Walking in the Presence

2010 Annual Report

2011-02-05T13:51:00.000-08:00

A little longer than the typical post but I thought it would be good to have my annual report to Prince of Peace available.

Pastor's Annual Report
February 6, 2011

“For surely I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord, plans for your welfare and
not for your harm, to give you a future with hope.” Jeremiah 29:11

A future with hope – as this Word of the Lord came to those suffering in foreign exile was it received as a nice sentiment or as a promise to hang on to, to give them strength for the difficult days confident in God's presence and purpose?

For a congregation that has seemed to be in perpetual transition for the last half decade, our own mini-exile, there is a Word of the Lord for us and to us:

“For surely I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord, plans for your welfare and
not for your harm, to give you a future with hope.”

As we live into the future together I am excited for the possibilities that the Lord has laid our before us and for the potential of this family of faith at Prince of Peace to step boldly into the future that God has prepared for us.

Speaking of “Living Into The Future Together” one of the great things that came out of our LIFT Team is our new purpose statement. Sixteen words that claim who we are and what God is calling us to become.

Claimed by grace we seek to welcome all, worship joyfully,
grow spiritually and share God's love.

Using those 16 words let me share a bit about where we are, where we've been and where we believe God is leading us.

Claimed by grace
This goes to the heart of who we are as Lutheran Christians. The whole Christian church is a rich tapestry with many traditions lifting up many different aspects. I believe the whole church is better for all its varieties. Each brings a gift to the whole church. Our gift, as Lutherans, is to remind the church and the world of God's grace in Jesus received in faith. Nothing we could ever do can earn God's favor, “since all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God; they are now justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.” (Romans 3:23-24)

We seek to...
The knowledge of God's unconditional, unmerited, unlimited love for us so moves us that we cannot help but respond in praise, faithfulness, and love. We respond not because we have to but because we want to. We want more of God and we want more to share God's blessings and love in the world.

As the people of God here at Prince of Peace Lutheran Church we have identified 4 areas in which we specifically feel called to respond in thankfulness to God's grace:

Welcome All
While the answers to question asked by the slogan “What would Jesus do?” are often unclear, the answer to the question “What did Jesus do?” is very clear. In his earthly ministry Jesus welcomed all. Men and women and children; sinners and Pharisees; the lepers, the lame, the blind, the hungry and the filled are all welcomed! Even the dead are welcomed back to life!

Jesus' radical welcome is reflected in our value statements, our Reconciling in Christ membership, and in our open invitation to receive communion. Your welcome was experienced as God made some unexpected connections to bring us Rebecca Ehrlich as our seminary intern. Though churches tend to move very slowly we responded with amazing speed to make Becca's internship with us a reality. Not only that but you have accepted her ministry among us as she is learning to be a highly gifted pastor. Welcoming all is part of our core identity at Prince of Peace.

Of course there is room for improvement and we will be looking at strategies to do just that in 2011 and beyond. Our welcoming strategy will need to address 3 basic areas: Invitation, Hospitality, and Incorporation.

Part of welcoming is letting others know that they are wanted. Our advertizing, our signage, the attractiveness of our grounds all can speak words of invitation. The most important invitation, though, comes from you. Let your friends and co-workers know about worship services and events at Prince of Peace. Post comments on ministries that you are excited about on your Facebook page. Invite people to the Alpha Course, to the Lenten dinners, to the fellowship events! Be creative. We may not have the money currently to do a commercial marketing campaign, but we have several hundred faithful members who each can multiple our message of invitation into the community.

Then when folks come we need to be hospitable. No one should enter and leave POP without being greeted and meeting at least a couple of people. We assist those looking for the bathrooms or struggling with the worship or wondering if the coffee is for all. If possible we get names and contact information so we can follow up with a thank you note or call.

Then as visitors become worshipers we will need to be more intentional about incorporating them into the ministries of POP. Those who don't make friends and find connections and meaningful ministries tend not to stay.

We have work to do and this is a mission for all of our family of faith. Stay tuned for more details how you can be a part of this vital purpose.

Worship Joyfully
Worship is central to who we are at Prince of Peace. In worship we not only praise God, but we encounter God whose love and blessings lead us to joy. We value a quality worship experience, including meaningful music, engaging sermons, and the opportunity to receive Communion weekly. These remain our aims. We are also a church that values creativity in worship. Along these lines we have seen a revitalization of the Clown Troupe, now known as Fools For Christ (F4C) and we have introduced new elements into our services including dramatic vignettes, outdoor services in the summer, and blended services with both traditional and contemporary music.

