope.”

Hope is what we want. Hope is what we need. Hope is what we seek. We need to hope that one day CoVid will not dominate our lives. We need to hang on to hope that democracies will survive and thrive. We hope and work for a day when  the basic human needs of all God’s children are met… clean water, food, clothing, shelter, and work that gives our lives meaning and provides for the needs of our family.

Jesus reminds us to trust in a power greater than ourselves. His words assure us that he and others have traveled roads filled with dread, regret, and fear and that he knows our anxiety. We are assured that God is ever preparing for goodness for us. But even for me these ancient words cannot sooth my dread or assuage my fear. There are days when I think, “How much more can we take before we break. There are days when I do not have the physical, mental, emotional, or spiritual strength to go looking for God.

And it is invariably on those days that I am reminded that God is always looking for me, always reaching out to me. God is not waiting for me to come and pay homage as if God had the petty mind of a human king. Instead God is actively seeking us, always looking for us and always looking out for our well-being.

Does that mean that when something bad happenes in our lives that we’ve done something wrong or that God has deserted us? No! Life happens. There is randomness in the chaos of life. But when there are disappointments, or pain, or fear, or even death God is there with us. God is ever near to us. And God seeks us out when we do not have the strength to raise our hands to ask for help.

All we have to do is be open to God’s presence, be open to God’s grace. It often comes to us through the kindness of other people. Sometimes through the love of animals. And always in the sacred assurance that we are never left to face any difficulty alone because God is our comforter, our ever present need in times of trial.

As we move into this Advent season once again, traveling the road toa Christmas morning, actively waiting for the miracle of love to once again descend on the earth I say to you the words of Jesus, “Let not your hearts be troubled” Believe that your Eternal Parent is always near and ready to support us even in times of trial. None of us knows what the New Year will bring. But one thing we do know, that we will be here for each other. This community of faith provides hope to those who come here and that hope extends to the whole world.

Because as the psalmist says (Psalm 139),

You have searched me, Lord,
    and you know me.
You know when I sit and when I rise;
    you perceive my thoughts from afar.
You discern my going out and my lying down;
    you are familiar with all my ways.
Before a word is on my tongue
    you, Lord, know it completely.
You hem me in behind and before,
    and you lay your hand upon me.
Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,
    too lofty for me to attain.

Where can I go from your Spirit?
    Where can I flee from your presence?
If I go up to the heavens, you are there;
    if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.
If I rise on the wings of the dawn,
    if I settle on the far side of the sea,
even there your hand will guide me,
    your right hand will hold me fast.
If I say, “Surely the darkness will hide me
    and the light become night around me,”
even the darkness will not be dark to you;
    the night will shine like the day,
    for darkness is as light to you.

Let us pray,

We thank you for the gift of hope this Advent season. Fill us with the confidence that comes with a deep faith in your love. Help us trust your unwavering presence. Bless our waiting. Make it Holy. Bless our anticipation of Christmas in this holy season. Amen.

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

Download SL20211128

"For a Time Such as This" Sunday, November 21 , 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 full of mercy, bless the souls of all who are in our hearts on this Transgender Day of Remembrance. We call to mind today young and old, of every race, faith, and gender experience, who have died by violence. We remember those who have died because they would not hide, or did not pass, or did pass, or stood too proud. Today we name them: the reluctant activist; the fiery hurler of heels; the warrior for quiet truth; the one whom no one really knew.

As many as we can name, there are thousands more whom we cannot, and for whom no Kaddish may have been said. We mourn their senseless deaths, and give thanks for their lives, for their teaching, and for the brief glow of each holy flame. We pray for the strength to carry on their legacy of vision, bravery, and love.

And as we remember them, we remember with them the thousands more who have taken their own lives. We pray for resolve to root out the injustice, ignorance, and cruelty that grow despair. And we pray, God, that all those who perpetrate hate and violence will speedily come to understand that Your creation has many faces, many genders, many holy expressions.

Blessed are they, who have allowed their divine image to shine in the world. Blessed is God, in Whom no light is extinguished. Amen.

(Prayer by Rabbi Reuben Zellman - https://www.keshetonline.org/resources/prayer-for-transgender-day-of-remembrance)

The Lessons

CLICK HERE for First Reading

From the Wisdom of Robert Louis Stevenson

You cannot run away from weakness; you must some time fight it out or perish; and if that be so, why not now, and where you stand?

