Sermons preached at Jubilee United Church in Toronto, Ontario.
Rev. Norm Seli wonders about the vision of a new heaven and a new earth from John's Revelation (21:1-6); Peter's vision of a cloth from heaven (Acts 11:1-18); Jesus' commandment that we should love one another (John 13:31-35)... an eye test, Game of Thrones and everything else going on in the world. Not ambitious at all...
On Good Shepherd Sunday, Rev. Seli takes a little time to wonder about the 23rd Psalm... he reveals what it means to him in 2019 and invites us to wonder what it mean to us as well.
Rev. Norm Seli wonders about the second ending of John's Gospel as Peter and the others encounter the Risen Christ while fishing (John 21:1-19); Saul/Paul's encounter with the Risen Christ on the way to Damascus (Acts 9:1-6) and a couple of encounters that may sound familiar... Do we choose life or do we choose death? Do we risk or do we hide?
In the final Sunday of Jason Meyers' internship at Jubilee, Jason offered a service in natural light, celebrating Creation (Genesis) and connecting with the resurrected Jesus' appearance to Thomas in John's Gospel (20:19-29) - his is a call of responsibility to live in creation, a call of hope and a way forward - powerful Easter messages that we need to hear today.
The first 45 seconds of this sermon were lost to a technical problem... however, in that time Rev. Norm Seli simply explains that he was going to share an old sermon for Easter; one from almost a decade a go, until he discovered that he'd already "re-Preached" it just two years ago... he then goes on to wonder why Mary didn't recognize Jesus in the Garden (John 20:1-18) or why Cleopas didn't recognize on the road to Emmaus (Luke 24:1-35). He invites us to wonder if our faith is wrapped around a dead body that should be in the tomb, or around a resurrected, living Christ, revealing the living dynamic relationship that we have with God.
Rev. Norm Seli wonders about the whole "Good" part of Good Friday - applying three of the classic understandings of the redemptive and salvific action of the cross, he still wonders is any of that is good enough... and if not, what is?
Palm Sunday at Jubilee United Church, Rev. Norm Seli and Jason Meyers celebrated the story (Luke 19:28-40) and between exuberant verses of "When the Saints Go Marching In" wonder about several of the elements of the story, as well as the practice at Jubilee of celebrating Communion on Palm Sunday. The audio is 4 different exchanges roughly edited together - you have been spared hearing Rev. Seli play trumpet, but you have also missed the first exchanged being prefaced by Rev. Seli producing a large stuffed donkey and putting it in front of the Communion Table, the second exchange being heralded by a variety of Hockey Jersey's being strewn across the chancel steps and the third exchange being introduced by rocks being placed on the Communion Table. With that knowledge, you should be able to appreciate the context and recognize the 4 separate exchanges.
Jason Meyers engages with a story in Judges (1:8-15), the promise of a "New Thing" in Isaiah (43:16-21) and Mary at the foot of Jesus (John 12:1-8) and wonders about the two springs of our faith- not only the need for both personal and community transformation - faith and works - but also the promise that it can be achieved in and through Jesus.
Come, hear a "New Thing".
Rev. Seli acknowledges Paul's promise in 2 Corinthians 5:16-21 that we are made new in Christ and wishes that it could happen for him. As he engages with the story of Balaam, his donkey and an invisible angel (Numbers 22:21-39), he recognizes a kinship... and suspects that he might be a little more like Balaam than Paul. He invites you to consider if you are more like Balaam or Paul...
Jason Meyers engages with a story that is often kept out of our pulpits - the story of the Witch of Endor. (1 Samuel 28:3-25). The King no longer enjoys the advice and support of God, so he seeks wisdom from a dead prophet. Jason invites us to wonder about what it means when people are "othered", how we treat those who do not comply with our expectations of "normal"... and what lose when we isolate people who may have another experience of the holy, but are also children of God, part of the same creation that defines us. Jason invites us to do what we can for those isolated by context... by our actions... to wrap our arms around creation.