As we step into 2011 the blended format will become the regular format of the 10:45 service when the choir is not singing at that service. This is not change for the sake of change but an effort to develop and nurture a worship language that can speak to those who were not reared with traditional church music. This will also involve developing additional leaders for worship.

Our quest to live into our value of worshiping joyfully may very well lead us to find ways to relate to those whose spiritual styles are not currently being addressed in the Sunday morning worship services and may involve opportunities for everything from contemplative to contemporary worship forms in various settings and at various times.

Grow Spiritually
A strong church needs a strong Christian Education ministry for all ages. The disciples never stopped growing and neither should we. The foundations of Sunday School and Confirmation are great but they are not the end of Christian growth any more than the end of middle school marks the end of our worldly education. The popularity of the Monday afternoon Bible study, Alpha and After-Alpha courses, the 3 Colors Courses, Living Life, Out of the Box, and the new Prayer Group ministry shows that there is a hunger in our church family for growth in understanding, discipleship and spirituality.

As we move forward in growing into this value we will be considering how we may offer growth opportunities for all ages and for all learning styles. One identified need is to truly make 9:30 am on Sunday a time of Christian education for all ages. We have quite a bit of work to do but the prospect of having a church full of eager disciples gathering at various times during the week to grow and follow Jesus may offer us more potential for growth may offer us more long term benefit than about anything else we may do.

Share God's Love
I have to say that a couple of times this past year I have been totally floored by your outpouring in sharing God's love. Early in the year when the Haiti Earthquake struck and the first ELCA pledge of aid was $0.25/member I challenged us to do better than that. In 2 weeks with almost no preparation we raised about $9000! Once again as a few of us met to discuss introducing the idea of the Advent Conspiracy and the impact we might have in providing clean water by cutting back 1 or 2 Christmas gifts we estimated we could raise $1250, enough for 1 water catchment system. You raised over 3 times that amount! That's enough for a drilled well in addition to the water system! And this is on top of generous support for EPES, local ministries, the ELCA World Hunger Appeal, Christmas gifts for local families, the Christmas Shoebox and many other worthwhile causes.

It doesn't stop there. We have developed a tradition for mission trips, in 2010 to work with the American Church in Berlin, Germany and in social ministries in its neighborhood. Our Stephen Ministry is active in providing trained ministers to walk with people in times of pain, grief or loss. Our deacons visit the infirm with Holy Communion and lead Sunday worship at Claire Bridge in Niskayuna. We continue to provide days to serve in local missions and at the summer lunch program in Schenectady. We share God's love!

Can we grow? Certainly! We can build on what has been started perhaps with more local service opportunities by learning to better share God's love with our words of invitation so that we may continue to welcome all, worship joyfully, grow spiritually and share God's love.

Pastor Jeff

The Rhythm of Mission

2010-06-09T12:44:00.000-07:00

“The Lord appointed seventy others and sent them on ahead of him in pairs to every town and place where he himself intended to go. He said to them, 'The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore ask the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest. Go on your way...'

“The seventy returned with joy, saying, 'Lord, in your name even the demons submit to us!'” Luke 10:1-3a, 17.

Go and return with joy! That's the rhythm of mission. It seems especially poignant right now. I'm writing the day before we board the bus to begin the journey that will take us to serve our neighbors in Berlin, Germany.

I wish I could say that I was ready to go, but, alas, a night and a morning of organizing and packing remains. Details, details...

But I am ready to serve! I love to serve. I'm not quite sure but I think this is the 14th mission trip I have been on. It is the 3rd one to a foreign country. Though the total numbers are a little fuzzy, with everyone of those trips I have returned with joy.

There has been joy over work accomplished, but far more joy over seeing Jesus in the face of others and in some way being Jesus to others. These are times of intentionally incarnating the love of Jesus. It is so fulfilling and uplifting. In fact one of the most common expressions of those I have known on mission trips is, “I received far more than I gave.”

It feels that good to serve in Jesus' name!

But we need not limit that experience to mission trips. Every day is a day in which you are in mission for Jesus. Every day is a day in which you can share the love and acceptance of Jesus. Every day is a day in which you can see the face of Jesus in your neighbor. Every day is a day in which you can practice loving the Lord you God with all your heart, all your mind, all your soul and all your strength; and love your neighbor as yourself>

Every day! Even today! Even tomorrow!

You've been called to be children of God and ambassadors for the gospel. You've been sent! Now go, then return to share your joy!

