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Reflection March 19th, 2023 (Lent 4)

Sicamous United Church Posted on March 20, 2023 by Rev SunnyMarch 20, 2023

1 Samuel 16:1-13/ Psalm 23/ John 9:1-41

Blind As Sheep: True Sight

Finding Hidden Objects 

There is a game that I play on my tablet, which is a common and popular game: finding hidden objects. This type of game requires sharp eyes and focused attention. My game has several variations of the classic hidden objects games. My favorite is finding 30 or 50 of the same objects that are peppered throughout the image. I go through the image from corner to corner while picking out the designated object, but almost always, at the end, I realize that I haven’t found all of them. Then, my next step is to zoom in the image and pay closer attention to every inch of it to find what I have missed the first time. Often, I realize that the ones I missed were hidden in plain sight. I am sure we all have similar experiences of not seeing something in plain sight. Sometimes, on TV, we see a character looking for their glasses when they are actually on their head. We laugh at them, but we can also relate to them, can’t we?

Today’s keyword is sight. We will learn today that true sight is not what we can see with our physical eyes.

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Posted in Sermons

Reflection March 12th, 2023 (Lent 3)

Sicamous United Church Posted on March 12, 2023 by Rev SunnyMarch 12, 2023

Exodus 17:1-7/ Psalm 95/ John 4:5-42

God’s Love Flowing Like Water

Pass It On!

There was a Doctor Who episode called New Earth. In a distant future, in a society ridden with diseases that cannot be controlled, a group of nuns in a medical mission artificially grow humans and infect them with all the diseases in the world to get the cure. The doctor thinks it is not natural that patients with severe illnesses can be cured in such a short time, and investigates.

The villain of the episode who finds out the same truth as the Doctor tries to blackmail the nuns for money, but when it fails, she opens the doors where the artificially grown humans are kept in a quarantined area. Those disease-ridden humans get out and infect everyone they encounter just by touching them. Those who are touched by these artificially grown humans get all the diseases in the world and die almost immediately. To solve this problem, the Doctor pours all the IVs that contain cures into the hospital elevator’s disinfecting shower.

He lures the artificial humans into the elevator and activates the shower. To those who come into the elevator where the disinfecting shower is pouring out with the cure for all diseases, the Doctor yells, “Pass it on! Pass it on!” They get out of the elevator and touch each other with the cure still on their body. The artificially grown humans get rid of the diseases with which the nuns infected them, the nuns are arrested for their unethical medical practice, and the artificially grown humans will be categorized as a new breed of humans.

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Reflection March 5th, 2023 (Lent 2)

Sicamous United Church Posted on March 6, 2023 by Rev SunnyMarch 6, 2023

Genesis 12:1-4a/ Psalm 121/ John 3:1-17

Pilgrims of God’s Reign

Journey as a Metaphor

Today’s keyword is “journey.” We use the word ‘journey’ in both literal and metaphorical senses. We often speak of life as a journey. Throughout my life, I have been to a lot of different places, both literally and metaphorically. When I look back at my life so far, it was full of drama, both good and hard, and I recognize that God was always with me. When I was a student pastor in New Jersey, I learned an activity from my church’s youth group. We used to share how our week has been, identifying the high and low points of the week and where God was in both places. I learned to recognize how God has been present in my life through good times and bad. I believe I stopped complaining to God ever since I started recognizing God’s constant presence in my life. Life is a journey with or without physical travelling involved.

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Lent 2023

Sicamous United Church Posted on February 21, 2023 by Rev SunnyFebruary 21, 2023

The Season of Lent is upon us. During this season at Sicamous United Church, as we strive to be closer to God and learn to resemble Jesus more, we will learn about the Gospel of Mark and study the message of the passion, death, and resurrection of Jesus. Blessed be our Lenten journeys…

Posted in worship

Reflection February 19th (Transfiguration Sunday)

Sicamous United Church Posted on February 21, 2023 by Rev SunnyFebruary 21, 2023

Exodus 24: 12-18/ Psalm 99/ Matthew 17:1-9

Being Transformed So We May Transform

Mount Kenya

When I was living in central Kenya, I lived not too far away from Mount Kenya. Mount Kenya is the highest mountain in Kenya and the second highest mountain in Africa. Since it is high, there is snow on the summit all year round. Since it never snows in Kenya, Kenyans don’t know what that white stuff is. So, there is something mysterious about that mountain. But if you think about it, mountains have always been a mysterious place for our ancestors. In a lot of cultures, mountains have been thought to be the dwelling place of their gods. Maybe it was because mountains are high and often unreachable. Even today, when I see clouds covering mountains, I think of our ancestors who thought gods lived there. Mountain is a mysterious place.

