Edina Morningside Community Church

Today’s scripture reading: Exodus 14:5-7,10-14,21-29

Sermon audio:

I wasn’t a very focused pastor last Thursday. The week started out really well; I got a jump start on my sermon and waded through some emails. But when Thursday came around, I was feeling all the national hubbub around Dr. Christine Blasey Ford testimony about sexual assault, and how it might affect Judge Kavanaugh’s nomination to the Supreme Court. Driving to church that day with the radio on, I couldn’t listen to the politicians grandstanding as the hearing started. I thought instead of what I learned years ago, that one in three women is physically or sexually assaulted in her lifetime. I thought of my three sisters, and my six nieces, wondering which of them would have stories to tell (or already does). And I thought of my own experience as a twenty-year-old, evading unwanted physical attention from a national church leader in his sixties. Throughout the day on Thursday, I found myself obsessively refreshing news websites and trying to learn from the latest commentary. I went home early, since I was clearly getting nothing of substance done in the office.

Continue reading “Trusting in Covenant” →

Edina Morningside Community Church

Today’s scripture reading: Genesis 39:1-23

Sermon audio:

I’m sure that most graduation speeches are fairly forgettable, but there’s one that I will remember for the rest of my life. When I graduated from Great Falls High School in Great Falls, Montana, the student body choice for graduation speaker was Brian Johnson, an outstanding musician, successful debater, and all-around nice guy. Brian was also a friend of mine, and a member of my church youth group. Because of that, I knew more than most about the trials of his high school years—getting out of a bad home situation and couch-surfing for a time, then eventually raising the money it took to hire a lawyer, go before a judge and legally change his name in an act of self-preservation and self-definition. So I remember well Brian’s speech on our graduation weekend. I remember the staccato tapping of a wooden stick on the talking drum that he used to frame his message. I remember the audience of hundreds paying rapt attention to each word, and the silence in between them. Most of all, I remember the illumination inside of me when Brian said that character is not so much who you are when everybody is watching, but who you are when nobody is watching.

Continue reading “Enduring Covenant” →

Edina Morningside Community Church

Today’s scripture reading: John 20:19-31

Sermon audio:

It’s been years since I gave it much thought, but the season of Easter and resurrection has me considering transformation of another kind—a caterpillar into a butterfly. Imagine for a moment that you are a caterpillar, one of those little fuzzy brown, green or yellow worms that you sometimes see inching along a stick. You’ve grown up and spent your whole life on one plant, perhaps a stalk of milkweed. Food, shelter, and everything else you need is there. Your frame of reference is limited to what’s right in front of you: this stalk, this stem, this leaf. That’s the whole world, as far as you know.

Continue reading “Believe It to See It” →

Edina Morningside Community Church

Today’s scripture reading: John 20:1-18

Sermon audio:

If you ever want to capture all the attention at a dinner party, just tell everyone you were born in a cult. I know from experience that it works; you should try it sometime! It helps that in my case it’s actually true—I grew up in a really fundamentalist, Pentecostal community whose members thought we were going to heaven or hell based on the say-so of the cult leader.

Continue reading “No Foolin’!” →

Edina Morningside Community Church

Today’s scripture reading: John 12:12-27 and 19:16-22

Sermon audio:

And so, we find ourselves here, after the parade. Palm fronds litter the floor and the steps in front. No longer held up and waving, but following the facts of gravity and now come down to earth. The excitement has passed some by this point, like it did after that high theatrical moment of spectacle when people lined the highways and byways of Jerusalem with a pointed public purpose. It had been a moment of daring clarity and solidarity: the throngs of Jerusalem come together to cry out “Hosanna—save us!” and praise “the one who comes in the name of the Lord—the king of Israel.” Here came Jesus through their midst, riding on a small donkey, in just the way Scripture foretold that Israel’s messiah would come. For good measure and to hail Jesus’ entry, they waved palm fronds—a symbol of victory throughout the ancient world. Here at last was the one to overthrow oppressive Rome, to restore righteous faith, and to set everything right. Anything seemed possible!