CLICK HERE for Final Reading

From the Book of Esther, Chapter 4

14…[Mordecai said, I]f you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance … will arise from another place, but you and your … family will perish. And who knows but that you have come to your royal position for such a time as this?”

15 Then Esther sent this reply to Mordecai: 16… I will go to the king, even though it is against the law. And if I perish, I perish.”

Reflection by Rev. Dr. BK Hipsher

CLICK HERE for Audio of Reflection "For Such a Time as This"

November 20 is International Transgender day of Remembrance. And this being the Sunday closest to that day is the Sunday we recall this important day. This is the day each year when we remember and memorialize those children of God who have been murdered in the past year as a result of the hatred we call transphobia. This day of memorial was founded in 1999 by a small group of people to memorialize the murder of Rita Hester in Allston, Massachusetts… just a few miles from where I live.

Rita Hester was a transgender African American woman who was murdered on November 28, 1998. And the grief and anger of her murder inspired people in the Boston area to examine the intersectionality of Rita Hester’s multiple points of marginalization… she was African American, she was transgender, she was a woman. The conscience of a community was jolted to recognition of bigotry upon bigotry that culminated in her death.

The idea of memorializing those murdered as a result of transphobia was born from one murder in 1999 and by 2010, Transgender Day of Remembrance was observed in 185 cities in 20 countries. And each year the names of those murdered in the past year are read aloud as we will do for our dead again this year. Did those who organized that first memorial in 1999 have known that their actions would lead to a worldwide memorial observance that would raise awareness of transphobia 20 years later?

It seems that human beings are hardwired to marginalize other human beings. In our story from the book of Esther this morning Queen Esther is challenged to risk her own life to save those of her fellow Jewish people who were about to be exterminated by the evil Haman. Now Haman’s hatred of the Jewish people was a direct result of the refusal of one Jewish man to bow down to him as he walked in and out of the gates of palace. That Jewish man’s name was Mordecai, the uncle of Queen Esther.

Esther did not take on this cause to save her people. She did not set out to save her ancestral family living in the realm of King Xerxes in Persia. His palace was in what is modern day Iran near the border with Iraq, far away from the ancestral home of her people in what is known as Israel today. She was not an activist. But she found herself in a position to speak truth to power, to tell her husband, King Xerxes, the plans of Haman to exterminate her people.

But in order to speak to him she had to risk coming into his presence without an invitation. And if he was displeased with her intrusion she would have been executed. She was asked by her uncle Mordecai to go in to the king. She was hesitant. But her uncle asked her an important and poignant question, “And who knows but that you have come to your royal position for such a time as this?”

This is where we find ourselves today. Who knows but that we have come to our position of privilege for such a time as this. Even as gay men and lesbians we enjoy the protections of the law and the privileges of tolerance if not acceptance. This is not so for our transgender siblings. We are duty bound to use that privilege to work for justice on their behalf, to use our voices to speak truth to power on behalf of those who are voiceless.

In the United States 2021 has been the deadliest year on record for transgender, nonbinary, and gender-nonconforming Americans at 46. The Transrespect versus Transphobia Worldwide research project released an update of Trans Murder Monitoring showing 2021 to be the deadliest year for trans and gender-diverse people since the began collecting data, with 375 registered murders in the past year.And we know this number to be far, far larger.

And so today we remember some of the names of people murdered for simply being themselves. Names of people who are loved by friends and family, people whose contribution to the wellbeing of human kind is now lost to history. They were sent to their graves with all of the potential of their lives, the art, the literature, the music, the engineering, the mathematics, physics, and other scientific knowledge that might have changed the course of history. These names serve to remind us to remember them all by name. These are but of few of those we lost to violence born of hate and bigotry.