In Christ's Amazing Grace,

Jeff Silvernail

Nothing is Certain Except Taxes 3/24/10

2010-03-24T10:36:00.000-07:00

This year was the first year in some years that we haven't had an accountant do our taxes. Fortunately in the intervening years the comprehensive on-line tax services have made the process relatively easy – even for those of us who have to factor in all of the clergy complications. Relatively easy – that is like a root canal is relatively easy with Novocaine. The pain is lessened but you still have to put yourself through it.

Like it or not, whether you expect a refund or not, we have to put ourselves through it because as the old adage says, “There is nothing certain except death and taxes.”

Mary Magdalene and the other women knew both realities. That had certainly dealt with their share of tax collectors over the years. You could curse them, hate them and maybe even try to avoid them but sooner or later you had to pay the piper. Now they knew it with death. No one wanted to hear Jesus talk about his death, not Peter or the others, and certainly not Mary.

Avoidance felt so comforting until the cold, hard reality of Friday stretched now to Sunday morning. Still, as unpleasant as the prospect was there were things that had to be done for a body – it was only right.

Luke 24:1-8 (The Message)
1-3At the crack of dawn on Sunday, the women came to the tomb carrying the burial spices they had prepared. They found the entrance stone rolled back from the tomb, so they walked in. But once inside, they couldn't find the body of the Master Jesus. 4-8They were puzzled, wondering what to make of this. Then, out of nowhere it seemed, two men, light cascading over them, stood there. The women were awestruck and bowed down in worship. The men said, "Why are you looking for the Living One in a cemetery? He is not here, but raised up. Remember how he told you when you were still back in Galilee that he had to be handed over to sinners, be killed on a cross, and in three days rise up?" Then they remembered Jesus' words.

Jesus is risen! Jesus is alive – and that changes everything. Burial spices are forgotten – who needs them? Fearful disciples are filled with courage to tell the world about Jesus. The bad news of death is canceled with the good news of life for all who will receive it. The one who was buried is alive and has changed the world. Jesus continues to change the world. Jesus continues to change us and fill us with life, and make us ready for the coming of his Kingdom when I think he will settle that tax thing too.

Being Neighbors, Our Response For Haiti 1-15-10

2010-01-15T08:49:00.000-08:00

The initial reports on the 12th barely made the news, a 7.0 earthquake in Haiti. After all it was only a few days ago we heard of a 6. something quake off from California there caused only minimal damage. The days following though, unveiled the horror that had been unleashed upon our impoverished neighbor.

“And who is my neighbor?” So asked the teacher of the law to Jesus. He had already gotten his gold star, he gave Jesus a great answer to a question: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind; and, 'Love your neighbor as yourself.”

“Do this and you will live,” responded Jesus.

I picture him beaming. Then the realization hit – that's a lot, too much even. There has to be limits. “Who is my neighbor?”

In response Jesus told the Parable of the Good Samaritan. (You can read the whole story in Luke 10:25-37.) Jesus concluded the parable with another question. “Who was neighbor to the one who fell into the hands of robbers.”

The teacher of the law responded, “The one who showed mercy.”

By now it is obvious that the poorest country in North America has suffered a cataclysm. Tens of thousands are dead and what little infrastructure Haiti had was largely destroyed. We, as people of faith ask, “What can we do?”

The US government is helping, corporations and entertainment figures are helping, but what can we do?

It is a great question because there is a vital role for the faith community. In fact, church related ministries are often the most effective at reaching the people in need and in assisting with recovery that will best meet the needs of the people – our neighbors. Often the highest percentage of your donation will be delivered. My own denomination, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America has promised that 100% of contributions to the Haiti Earthquake Relief Fund will go to help victims. I'm sure we aren't alone in this.

Our faith based relief agencies across multiple denominations were there long before the quake and we will continue to be there long after the gaze of the news media has moved on.

Here's is what we can do as neighbors. Bring a donation to your church this Sunday designated for Haiti. Your finance people will know what to do to see that it gets to the proper agency. If you can't come to church this week call your church office for instructions on how to give, or check the website of your church or denomination.

The ELCA's relief fund may be found at https://community.elca.org/NetCommunity/SSLPage.aspx?pid=538

Together, in showing mercy, we can be neighbors.

