Rev. Chelsey Harmon lives in Vancouver, BC and is a bivocational pastor at The Bridge Community Church (CRC) in Langley, BC. Chelsey is also on staff at Churches Learning Change, a non-profit that aims to help congregations and leaders pursue personal and congregational transformation. She earned her M.Div. at Calvin Theological Seminary (2009), a ThM in Spiritual Theology at Regent College (2023) and is currently a part-time PhD student at the University of Edinburgh’s School of Divinity where she studies historical examples of Trinitarian mysticism and theology.
Chelsey has been writing sermon commentaries for the CEP website since 2019.
Luke 23:33-43
Commentary
Proper 29C
On this the last Sunday of the year, we remember Christ as the one who reigns, or, Christ the King. In the upside-down kingdom of the gospel of Luke, it seems so fitting for us to be here at the cross of death, even as the hope of Advent is about to begin. At every…
Luke 21:5-19
Commentary
Proper 28C
When Luke wrote this passage of Scripture, including Jesus saying, “But not a hair of your head will perish,” people following Jesus had already been arrested, persecuted, handed over to synagogues and prisons, brought before kings and governors because of the name of Jesus—people like James and Stephen. The witness of the martyrs had already…
Luke 20:27-38
Commentary
Proper 27C
This exchange is less about the topic and more about motive. The Sadducees didn’t believe in the resurrection so their question is not in good faith, but is actually an attempt to prove how unrealistic the whole concept is. Underlying the Sadducees’ subject choice are two interconnected things: their love of Scripture and the way…
Luke 19:1-10
Commentary
Proper 26C
Zacchaeus was a wee little man, and a wee little man was he… You probably know the song. But have you ever wondered why it only tells part of the story in Luke 19.1-10? We sing of Jesus inviting himself over, but we never voice the part about what happens when Zacchaeus fully welcomes Jesus…
Luke 18:9-14
Commentary
Proper 25C
A Pharisee and a tax collector walk into the temple to pray… It sounds like it could be the start of a bad joke. And in some ways, it is—especially as you read Eugene Peterson’s version in The Message: “The Pharisee posed and prayed like this: ‘Oh, God, I thank you that I am not…
Luke 18:1-18
Commentary
Proper 24C
The way this parable needs to be interpreted is given to us right at the beginning. Luke says that “Jesus told them a parable about their need to pray always and not to lose heart.” To keep doing something that doesn’t seem to be working—yet—and to not be discouraged to the point of giving up,…
Luke 17:11-19
Commentary
Proper 23C
This is a great text for those of us preaching in Canada since it happens to be Thanksgiving weekend. Of course, it’s a good text for all of us around the world, but the thing that sets this leper apart from the other nine was his act of gratitude. What better theme for the holiday?…
Luke 17:5-10
Commentary
Proper 22C
When I was a teenager, a well-meaning adult wanted to encourage me in the faith with a small gift. Obviously bought at the Christian bookstore, it was a dark blue pen on a matching dark blue lanyard and it had an actual mustard seed encased in the cap with verse 6 written in mustard yellow…
Luke 16:19-31
Commentary
Proper 21C
We jump right into Jesus telling a story without knowing what has prompted it. Verses 14-17 indicate that this story comes about as Jesus is talking to the Pharisees about keeping the law. An important detail that connects this passage with the others we’ve been working through this summer is that the Pharisees were “lovers…
Luke 16:1-13
Commentary
Proper 20C
This parable is one of the most difficult to get to the bottom of. Why is Jesus seemingly praising a shady businessperson? The ‘hero’ of the story steals from his boss in order to curry favour and ensure his future with other people all too happy to cheat the system! Though it is not part…
About Chelsey Harmon