 

Tyianna “Davarea” Alexander

Samuel Edmund Damián Valentín

Bianca “Muffin” Bankz

Dominique Jackson

Fifty Bandz

Alexus Braxton

Chyna Carrillo

Jeffery “JJ” Bright

Jenna Franks

Aidelen Evans

Diamond Kyree Sanders

Rayanna Pardo

Jaida Peterson

Dominque Lucious

Remy Fennell

Tiara Banks

Jahaira DeAlto Balenciaga

Natalia Smüt

Iris Santos

Tiffany Thomas

Keri Washington

Thomas Hardin

Whispering Wind Bear Spirit

Sophie Vásquez

Danny Henson

Serenity Hollis

Poe Delwyn Black

Oliver “Ollie” Taylor

Tierramarie Lewis

EJ Boykin

Taya Ashton

Shai Vanderpump

Miss CoCo

Pooh Johnson

Zoella Martinez

Disaya Monaee

Brianna Ulmer

Kièr Solomon

Mel Groves

Royal Poetical Starz

Jessi Hart

Jo Acker

Rikkey Outumuro

Jenny De Leon

Marquiisha Lawrence

For these all those unnamed in this and all generations we remember their lives. We remember those who loved them and miss them. We mourn for them and for all humanity who are the worse for their loss.

“Let us pray. 

Speak to us this day, O God,
and humble us to hear your word.
Make us still enough to notice your presence,
Quiet enough to hear your voice,
Brave enough to speak your good news,
and wise enough to follow your spirit.

So often we pray to you for life:
to preserve life, to prolong life, 
to guard life, to begin life.
Today we pray for something else.
We pray for courage to lose our life for your sake, 
and we pray for the wisdom to find it. 

As Mordecai challenged Esther to be faithful at all costs,
make us hear the voices of people oppressed,
whose stories challenge our way of life. 

We pray for your children everywhere:

For your people who are suffering,
Discriminated against because of their race, gender identity, 
sexuality, or religion. 
For your people who are fearful,
Faced with losing their access to healthcare or treatment. 
For your people who are isolated,
Living in the shackles of addiction or abuse

Holy comforter, challenger, redeemer,
We know that you are in our midst.
Help us recognize your spirit on the move,
and empower us to join your work.

Help us be your church, reformed and still being reformed. 
Help us be your people, formed and still being formed. 
Help us boldly share the news of your love,
For such a time as this. 

Amen.”

https://andalsowithyou.blog/2017/07/27/prayers-from-matthew-and-esther-for-such-a-time-as-this/

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

Download SL20211121

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 full of mercy, bless the souls of all who are in our hearts on this Transgender Day of Remembrance. We call to mind today young and old, of every race, faith, and gender experience, who have died by violence. We remember those who have died because they would not hide, or did not pass, or did pass, or stood too proud. Today we name them: the reluctant activist; the fiery hurler of heels; the warrior for quiet truth; the one whom no one really knew.

As many as we can name, there are thousands more whom we cannot, and for whom no Kaddish may have been said. We mourn their senseless deaths, and give thanks for their lives, for their teaching, and for the brief glow of each holy flame. We pray for the strength to carry on their legacy of vision, bravery, and love.

And as we remember them, we remember with them the thousands more who have taken their own lives. We pray for resolve to root out the injustice, ignorance, and cruelty that grow despair. And we pray, God, that all those who perpetrate hate and violence will speedily come to understand that Your creation has many faces, many genders, many holy expressions.

Blessed are they, who have allowed their divine image to shine in the world. Blessed is God, in Whom no light is extinguished. Amen.

(Prayer by Rabbi Reuben Zellman - https://www.keshetonline.org/resources/prayer-for-transgender-day-of-remembrance)

The Lessons

CLICK HERE for First Reading

From the Wisdom of Robert Louis Stevenson

You cannot run away from weakness; you must some time fight it out or perish; and if that be so, why not now, and where you stand?

CLICK HERE for Final Reading

From the Book of Esther, Chapter 4

14…[Mordecai said, I]f you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance … will arise from another place, but you and your … family will perish. And who knows but that you have come to your royal position for such a time as this?”

15 Then Esther sent this reply to Mordecai: 16… I will go to the king, even though it is against the law. And if I perish, I perish.”

Reflection by Rev. Dr. BK Hipsher

CLICK HERE for Audio of Reflection "For Such a Time as This"

November 20 is International Transgender day of Remembrance. And this being the Sunday closest to that day is the Sunday we recall this important day. This is the day each year when we remember and memorialize those children of God who have been murdered in the past year as a result of the hatred we call transphobia. This day of memorial was founded in 1999 by a small group of people to memorialize the murder of Rita Hester in Allston, Massachusetts… just a few miles from where I live.