An Advent Thought

2009-12-14T07:46:00.000-08:00

A prayer from Robert D. Hershey:

“[Not that many] shopping days 'till Christmas. That, dear God, is bad news. It's not just the shopping, but everything else too: getting presents, buying cards, writing, mailing, baking, meals, parties. Can it be, Lord, that I'm working on the wrong things? Help me to concentrate on the right thing: the good news of your coming again into this darkened world with light and hope. After all, getting ready for Christmas shouldn't mean pressure and weariness at all, but quiet minds and hearts spilling over with joy. Amen.”

For once I think I'm pretty well ready for Christmas. Oh, there are still a few sermons to write. Just a couple more presents to decide on and get wrapped, a few calls to be made, but for the most part I'm ahead of the game.

Why do I feel like Advent has been stolen from me once again?

Maybe if I take a deep breath, slow down, relax, think about what this holy season is about...

God took flesh and lived among us! How amazing is that! He came not in a palace, not in a holy place, not delivered by spaceship, not beamed in and then beamed out when the going got tough.

God took flesh and was carried by a teenage mom and was born – in a barn – a feed trough for a crib! A refugee soon afterwards! An outcast, rejected, condemned, killed for us. The pioneer who defeated death – and all for you and for me!

And he will come again! Jesus will come again and bring the fullness of the Kingdom of God to us! Where all will be as God made it to be. We as we were made to be - in relationship – face to face relationship with our God just as we were meant to have from the beginning.

Breathe that in!

Let God's presence and promise wash over you.

Even for a moment amidst the busyness.

Let our hearts spill with your joy.

Thank you Jesus!

2009-09-23T10:41:00.000-07:00

Justification by ________ (Fill in the Blank), 9-23-09

OK, Lutherans – here's your test, how do you fill in the blank?

If you answered “faith,” or “grace through faith,” or “grace through faith in Christ,” or something similar – Congratulations – you really were paying attention in confirmation class.

Maybe you even know some supporting verses like: “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God.” Ephesians 2:8; of “since all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God, they are now justified by his grace as a gift, through redemption that is in Christ Jesus.” Romans 3:22-23.

Justification by grace through faith and not by works! So we have been taught and so we state with our words.

That's our confession. Why then do we insert other words in the blank?
Justification by “right answer” is a biggie. I've had two pastors tell me that it isn't worship if certain specific parts of the order are missing. Interestingly they claimed different parts as the critical piece. Each had a right answer for their own blank that excluded others.

Once again in the ELCA Churchwide Assembly the turbulent waters of sex and sexuality were roiled, and two opposing sides filled in the blank in ways that created division and hurt – in ways that risk ongoing separation.

Are we justified by our position, our current version of the right answer? I think St. Paul would answer, “By no means!”

For once, I wish we could be as passionate about sharing the good news or feeding the hungry as we are about sex!

When Jesus died for us it wasn't because we had the right answer, but because we were living the wrong answer and continue to live the wrong answer. The wrong answer has a lot of names, sin, separation, pride, presumption, or _______ (fill in your own blank). We all manage to curve in upon our selves – making it about our rights, our thoughts, our right answer.

We curve in but our Lord stretched out – on a cross - to make us right with God – a pure undeserved gift received in faith.

There remains common ground – at the foot of the cross.

“He has told you, O mortal, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God.” Micah 6:8

Work and Prayer 8/19/09

2009-08-19T11:10:00.000-07:00

We Lutherans have this fixation on work. We're against it!

Well, not exactly, but sometimes it seems that we are so attuned to avoiding any appearance of works righteousness that we would just rather not talk about it, thank you.

If we are justified by faith in Jesus; if our salvation is dependent not on our decision for Jesus, but on Jesus' decision for us; if God is sovereign – then what is left for us? Why work – why even pray if is all in God's hands?

An early reformer took this line of thinking to its logical conclusion declaring that “doing a good work is detrimental to one's faith.” Along those lines the post-Luther theological faculty of Wittenberg declared itself opposed to missionary work on the grounds that it questioned God's sovereignty.

I think this is called “logical absurdity,” good for a laugh, but how often are we reluctant to call for a response – to invite others and ourselves to claim the gifts of faith and salvation with joy that is reflected in our words, in our lives, in our prayers, and yes, gulp, even in our works.

St. Paul even managed to get “work” and “grace” in one sentence without them being in opposition to each other: “As we work together with him [Christ], we urge you also not to accept the grace of God in vain.” 2 Corinthians 6:1

Work does not preempt grace. Grace does not abolish work. They coexist in us as we live in response to the gift of Jesus.

