Ascension Written Sermons

The Reverend Christopher W. Hogin Cocooned In God’s Love Luke 13:31-35 The Episcopal Church of The Ascension February 21, 2016             For some reason a story kept nudging its way in my consciousness this past week. I’m not sure why. The story is a Polish folktale called Zlateh the Goat. It begins in a small village. Reuven, the local tailor, was having a bad year. It was a mild winter. There was no snow, and it wasn’t even very cold. Because of that no one bought any winter clothes from him. Reuven needed money for his family, and so he decided to sell the family goat named Zlateh. He called in his eldest son, twelve-year old Aaron, and instructed him rise early in the morning, travel to the neighboring village, and sell the family goat to the butcher. Aaron was dismayed. He loved Zlateh, and didn’t want to sell her, especially to a butcher. Still, he understood the family’s dire situation. The next morning Aa...

The Inconvenient Truth Rob Gieselmann, Epiphany 4C, Jan. 31, 2016 I have a question for you: Does Donald Trump love you? Paul wrote in his first letter to the Corinthians – which is “First Corinthians,” not ONE Corinthians – about the nature of love, that love does not demand its own way . And I’m wondering, when The Donald looks at you and me, through the television screen – as it were – does he – well, does he love you? Now, the person who loves you will tell you inconvenient truths about yourself. You know – you have spinach stuck between your teeth, or you drank too much at the party tonight.   And embarrassed me. Mr. Trump is certainly willing to speak inconvenient truths, but my sense is that he wants to tell you inconvenient truths not about you, but about other people. Like all the presidential contenders –   It’s easy to talk smack about third parties –but what about your own audience, the people you are cultivating – Whe...