Rita Hester was a transgender African American woman who was murdered on November 28, 1998. And the grief and anger of her murder inspired people in the Boston area to examine the intersectionality of Rita Hester’s multiple points of marginalization… she was African American, she was transgender, she was a woman. The conscience of a community was jolted to recognition of bigotry upon bigotry that culminated in her death.

The idea of memorializing those murdered as a result of transphobia was born from one murder in 1999 and by 2010, Transgender Day of Remembrance was observed in 185 cities in 20 countries. And each year the names of those murdered in the past year are read aloud as we will do for our dead again this year. Did those who organized that first memorial in 1999 have known that their actions would lead to a worldwide memorial observance that would raise awareness of transphobia 20 years later?

It seems that human beings are hardwired to marginalize other human beings. In our story from the book of Esther this morning Queen Esther is challenged to risk her own life to save those of her fellow Jewish people who were about to be exterminated by the evil Haman. Now Haman’s hatred of the Jewish people was a direct result of the refusal of one Jewish man to bow down to him as he walked in and out of the gates of palace. That Jewish man’s name was Mordecai, the uncle of Queen Esther.

Esther did not take on this cause to save her people. She did not set out to save her ancestral family living in the realm of King Xerxes in Persia. His palace was in what is modern day Iran near the border with Iraq, far away from the ancestral home of her people in what is known as Israel today. She was not an activist. But she found herself in a position to speak truth to power, to tell her husband, King Xerxes, the plans of Haman to exterminate her people.

But in order to speak to him she had to risk coming into his presence without an invitation. And if he was displeased with her intrusion she would have been executed. She was asked by her uncle Mordecai to go in to the king. She was hesitant. But her uncle asked her an important and poignant question, “And who knows but that you have come to your royal position for such a time as this?”

This is where we find ourselves today. Who knows but that we have come to our position of privilege for such a time as this. Even as gay men and lesbians we enjoy the protections of the law and the privileges of tolerance if not acceptance. This is not so for our transgender siblings. We are duty bound to use that privilege to work for justice on their behalf, to use our voices to speak truth to power on behalf of those who are voiceless.

In the United States 2021 has been the deadliest year on record for transgender, nonbinary, and gender-nonconforming Americans at 46. The Transrespect versus Transphobia Worldwide research project released an update of Trans Murder Monitoring showing 2021 to be the deadliest year for trans and gender-diverse people since the began collecting data, with 375 registered murders in the past year.And we know this number to be far, far larger.

And so today we remember some of the names of people murdered for simply being themselves. Names of people who are loved by friends and family, people whose contribution to the wellbeing of human kind is now lost to history. They were sent to their graves with all of the potential of their lives, the art, the literature, the music, the engineering, the mathematics, physics, and other scientific knowledge that might have changed the course of history. These names serve to remind us to remember them all by name. These are but of few of those we lost to violence born of hate and bigotry.

 

Tyianna “Davarea” Alexander

Samuel Edmund Damián Valentín

Bianca “Muffin” Bankz

Dominique Jackson

Fifty Bandz

Alexus Braxton

Chyna Carrillo

Jeffery “JJ” Bright

Jenna Franks

Aidelen Evans

Diamond Kyree Sanders

Rayanna Pardo

Jaida Peterson

Dominque Lucious

Remy Fennell

Tiara Banks

Jahaira DeAlto Balenciaga

Natalia Smüt

Iris Santos

Tiffany Thomas

Keri Washington

Thomas Hardin

Whispering Wind Bear Spirit

Sophie Vásquez

Danny Henson

Serenity Hollis

Poe Delwyn Black

Oliver “Ollie” Taylor

Tierramarie Lewis

EJ Boykin

Taya Ashton

Shai Vanderpump

Miss CoCo

Pooh Johnson

Zoella Martinez

Disaya Monaee

Brianna Ulmer

Kièr Solomon

Mel Groves

Royal Poetical Starz

Jessi Hart

Jo Acker

Rikkey Outumuro

Jenny De Leon

Marquiisha Lawrence

For these all those unnamed in this and all generations we remember their lives. We remember those who loved them and miss them. We mourn for them and for all humanity who are the worse for their loss.

