Listen to Readings and Sermon 13Are any of you in trouble? Then pray. Are any of you in good spirits? Then sing a hymn of praise. 14Are any of you sick? Then call for the elders of the church, and have them pray over those who are sick and anoint them with oil in the [...]
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13Are any of you in trouble? Then pray. Are any of you in good spirits? Then sing a hymn of praise. 14Are any of you sick? Then call for the elders of the church, and have them pray over those who are sick and anoint them with oil in the name of Christ. 15And this prayer offered in faith will make them well, and Christ will raise them up…
Audio readings and sermon (http://sunshinecathedral.org/sermons/audio/20090927_6.mp3)
Listen to Readings and Sermon View Readings and Sermon The Good News Written Numbers 11.4-6, 11-14, 16-17 (NIV) 4The rabble with them began to crave other food, and again the Israelites started wailing and said, “If only we had meat to eat! 5We remember the fish we ate in Egypt at no cost — also [...]
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Numbers 11.4-6, 11-14, 16-17 (NIV)
4The rabble with them began to crave other food, and again the Israelites started wailing and said, “If only we had meat to eat! 5We remember the fish we ate in Egypt at no cost — also the cucumbers, melons, leeks, onions, and garlic. 6But now we have lost our appetite; we never see anything but this manna!” Moses was troubled. 11He asked the [Eternal], “Why have you brought this trouble on your servant? What have I done to displease you that you put the burden of all these people on me? 12Did I conceive all these people? Did I give them birth? Why do you tell me to carry them in my arms, as a nurse carries an infant, to the land you promised… 13Where can I get meat for all these people? They keep wailing to me, ‘Give us meat to eat!’ 14I cannot carry all these people by myself; the burden is too heavy for me.” 16The [Eternal] said to Moses: “Bring me seventy of Israel’s elders who are known to you as leaders and officials among the people. Have them come to the Tent of Meeting, that they may stand there with you. 17I will come down and speak with you there, and I will take of the Spirit that is on you and put the Spirit on them. They will help you carry the burden of the people so that you will not have to carry it alone.”
Mark 9.38-41 (The Inclusive Bible, PFE)
38John said to Jesus, “Teacher, we saw someone using your name to expel demons, and we tried to stop it since this person was not part of our group.” 39Jesus said in reply, “Don’t try to stop it. No one who performs a miracle using my name can speak ill of me soon thereafter! 40Anyone who is not against us is with us. 41The truth is, anyone who gives you a cup of water in my name because you belong to the messiah will certainly not go without a reward.”
The Good News Proclaimed
Preached by the Reverend Doctor Durrell Watkins at the Sunshine Cathedral on Sunday, September 27, 2009.
In today’s first reading from the book of Numbers, we see the Israelites reminiscing about the good old days. But they have forgotten how not good the good old days really were. They have escaped slavery and are wandering in the wilderness looking for a homeland. The journey is uncertain. It is taking far longer than anyone had anticipated. And there are difficulties along the way. And while they are facing the challenges of freedom and the search for a new life, some of them start to long for the past… when there was meat to eat, and fruit, and herbs and vegetables.
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Listen to Readings and Sermon O God save me by the power of your Name; defend me by your might! God, hear my prayer; listen to the words of my mouth. Strangers attack me; ruthless scoundrels seek my life; they don’t give God a single thought. For you are my helper, the One who sustains [...]
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O God save me by the power of your Name; defend me by your might! God, hear my prayer; listen to the words of my mouth. Strangers attack me; ruthless scoundrels seek my life; they don’t give God a single thought. For you are my helper, the One who sustains my life. May their own malice recoil on my slanderers; silence them with your truth. I will offer you a willing sacrifice and praise your Name… for it is good. You have rescued me from every trouble; I have seen my enemies’ downfall with my own eyes.
Audio readings and sermon (http://sunshinecathedral.org/sermons/audio/20090920_6.mp3)
Listen to Readings and Sermon View Readings and Sermon The Good News Written The Light of John & Lyn St. Clair Thomas “Your questions indicate the depth of your belief. Look at the depth of your questions.” The Light of the Psalter (Psalm 1, The Inclusive Bible, PFE) Happiness comes to those who reject the [...]
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The Light of John & Lyn St. Clair Thomas
“Your questions indicate the depth of your belief. Look at the depth of your questions.”
