Ascension Written Sermons

The Rev. Robert P. Travis Christmas 1 - Year A RCL Episcopal Church of the Ascension December 26, 2010 8 and 10:30am Isaiah 61:10-62:3 and John 1:1-18 Sermon Text: “And the word became flesh and lived among us.” My daughters like to cuddle, in case you don't know them, they are 6 and 4 and ¾. Annalise, is 4 and ¾ and she will tell you that. She has liked cuddling ever since she was a baby. I remember when my dad held her in her early months of life. As a newborn she laid her head down on his shoulder, and he said, “Aw, she cuddles!” She has a bed full of cuddle toys, but Annalise has been known to say that she needed a special cuddle toy or else she could not go to sleep. So it struck me as a pure expression of love, this week, when Annalise told me this about God. She said, “God is a great big cuddle toy who all the children of the world can cuddle at once. He cuddles with us every night, even though we can't see him.” She said that to me with the confidence of a biblical trut...

The Rev. Amy Morehous Advent 4, Year A Church of the Ascension December 19, 2010 Restore us, O Lord God of hosts; show us the light of your countenance, and we shall be saved. Haul out the holly Put up the tree before my spirit falls again Fill up the stocking I may be rushing things but deck the halls again now For I've grown a little leaner, grown a little colder Grown a little sadder, grown a little older And I need a little angel sitting on my shoulder Need a little Christmas now For we need a little music, need a little laughter, need a little singing ringing through the rafter and we need a little snappy, happy ever after We need a little Christmas now! Most of us have probably heard this song - probably sung in a snappy, peppy tempo, with lots of accompanying strings and jingle bells, and a breathless chorus of voices. I have to confess that I’m normally a terrible Episcopalian. I love Christmas carols, and I sing them in my car usually from Thanksgiving, until Christmas. Bu...

Advent 2, Year A December 5, 2010 Twists and Turns The Reverend Dr. Howard J. Hess I. Introduction: The season of Advent twists and turns. These twists and turns produce a certain tension in our spiritual lives. At one moment in time we are moved by the wonder and great mystery of Advent, while at other times we are beset by distractions, disruptions, and delays. Which is it going to be – the disturbances or the divine presence of God in the Incarnation? The lectionary designers seem to be communicating the same kind of tension in the readings selected for today. For example, Isaiah wrote: “A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse, and a branch will grow out of his roots . . . The wolf will live with the lamb, the leopard shall lie down with the kid, the calf and lion and the fatling together, and a little child shall lead them.” This is the warm, loving picture we see on many of our Christmas cards – scenes of stillness and peac...