Ascension Written Sermons

Home I am a professional procrastinator. Though I normally push assignments and tasks off till the absolute last possible moment, I actually managed to begin writing this sermon about three weeks ago. I met with Father Christian, discussed the guidelines, and even had half of a rough draft for him two weeks ago. I was on schedule and successfully writing a sermon, till I did nothing to the sermon for the next two weeks. That’s right. I utterly ignored the impending doom of delivering this sermon for two blissful weeks, until yesterday afternoon, when reality descended upon me. I all of a sudden realized that tomorrow was the day I had to stand in front of you and deliver wisdom and insight on a gospel reading I didn’t fully understand. Honestly, the person I most related to in the gospel reading was Thomas, as he asks Jesus “Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?” The fact that I connected with the most confused person in the gospel wasn’t very...

Two Worlds Have Come Together Today Fourth Sunday of Easter, Year A, 5/11/14 Episcopal Church of the Ascension The Reverend Dr. Howard J. Hess I. Introduction . Two worlds have come together today, and we are all the richer for it. In the world of the church, this is Good Shepherd Sunday in which the lectionary readings lead us to a focus upon Jesus as the Good Shepherd. In the world of our culture, this Sunday is Mother’s Day, a time set aside to honor and remember our mothers, grandmothers, and others who have mothered and cared for us in life-giving ways. Now all too often, what is happening in the church is seen as being detached and disconnected from all that is transpiring in the culture around us. I believe that the tendency to dichotomize church and culture is false and in fact damaging. You see the church, as the Body of Christ is to be leavening the culture; lifting up and re-enforcing what is sacred, while at the same time stan...

The Rev. Amy Morehous Easter III, Year C Church of the Ascension May 4, 2014 Acts 2:14a, 36-41 Psalm 116:1-3, 10-17 1 Peter 1:17-23 Luke 24:13-35 Two dusty travelers leave behind a tense, unstable situation on a quest for something. Along the way their lives are interrupted, they have unexpected adventures, and when they come to the end of their journey, they find they are changed forever by what has happened along the way. Now from that description, I could be speaking of a new movie trailer, coming your way soon. I could be describing a classic book, or any number of classic movies about travelers on a journey. Was I describing the plot of the first Star Wars movie? It is Star Wars Sunday, after, celebrated unofficially by nerds everywhere. Why is it Star Wars Sunday? Well, May the fourth be with you. (As good Episcopalians, you're supposed to reply, "And also with you.") We love a story about a journey. We always have. You can reach as ...