“Let us pray. 

Speak to us this day, O God,
and humble us to hear your word.
Make us still enough to notice your presence,
Quiet enough to hear your voice,
Brave enough to speak your good news,
and wise enough to follow your spirit.

So often we pray to you for life:
to preserve life, to prolong life, 
to guard life, to begin life.
Today we pray for something else.
We pray for courage to lose our life for your sake, 
and we pray for the wisdom to find it. 

As Mordecai challenged Esther to be faithful at all costs,
make us hear the voices of people oppressed,
whose stories challenge our way of life. 

We pray for your children everywhere:

For your people who are suffering,
Discriminated against because of their race, gender identity, 
sexuality, or religion. 
For your people who are fearful,
Faced with losing their access to healthcare or treatment. 
For your people who are isolated,
Living in the shackles of addiction or abuse

Holy comforter, challenger, redeemer,
We know that you are in our midst.
Help us recognize your spirit on the move,
and empower us to join your work.

Help us be your church, reformed and still being reformed. 
Help us be your people, formed and still being formed. 
Help us boldly share the news of your love,
For such a time as this. 

Amen.”

https://andalsowithyou.blog/2017/07/27/prayers-from-matthew-and-esther-for-such-a-time-as-this/

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

Download SL20211121

"Listen for the Good News" Sunday,November 14 , 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 Opening Prayer  

Eternal One, we thank you today for the Good News of God’s love for us. We affirm that your goodness is the image upon which we are made. We acknowledge that the divine spark is placed in each one of us and that our task in life is to nurture that light and feed that fire of goodness until it is a burning flame of passion for justice and compassion within us.

Help us to live in the light of your love and spread that Good News of love to the ends of the earth. Amen.

The Lessons

Click here for audio of first Reading    

From the Wisdom of Christina Engela

“It seems to me that those who claim to be 'true' and 'bible believing' Christians and yet spend all their time and energy spreading unhappiness and hatred for others - and are themselves consumed by [hatred of others] - are by the very definition of the term - false prophets.” 

Click here for audio of Gospel Reading    

From the Gospel According to Matthew Chapter 7

15 “Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. 16 By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? 17 Likewise, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. 18 A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. 19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them.

Reflection by Rev. Dr. BK Hipsher

Click here for audio of the reflection "Listen for the Good News"    

Our readings today warn us about false prophets. When I think of prophets, I think of particular people in holy scripture who are described as prophets – people like Micah, Ezekial, Isaiah, and Jesus himself. We think of prophets as foretelling the future or at least pointing out the logical consequences of a pattern of behavior. They also answer questions that linger in the collective human consciousness.

Micah for instance in chapter 6 asks and answers the question, “With what shall I come before the Lord and bow down before the exalted God?” He gives examples of what other people are teaching. How about a burnt offering of  a year old calf, or a thousand rams, or a river of oil? These were extreme examples of burnt offerings that people were making to God to appease the deity similar to what other religions taught had to be done to please their gods. And then he asks the question that show up the idea of burnt offering sacrifices to God as pagan ritual. He says, “Shall I offer my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?” These people already knew that human sacrifice was off the table.

Prophets teach us how to be better people. In our day, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr, Nelson Mandela, Mother Teresa, Dorothy Day, Malala Yousef, and Greta Thunberg. All of these modern day prophets call out injustice and point to the logical consequences of following an errant pattern of behavior. At the bottom of all of their prophecies is a call to mercy, a call to love, a reminder that God and God’s creation loves us and is worthy of our love in return.

Now that we know what a prophet is let’s move on to understanding how to discern a prophet from a false prophet. The first thing we have to remember is that within every great lie is a kernel of truth. Every form of propaganda preys on real inner fears of a population. Every point of disinformation begins with something that people fear. In our modern world we are bombarded by false prophets – propaganda and disinformation – every time we glance at a television or pick up our phones.

Let’s take advertising for instance, we know that advertisers are paid to make their products and services appear to be the best. Advertising is propaganda, but we know that (for the most part). But news is supposed to at least have the goal of objectivity, to present facts without attempting to “steer” the consumer of the news in one direction or the other. State owned media is a necessity for autocrats and dictators. One of the first thing that happens when a dictator takes power is that they exterminate objective news agencies and put in place media that carries their version of truth and that only without criticism of their regime.