Continue reading “Love Marches On” →

Edina Morningside Community Church

Today’s scripture reading: John 11:1-44

Sermon audio:

As anyone who’s seen my office knows, I am what you might call “organizationally-challenged”. It’s not that I don’t know how to stay organized, but when push comes to shove in my schedule, I prioritize spending time with people or working on a project deadline rather than keeping my office straightened up. I tell myself there will always be time for that later. As a consequence, each week adds another layer of notes and paperwork to the piles on my desk, like sediment on a river bottom. I have every good intention of coming back around to sort them, but the next week brings its own busy-ness and another layer of sediment covers up the previous one. It’s gotten to the point now that I have four large piles on my office desk, starting to crowd out the space I have to actually work! I’m trying yet another strategy to address it, but I’m tempted to just throw a sheet over it when people come in for meetings, to pretend that everything is just fine, “nothing to see here, move along”.

Continue reading “Love Leads Through Death to Life” →

Edina Morningside Community Church

Today’s scripture reading: John 12:1-11

Sermon audio:

As you likely realize, Edina Morningside Community Church is part of a network across the state, the Minnesota Conference of the United Church of Christ. I happen to serve on the Board of Directors for the Conference, which means that every couple months on a Saturday, I meet with other lay and clergy Board members to evaluate ministries, make decisions, and consider possibilities for this statewide movement. Yesterday happened to be a Board meeting day, so I caught a carpool from the Cities to Zion United Church of Christ in Le Seuer. As so often happens, I’m struck by the heart, soul and hard work that the Conference staff brings to their work, and the stories they can tell of our churches. Minnesota Conference Minister Shari Prestemon, who attended our capital campaign celebration last May, also shares her experience of the national United Church of Christ.

Continue reading “Love Offers Extravagant Abundance” →

Edina Morningside Community Church

Today’s scripture reading: John 8:2-11

Sermon audio:

One of the things I love about being a pastor is the variety of very different things I am able to do over the course of a week. I am by turns a worship planner, pastoral caregiver, staff supervisor, building coordinator, teacher, preacher, digital evangelist, community representative, public advocate, and even a periodic email-answerer! This Christian calling—for everyone and not just pastors—invites us to use every possible opportunity we have to show Christ-like mercy and transformative justice, both within and beyond our congregation. Continue reading “Love Forgives and Starts Anew” →

Edina Morningside Community Church

Today’s scripture reading: John 10:1-18

Sermon audio:

Before the Christmas program a couple months ago, one of our youngsters proudly pointed out that she changed roles this year. She described what she clearly considered a promotion. For the past several years, she has been a sheep. But this year, Miss Maggie was a shepherd! And who knows—next year, maybe an angel. And the year after that, Mary? At least she wouldn’t have to be a sheep any longer—that was for baby children who couldn’t do anything else.

Continue reading “Love Shelters and Gives Life” →

Edina Morningside Community Church

Today’s scripture reading: John 15:1-17

Sermon audio:

Javen and I have made a couple mistakes with our little rosebud tree. A few years ago, we decided to replant the gardens around our house, and our biggest investment was a dwarf rosebud tree next to the front entrance. It’s not supposed to get more than 8 feet tall, with fluttering heart-shaped leaves and sweet little pink buds that come out early in the spring. But in the last several years, we realize we still planted it too close to the house foundation. It’s not able to thrive if the roots are cramped against the concrete, not given room to grow. Also, the tree had misshapen leaves throughout the entire last season. We recently got the results of a test back, and it appears that mites had infested the tree. These little mites are smaller to see than aphids, but they had sucked out all the sap leading to the leaves, leaving the leaves cupped and unable to bend open or soak up the light. Our sweet tree is a pitiful shadow of what it could be, judging from the advertised pictures when we bought it.

Continue reading “Abide in My Love” →