In That Time Jesus Told a Joke, Rev. Stephen Milton unpacks one of Jesus’ strangest parables—the tale of a lazy, dishonest manager who cooks the books and somehow earns praise. Rather than glorifying fraud, Jesus uses satire to poke fun at religious leaders who obsess over piety while ignoring God’s abundance. Drawing on the image of olive trees producing thousands of extra fruits and the Buddhist idea of “interbeing,” Rev. Milton shows that creation itself is built on generosity and connection. The parable invites us to laugh at our pretensions and embrace God’s call to share freely, delighting in a world made for joy and community.

In Worship or Praise?, Rev. Stephen Milton traces how Christianity’s suspicion of animals—from the golden calf story to medieval theology—helped shape a worldview that treats creatures as soulless resources for human use. Drawing on Indigenous teachings and scripture, he contrasts this with traditions that see animals as conscious, spiritual beings interconnected with all life. In an age of climate crisis, Rev. Milton challenges us to move beyond domination toward reverence: not to worship animals as gods, but to praise them as neighbours who share God’s spirit and whose flourishing is bound up with our own.

In Seeing Clearly, Rev. Stephen Milton reflects on Paul’s short letter to Philemon, written unusually in Paul’s own hand to plead for the freedom of a slave named Onesimus. Drawing on insights from Candida Moss’ God’s Ghostwriters, Rev. Milton explores how enslaved scribes may have preserved much of the New Testament itself, making “nobodies” essential to the gospel story. Paul challenges Philemon to move beyond obedience to rules and instead act from love—seeing Onesimus not as property, but as a brother. In the same way, Rev. Milton invites us to put on “ethical eyeglasses,” to see strangers as family, and to let compassion, not command, guide our choices in a world where public good often depends on personal will.

In Meditating on Manners, Rev. Roberta Howey takes a playful look at Jesus’ surprisingly sassy lesson on etiquette. While manners may seem trivial, they shape how we communicate respect, status, and belonging. In Jesus’ time, seating arrangements at a banquet reinforced rigid hierarchies—but he flips the script, urging humility and hospitality toward the marginalized. Rev. Howey reminds us that Christians need not throw out the “rulebook” entirely, but we are called to rewrite it: to treat every person with dignity, to mean what we say, and to embody God’s love in both word and action.

In The Problems of Prophets, Rev. Roberta Howey reflects on Jeremiah’s reluctant call to speak truth to power—and the heavy cost of doing so. Like a scientist in a disaster movie whose warnings go unheeded, Jeremiah faced mockery, persecution, and even violence for proclaiming that Israel had forsaken its covenant with God. Yet God promised to be with him, not to spare him from struggle, but to sustain him through it. Rev. Howey draws connections to modern prophets like Martin Luther King Jr. and Greta Thunberg, who also confront the powerful with inconvenient truths. This sermon challenges us to listen for God’s voice in those who call us to justice, and to resist the temptation to silence them when their words are hard to hear.

In Pulling an All-Nighter, Rev. Roberta Howey reflects on the awe-inspiring Book of Kells—an illuminated Gospel painstakingly created by monks who poured decades of vigilance and devotion into every page. Their work, born not of fear but of love, becomes a living vigil: a way of staying awake to God’s presence in beauty, art, and hope. Drawing on Jesus’ call to “keep watch,” this sermon invites us to shift our vigilance from threats alone to the sparks of divine love around us. To keep awake, Rev. Howey reminds us, is to be ready to welcome God at any hour, and to see the Spirit glittering even in the darkest night.

In The Blueprints, Rev. Roberta Howey explores how the United Church of Canada was shaped not by dramatic upheaval, but by patient, faithful compromise. From the creation of the Moderator role to the balance between local autonomy and national vision, our structure reflects trust in both God and one another. Just as Abraham and Sarah trusted in God’s covenant without knowing the outcome, so too every Moderator steps into a sacred covenant—part pastor, part prophet, part ambassador—helping the church discern where God is leading next.

In this week’s sermon, True Riches, Rev. Stephen Milton explores the deeper meaning of wealth through Jesus’ parable of the rich fool and a forgotten story from the Acts of Thomas. When a king commissions a palace, Thomas gives the money to the poor instead—claiming the real palace is being built in heaven. Like the farmer who hoards his harvest only to die that night, both stories challenge the illusion that we own what we’ve been given. Rev. Milton reminds us that true riches aren’t stored in barns or banks, but in how we share with others. In a world obsessed with more, Jesus calls us to simplicity, generosity, and trust in God’s abundance.