False prophets in the form of media outlets that spew propaganda and disinformation are on the rise across the world. Even our own Christian tradition has become part of the machine of propaganda and disinformation. But how can we discern which is true prophecy and which is false prophecy? They often look the same, they appear to be “news” or at least some form of objective commentary. So how can we possibly know?

Well actually it’s easier than you might think! Prophecy shows us a path to love, to mercy, to justice. False prophecy stirs fear, anger, and hate within us. Propaganda that promotes a particular point of view from a particular political perspective demonizes the other, paints all of the “other” with the same brush, makes no allowances for personal differences, and stirs contempt if not hatred of anyone who does not follow their view.

Our first reading today sums it up very well I think, “It seems to me that those who claim to be 'true' and 'bible believing' Christians and yet spend all their time and energy spreading unhappiness and hatred for others - and are themselves consumed by [hatred of others] - are by the very definition of the term - false prophets.” Could it be this simple?

Our gospel reading features Jesus teaching, “Watch out for false prophets… By their fruit you will recognize them… every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit… Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them.” If the result of an action called for by a prophecy promotes justice, mercy, healing, and love, then that is a true prophecy. But if a prophecy only points to division, violence, and hate, that is a false prophecy. Be especially aware of any point of view that suggests people resort to violence. Even if that kernel of truth in the lie is appealing, the call to violence is a dead giveaway.

Living in our media driven world is hard. Discerning the will of God is hard work. And part of our duty as people of faith is to sort the so-called prophecy, the “news” and decide what is true and what is false. Understand that well-meaning people will often fall victim to false prophets but their words are still poison. Remember that in every great lie is a kernel of truth. And know deep within your heart the you will know false prophets by the fruit that their words produce.

The teachings of the humble rabbi from Galilee can always be our guide. When Simon Peter, the most dependable disciple of Jesus cut off the ear of one of the soldiers who came to arrest him in the garden where we was praying, Jesus did not yell, “Get ‘em boys!” He picked up the ear and reattached it to the soldier, healing him completely. The message from Jesus was clear, it was merciful, it promoted non-violence.

We are all battered by propaganda and misinformation daily. It is our job, our duty as people of faith to discern the prophets from the false prophets. As Jesus said, “You will know them by their fruit.”

Let us pray, Holy One give us hearts and minds that seek justice and long to do mercy. Keep us humble by reminding us to interrogate our own motives constantly. Help us understand that unless we hear your message of love for humanity and all creation we cannot regard those words as prophecy. Help us learn to love even the false prophets as we point to their error. In your many names we pray, Amen.

For a list of music suggested to meditate on for this service click the link bel0w:

Download SL20211114

 

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 Opening Prayer  

Eternal One, we thank you today for the Good News of God’s love for us. We affirm that your goodness is the image upon which we are made. We acknowledge that the divine spark is placed in each one of us and that our task in life is to nurture that light and feed that fire of goodness until it is a burning flame of passion for justice and compassion within us.

Help us to live in the light of your love and spread that Good News of love to the ends of the earth. Amen.

The Lessons

Click here for audio of first Reading    

From the Wisdom of Christina Engela

“It seems to me that those who claim to be 'true' and 'bible believing' Christians and yet spend all their time and energy spreading unhappiness and hatred for others - and are themselves consumed by [hatred of others] - are by the very definition of the term - false prophets.” 

Click here for audio of Gospel Reading    

From the Gospel According to Matthew Chapter 7

15 “Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. 16 By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? 17 Likewise, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. 18 A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. 19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them.

Reflection by Rev. Dr. BK Hipsher

Click here for audio of the reflection "Listen for the Good News"    

Our readings today warn us about false prophets. When I think of prophets, I think of particular people in holy scripture who are described as prophets – people like Micah, Ezekial, Isaiah, and Jesus himself. We think of prophets as foretelling the future or at least pointing out the logical consequences of a pattern of behavior. They also answer questions that linger in the collective human consciousness.

