Ascension Written Sermons

In a Galaxy Far Far Away Rob Gieselmann, Pent. 24A, Oct. 22, 2017 On August 17 of this year, astronomers observed the astounding collision of two neutron stars, in a galaxy far, far away . It all started when one telescope recorded a 100-second chirp two octaves above Middle C. This signal indicated something unexpected and dense like a black hole, only not a black hole. Seconds later, another telescope a continent away recorded a twin signal – and taken together, these signals suggested two neutron stars spiraling around each other – much like twin blades of a kitchen blender. A neutron star, by the way, is a star at the end of its life, close to becoming a black hole. It’s about six miles across, the length of Manhattan, yet so dense that a single thimbleful – weighs the same as several million elephants. So imagine it: two of these neutron stars spiraling into each other - that is what astrophysicists witnessed, and for the first time ever, photographed their collisi...

Unholy Attachments Rob Gieselmann Pent. 23A, October 15, 2017 Malcolm Gladwell tells the story of Hugenot pastor Andre Trocme, and his French village, Le Chambon, located in the French Alps. When France fell to Germany in WWII, the people of Le Chambon integrated hundreds of Jews into their community, openly and notoriously, to keep the Germans from getting them. During the summer of 1942, the Vichy minister in charge of youth affairs, Georges Lamirand, tried to establish a Hitler-like youth camp at Le Chambon. The plan was for him to parade through Le Chambon with his entourage, and for people to gather for a banquet and rally. It all fell to disaster. Nobody came to watch the parade, and at the banquet, not only was the food sparse, but Trocme’s daughter accidentally spilled soup all over Lamirand. Then at the rally, the youth, the very people Lamirand wanted to recruit – read a letter drafted by Trocme. This letter recounted Parisian scenes of French police rounding up 12...

The Reverend Christopher Hogin A Commandment to Freedom Exodus 20:1-4, 7-9, 12-20 The Episcopal Church of the Ascension October 8, 2017 Seventeen years ago I read a novel called, A Simple Plan , written by Scott Smith. It’s one of those books that stayed with me. For some reason, it kept popping up in my mind this week as I reflected on our reading in Exodus. It’s a story about three men who go our hunting on a cold Minnesota winter afternoon. In the woods, they encounter a plane crash and find a bag of cash buried in the snow totaling 4 million dollars. Rather than report the money they keep it secret. The plan is this: once a sufficient amount of time has passed, and the authorities give up on recovering the stolen money, they will divide and spend it quietly without notice. The problem is it doesn’t work. The trio become consumed with fear and greed. There’s betrayal, murder, and the loss of innocent lives.   By the end of the novel the main character discovers it...