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Reflection Feb. 12, 2023 (Black History Month)

Sicamous United Church Posted on February 12, 2023 by Rev SunnyFebruary 12, 2023

Deuteronomy 30:15-20/ Psalm 119:1-8/ Matthew 5:21-37

Walking in God’s Ways

Piety vs. Hypocrisy

Today, we reflect on what it means to be holy or pious. Throughout the Christian history, there have been a lot of pious people who led a holy life. Some became saints or went down in history for their admirable faith that they lived out. Other so called “holy” people were hypocrites. How does one tell the difference between true piety and hypocrisy? We have to check if their lives AND hearts reflect the teachings of Jesus without contradiction.

Nobody is perfect and we should remember that even the most pious people of God have sinned. King David didn’t become Israel’s ideal king for being perfect. Remember when he sent a soldier to the battlefield to die because he wanted the man’s wife? What makes him a great man of faith (which is separate from David as a great king) is his humble heart. When Nathan the prophet was sent to rebuke his sin, instead of killing him with rage (“How dare you talk to your king that way?”) he humbly repented his sin. Truly pious people have the heart of Jesus. They show hearts of humility and compassion, rejoice at doing and seeing good, and their inside and outside match.

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Reflection Jan. 22nd, 2023

Sicamous United Church Posted on January 24, 2023 by Rev SunnyJanuary 24, 2023

1 Corinthians 1:10-18/ Psalm 27:1, 4-9/ Matthew 4:12-23

United in God’s Kingdom

“The Only Thing That Is Clean and Bright”

Today, we start our lesson with a Korean TV drama. In the Korean action fantasy drama called Alchemy of Souls, there is a character named So-I, who has led a wretched life in poverty, which trained her to be a survivor. She does whatever it takes to survive, including theft and pretending to be the long-lost daughter of a prominent family. For So-I, life has been far from being anything good, enjoyable, or beautiful.

Then one day, she meets a young mage with a good heart named Yul and falls in love with him. Life is still terrible as she gets into a lot of bad situations, but only when she is with him, she doesn’t think only of herself. When Yul is gravely injured, she even tries to revive him by giving him her blood. However, all the bad deeds eventually catch up with her. She tries to run away with Yul’s help, the bad men come to take her, Yul comes to save her and almost get killed, she tries to protect him, and ends up getting killed. Yul holds her hand as she dies, but before her last breath, she confesses that he was the only thing in this world that was clean and bright. This death was her redemption.

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Reflection Jan. 15, 2023

Sicamous United Church Posted on January 17, 2023 by Rev SunnyJanuary 17, 2023

Isaiah 49:1-7/ Psalm 40:1-11/ John 1:29-42

Come and See the Mystery

Eagerly Waiting

Have you ever eagerly waited for something? A lot of us have. For example, I wait for Christmas and the performing arts festival all year round. Sometimes, I wait for a new season of my favorite TV shows to come out. Waiting can be frustrating. But it is important to check our values when we eagerly wait for something. Is it worth it? Worthy according to which values and standards?

Last week, I listened to a Korean folk tale in which two middle level government officers eagerly wait for a higher officer to flatter so they can advance in their careers. They do so while wasting their resources on preparing drinks and other things to welcome him when he arrives. They do so while neglecting their duties of caring for their residents. While they coldly turn away peasants passing by because “We are waiting for an important person,” when he finally passes by, they don’t recognize him, for, as a humble man, he dresses down and not uses government’s resources to travel for personal reasons. They end up making a fool of themselves by mistaking him for a peasant and treating him badly.

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Reflection Jan. 8th, 2023 (Baptism of the Lord)

Sicamous United Church Posted on January 9, 2023 by Rev SunnyJanuary 9, 2023

Isaiah 42:1-9/ Acts 10:34-43/ Matthew 3:13-17

                    God’s Children of Water and Light 

Light and Water

As the first Sunday of Epiphany and Baptism of the Lord Sunday, today’s two motives are light and water. Let us think about these two. The function of light is to make things visible. When one is in the dark, one can more comfortably do bad things than when one is fully visible. That is why a lot of crimes are committed at night in isolated places. When we describe someone as light, that person has little darkness and evil to hide. What about water? Water’s important function is to wash dirty things. Water is also an essential life force. Water is life. We can see how water and light became religious metaphors and why we use expressions such as “wash away our sins” and “I am the light of the world.” Today, we celebrate these two.

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Thrift Shop open Thursday thru Saturday 10 to 3

Sicamous United Church Posted on January 3, 2023 by Joan W.February 13, 2023

We had a busy January with many volunteers giving extra time to the Thrift Shop. They truly are living from their hearts.  Something to be celebrated this month especially with Valentine’s Day and Family Day approaching.

We often think only of romantic love associated with valentine’s.  What about love of our family,  our neighbour,  our fellowman.  Let us reach out as our volunteers do when they give unconditionally.  Let’s celebrate each other.

February is Black History Month in North America.  Reach out,  read,  listen,  learn and reflect.  Open your heart to give and receive.  God Bless.

Happy Valentine’s Day!   🧡💛💚💙💜🤎🖤🤍💖

The next $3 Bag Days are February 24 and 25; clothing and shoes only. See you here!

Posted in congregational life, Thrift Shop

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