Micah for instance in chapter 6 asks and answers the question, “With what shall I come before the Lord and bow down before the exalted God?” He gives examples of what other people are teaching. How about a burnt offering of  a year old calf, or a thousand rams, or a river of oil? These were extreme examples of burnt offerings that people were making to God to appease the deity similar to what other religions taught had to be done to please their gods. And then he asks the question that show up the idea of burnt offering sacrifices to God as pagan ritual. He says, “Shall I offer my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?” These people already knew that human sacrifice was off the table.

Prophets teach us how to be better people. In our day, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr, Nelson Mandela, Mother Teresa, Dorothy Day, Malala Yousef, and Greta Thunberg. All of these modern day prophets call out injustice and point to the logical consequences of following an errant pattern of behavior. At the bottom of all of their prophecies is a call to mercy, a call to love, a reminder that God and God’s creation loves us and is worthy of our love in return.

Now that we know what a prophet is let’s move on to understanding how to discern a prophet from a false prophet. The first thing we have to remember is that within every great lie is a kernel of truth. Every form of propaganda preys on real inner fears of a population. Every point of disinformation begins with something that people fear. In our modern world we are bombarded by false prophets – propaganda and disinformation – every time we glance at a television or pick up our phones.

Let’s take advertising for instance, we know that advertisers are paid to make their products and services appear to be the best. Advertising is propaganda, but we know that (for the most part). But news is supposed to at least have the goal of objectivity, to present facts without attempting to “steer” the consumer of the news in one direction or the other. State owned media is a necessity for autocrats and dictators. One of the first thing that happens when a dictator takes power is that they exterminate objective news agencies and put in place media that carries their version of truth and that only without criticism of their regime.

False prophets in the form of media outlets that spew propaganda and disinformation are on the rise across the world. Even our own Christian tradition has become part of the machine of propaganda and disinformation. But how can we discern which is true prophecy and which is false prophecy? They often look the same, they appear to be “news” or at least some form of objective commentary. So how can we possibly know?

Well actually it’s easier than you might think! Prophecy shows us a path to love, to mercy, to justice. False prophecy stirs fear, anger, and hate within us. Propaganda that promotes a particular point of view from a particular political perspective demonizes the other, paints all of the “other” with the same brush, makes no allowances for personal differences, and stirs contempt if not hatred of anyone who does not follow their view.

Our first reading today sums it up very well I think, “It seems to me that those who claim to be 'true' and 'bible believing' Christians and yet spend all their time and energy spreading unhappiness and hatred for others - and are themselves consumed by [hatred of others] - are by the very definition of the term - false prophets.” Could it be this simple?

Our gospel reading features Jesus teaching, “Watch out for false prophets… By their fruit you will recognize them… every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit… Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them.” If the result of an action called for by a prophecy promotes justice, mercy, healing, and love, then that is a true prophecy. But if a prophecy only points to division, violence, and hate, that is a false prophecy. Be especially aware of any point of view that suggests people resort to violence. Even if that kernel of truth in the lie is appealing, the call to violence is a dead giveaway.

Living in our media driven world is hard. Discerning the will of God is hard work. And part of our duty as people of faith is to sort the so-called prophecy, the “news” and decide what is true and what is false. Understand that well-meaning people will often fall victim to false prophets but their words are still poison. Remember that in every great lie is a kernel of truth. And know deep within your heart the you will know false prophets by the fruit that their words produce.

The teachings of the humble rabbi from Galilee can always be our guide. When Simon Peter, the most dependable disciple of Jesus cut off the ear of one of the soldiers who came to arrest him in the garden where we was praying, Jesus did not yell, “Get ‘em boys!” He picked up the ear and reattached it to the soldier, healing him completely. The message from Jesus was clear, it was merciful, it promoted non-violence.

We are all battered by propaganda and misinformation daily. It is our job, our duty as people of faith to discern the prophets from the false prophets. As Jesus said, “You will know them by their fruit.”

Let us pray, Holy One give us hearts and minds that seek justice and long to do mercy. Keep us humble by reminding us to interrogate our own motives constantly. Help us understand that unless we hear your message of love for humanity and all creation we cannot regard those words as prophecy. Help us learn to love even the false prophets as we point to their error. In your many names we pray, Amen.

For a list of music suggested to meditate on for this service click the link bel0w:

Download SL20211114

 

"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:
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