The Light of the Psalter (Psalm 1, The Inclusive Bible, PFE)
Happiness comes to those who reject the path of violence… Happiness comes to those who delight in the [divine] Law… and meditate on it day and night. They’re like trees planted by flowing water — they bear fruit in every season, and their leaves never wither; everything they do will prosper… [The Eternal] watches over the steps of those who do justice; but those on a path of violence and injustice will find themselves irretrievably lost.
Mark 9.33-37 (The Inclusive Bible, Priests for Equality)
33[Jesus and his disciples] returned home to Capernaum. Once they were inside the house, Jesus began to ask them, “What were you discussing on the way home?” 34At this they fell silent, for on the way they had been arguing about who among them was the most important. 35So Jesus sat down and called the Twelve over and said, “If any of you wants to be first, you must be the last one of all and at the service of all.” 36Then Jesus brought a little child into their midst and, putting his arm around the child, said to them, 37“Whoever welcomes a child such as this for my sake welcomes me. And whoever welcomes me welcomes not me but the One who sent me.”
The Good News Proclaimed
Preached by the Reverend Doctor Mona West at the Sunshine Cathedral on Sunday, September 20, 2009.
Well, it is September and this time of year always makes me think about the holidays. What do you remember about holidays as a child? I remember the food. I remember that for Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner there was always a children’s table. I never could figure out if the children’s table was a good or bad thing… Was it to exile us from the bigger celebration and the world of the adults, or was it to make us special — our own table to be free to make as big a mess as we wanted and to be as loud as we wanted.
The passage we heard from Mark’s gospel today features a child. Actually there are two children that get mentioned in the larger chapter of Mark. Earlier Jesus and Peter and James and John come down off the mountain after Jesus has been “transfigured” by a dazzling brightness to find the other disciples arguing with a crowd of people. In the same manner that Jesus asked the disciples in our passage for today, he says to the disciples in the crowd, “What are you arguing about?”
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Listen to Readings and Sermon 29…[Jesus] went on to ask, “who do you say that I am?” Peter answered, “You are the messiah!” Audio readings and sermon (http://sunshinecathedral.org/sermons/audio/20090913_6.mp3)
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29…[Jesus] went on to ask, “who do you say that I am?” Peter answered, “You are the messiah!”
Audio readings and sermon (http://sunshinecathedral.org/sermons/audio/20090913_6.mp3)
Listen to Readings and Sermon View Readings and Sermon The Written Word The Light of the Buddha “With the relinquishing of all egotism, the enlightened one is liberated through not clinging.” Wisdom 7.28-30 (The Inclusive Bible, Priests for Equality) God loves the one who finds a home in Wisdom. She is more beautiful than the [...]
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The Light of the Buddha
“With the relinquishing of all egotism, the enlightened one is liberated through not clinging.”
Wisdom 7.28-30 (The Inclusive Bible, Priests for Equality)
God loves the one who finds a home in Wisdom. She is more beautiful than the sun and more magnificent than all the stars in the sky. When compared with daylight, She excels in every way, for the day always gives way to night, but Wisdom never gives way to evil.
Mark 8.27-30, 34-36 (The Inclusive Bible, Priests for Equality)
27…Jesus asked the disciples this question, “Who do people say that I am?”28They replied, “Some say John the baptizer; others, Elijah; still others, one of the prophets.”
29“And you,” he went on to ask, “who do you say that I am?” Peter answered, “You are the messiah!” 30But Jesus gave them strict orders not to tell anyone about him… 34Jesus summoned the crowd and the disciples and said, “If you wish to come after me, you must deny your [self-interests], take up your cross and follow in my footsteps. 35If you would save your life, you’ll lose it, but if you lose your life for my sake, you’ll save it. 36What would you gain if you were to win the whole world but lose yourself in the process?”
The Good News Proclaimed
Preached by the Reverend Doctor Durrell Watkins at the Sunshine Cathedral on Sunday, September 13, 2009.
27…Jesus asked the disciples this question, “Who do people say that I am?”28They replied, “Some say John the baptizer; others, Elijah; still others, one of the prophets.” 29 “And you,” he went on to ask, “who do you say that I am?” Peter answered, “You are the messiah!” (Mark 7)
Before we talk about Mark, I want to remind you of another story.
