Ascension Written Sermons

The Third Sunday of Easter Luke 24:36b-48 Coming to the Table “ Then He opened their minds to understand” Instant mashed potatoes! Now, I am positive that many of you out there this morning will strongly disagree with me, but I swear that one of the absolute most delicious meals that I have ever had in my entire life consisted of one simple bag of instant mashed potatoes. Let me put in context for you. In the summer of 2001, four of my best high school friends and I set out to backpack the Tahoe Rim Trail, an incredibly beautiful one hundred and sixty-five mile trek around the peaks of Lake Tahoe. Throughout this challenging yet completely amazing journey, from high altitude peak to sandy lake shore, from dry Nevada desert to lush California green, many memories were collected and will forever be close to my heart. One memory in particular, however, will always stand out, and that is of the absolute divine experience that is instant mashed potatoes. So there we were, my...

Palm Sunday, Year B (April 1, 2012) The Church of the Ascension “ Who do you say that I am?” The Reverend Dr. Howard J. Hess I. Introduction : Here we are today, you and I, in this present moment confronted with the profound question posed by Jesus to Peter in Mark 8.39. This question conveys the core, integrative theme of the gospel of Mark , “Who do you say that I am?” We are surrounded as we ponder our own response by a broad array of others who are grappling with this same question: the disoriented disciples; the broken-hearted Marys; the powerful, but skittish Romans; the vengeful, scheming priests; and, as always, the crowd, following where the wind blows. We see this morning that Mark answers Jesus’ core question in the closing moments of the Passion narrative. It is the unnamed Centurion, facing Jesus immediately after he died on the cross, who proclaimed, “Truly this man was God’s Son!” The Centurion’s answer was direct and definitive. Is it not curious t...

The Rev. Amy Morehous April 15, 2012 Easter 2, Year B What are the best parts of Easter Sunday for you? Perhaps it’s the flowers. Maybe it’s the Easter acclamation - when Fr. Howard says, “Alleluia! The Lord is risen!”, and we respond, “The Lord is risen indeed! Alleluia!” Perhaps it’s the music - the celebratory brass section, the best efforts of our very good choir, the ‘Hallelujah’ chorus at the end. There are so many things about that day that make it like no other. Well, I don’t know about you, but I noticed a distinct lack of all those things when I got home on Sunday. When I walked in the door, there was no glorious choir to welcome me, (although my cats did do their best, after missing me for most of the week). As I spent the past week washing all the accumulated dirty laundry, there was no celebratory brass section to greet me in the laundry room. I received no flowers whatsoever for producing dinner on a regular basis. And when I cleaned off my desk, Jim Garvey...

Easter Sunday 2012, Year B The Reverend Dr. Howard J. Hess The Continuity of Easter: Jesus Christ’s Constancy Introduction: The Easter experience is unlike any other – it is firmly rooted in the past, projected into the future, but most fully powerfully experienced in the present moment. There is immediacy to the joy of Easter that is infused with the memories of earlier Easters and grounded in the promise that, for those who follow Christ, Easter will never end. For each one of us, there are threads that weave our Easters together. One of the meaningful threads of Easter for me is the hymn we sang after this morning’s Gospel, “Up From the Grave He Arose.” All week, as I reflected upon my Easter sermon, this hymn played over and over in my mind. So this morning, it has served as the beginning of my sermon. This hymn clearly evokes the Christian images of the Easters of my childhood. Of waking up at 5:00 AM to prepare for our Easter Sunrise Service which was held on a lar...