In the 32nd chapter of the book of Genesis, Jacob wrestles with a stranger, do you remember? They wrestle all night. And Jacob refuses to let the stranger go until he gives Jacob a blessing. The blessing Jacob finally gets is to learn who he really is. The stranger says, “You are no longer Jacob. Your name is now Israel, for you have struggled with God.” And then Jacob, or now we should say Israel, asks the stranger, “And what is your name?” And the stranger simply says, “Why do you ask MY name?”
You see, Jacob had deceived his brother Esau, deceived his father, had been deceived by his father-in-law, had been on the run from his brother whom he feared had a vendetta against him, and after all this dishonesty and running and struggling to find his way, Jacob’s struggles are symbolized by an encounter with a stranger. Maybe it was a dream he had where the subconscious mind was dramatically helping him work out his issues, who knows? But after struggling for so long to know who he was and where he fit in, he learns who he really is. The struggle to know himself was a divine struggle, and so he is Israel… the one who engages in a divine struggle. And the blessing that results from that struggle is to know who he is. When he asks the stranger, “What’s your name?” The stranger basically says, “That’s not even the right question… what you needed to know is who you are… and now you do.
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Listen to Readings and Sermon Listen… didn’t God choose those who are poor in the eyes of the world to be rich in faith, and heirs of the kindom promised to those who love God?… You’re acting rightly, however, if you fulfill the venerable law of the scriptures: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” Audio readings [...]
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Listen… didn’t God choose those who are poor in the eyes of the world to be rich in faith, and heirs of the kindom promised to those who love God?… You’re acting rightly, however, if you fulfill the venerable law of the scriptures: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”
Audio readings and sermon (http://sunshinecathedral.org/sermons/audio/20090906_6.mp3)
Listen to Readings and Sermon View Readings and Sermon The Good News Written Isaiah 35.4-7a (The Inclusive Bible, Priests for Equality) 4Say to all those of faint heart, “Take courage! Do not be afraid! Look, [the Eternal] is coming, vindication is coming… God is coming to save to you!” 5Then the eyes of the blind [...]
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Isaiah 35.4-7a (The Inclusive Bible, Priests for Equality)
4Say to all those of faint heart, “Take courage! Do not be afraid! Look, [the Eternal] is coming, vindication is coming… God is coming to save to you!” 5Then the eyes of the blind will be opened, the ears of the deaf will be unsealed. 6Then those who cannot walk will leap like deer and the tongues of those who cannot speak will sing for joy. Waters will break forth in the wilderness, and there will be streams in the desert. 7The scorched earth will become a lake; the parched land, springs of water.
Mark 7.32-35 (The Inclusive Bible, Priests for Equality)
32Some people brought [to Jesus] an individual who was deaf and had a speech impediment, and begged Jesus to lay hands on that person. 33Jesus took the afflicted one aside, away from the crowd, put his fingers into the deaf ears and, spitting, touched the mute tongue with his saliva. 34Then Jesus looked up to heaven and, with a deep sigh, said… “Be opened!” 35At once the deaf ears were opened and the impediment cured; the one who had been healed began to speak plainly.
The Good News Proclaimed
Preached by the Reverend Doctor Durrell Watkins at the Sunshine Cathedral on Sunday, September 6, 2009.
Mark chapter 7 is actually divided into three sections. In the first section, those who are concerned with protecting the fundamentals of their religion complain to Jesus that his disciples aren’t keeping all the rules. In fact, they are ignoring biblical mandates and Jesus isn’t all that worked up about it.
Then, in the second section, a woman from Phoenicia approaches Jesus asking for help for her daughter who is either physically or mentally ill. In any case, the exact cause of the illness is not known, so it is attributed to malevolent forces. She says, “My daughter has a demon.” Now, Phoenicia is part of the Canaanite culture, and in the book of Deuteronomy, Canaanites are labeled as enemies who are to be utterly destroyed. So, with this bit of biblically justified ethnic prejudice in mind, Jesus basically calls the woman and her people dogs and suggests he doesn’t really have a lot of time for dogs. But the woman challenges him and says, “If I were a dog, you’d treat me better than this.” And Jesus repents, that is, he has a change of heart, and says, “The demon has left your daughter.”
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