Let me share with you a few thoughts on the subject by C. S. Lewis from God in the Dock. “The two methods by which we are allowed to produce events may be called work and prayer. Both are alike in this respect – that in both we try to produce a state of affairs which God has not (or at any rate not yet) seen fit to provide 'on His own.'” And from this point of view the old maxim laborare est orare (work is prayer) takes on a new meaning. What we do when we weed a field is not quite different from what we do when we pray for a good harvest.

“You cannot be sure of a good harvest whatever you do to a field. But you can be sure that if you pull up one weed that one weed will no longer be there....”

God in Christ has given us all – even, especially Himself. Believe it? Your salvation is assured. So what are you going to do with it? The weeds await.

Earthquakes, Tsunamis and Hungry Bellies 7/22/09

2009-07-22T05:05:00.000-07:00

I came across an interesting column in the May 2009 issue of Christianity Today, “Why We Need Earthquakes,” http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2009/may/12.58.html

The contention of the author is that without plate tectonics (the movement of large pieces of the earth's crust over long periods of time) and all the effects that go with that movement including earthquakes and tsunamis the earth could not support creatures like us. No plate tectonics – no continents, little biodiversity, no chance for human beings made “a little lower than the heavenly beings” (Psalm 8:5) to live and breathe and exercise dominion over creation.

My interest was piqued on several levels. First, Christianity Today though appealing to a broad spectrum of Christians has a fair number of readers who hold to literal, 6 day, young earth creationism. Rising mountains and moving continents over eons of time seemed destined to produce a firestorm of angry letters. I'm a little behind on my reading but so far I have not seen that happen. Secondly, though the contention makes sense scientifically, theologically is it an excuse for God. “OK we got God off the hook for earthquakes, someone get working on hurricanes!”

Needing earthquakes is an idea that that might be an exciting thought to wrestle with, being in an earthquake though is an experience that can likely only produce terror.

This brings me to my point – though we may never know why tragedies happen we can, with the love and caring that reflects Jesus, reach out bring love, caring, and compassion to those who are impacted by any of life's tragedies. I'm just back from what I think is my 12th mission trip. As always help was given and it is an amazing privilege to be a part of God's work in ministering to the hurting. But more amazing than that is the sense I have that we have received far more than we have given. There in the poor and the hungry and the hurting is the face of Jesus. In our meager efforts we have touched the hem of his robe and we too receive his healing.

Pentecost Redux - May 27, 2009

2009-05-27T07:57:00.000-07:00

“Suddenly from heaven there came a sound like the rush of a violent wind... divided tongues as of fire appeared... All were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages as the Spirit gave them ability...” Acts 2:2-4

Several million church goers are going to hear this read this Sunday. Many thousands of readers will stumble over the geographic names – kind of ironic since we are reading of the Spirit giving the ability to speak in every dialect. Other thousands will begin to daydream. Children will stare at ceiling fans or count the organ pipes as I used to do. Thousands of preachers will wonder if their message will bring some fresh insight to their parishioners.

Maybe among the millions will be some who wonder if “God declares, 'I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh...,'” (2:17) why aren't we experiencing the outpouring of the Spirit right here, right now?

On that day when Peter declared, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved,” (2:21) 3000 people responded. Why not today?

Could it be because we don't ask? Or because we don't really expect the Holy Spirit to do amazing things today?

Has our faith been so domesticated that we have stopped looking to be awed?

Following Jesus, whether 2000 years ago or today is a radical departure from the norm. Jesus was never boring and never predictable! Our very faith is a result of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is never boring, never predictable!

Predictability is what we have done to the faith. Boredom is the result.

Let's go back to the story. “All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak...” (2:4) All of them!

In what languages do you share the love of Jesus? What, not a preacher or an evangelist? All were filled, all spoke... All of them!

Maybe you already speak the language of an engineer, or the language of a teacher, or the language of a teenager, or the language of the sports fan, or the language of the musician, or the language of the social networking media, or one of the other myriad of languages of 21st century culture.

No doubt we are all multilingual. No doubt we can all be filled. No doubt we can in some small way, each of us, share the love, the acceptance or the invitation of Jesus.

Let the amazement begin!

Grace and peace,
Jeff Silvernail

Doing, Developing, Bearing 5-6-09

2009-05-06T11:50:00.000-07:00

We are now in the season of our New Dreams cottage meetings in which, among other things we are dreaming Spirit-guided dreams for the mission and ministry of Prince of Peace. It is a fun process getting to know one another, hearing your dreams, envisioning your visions, imagining what is possible for this mission outpost for Jesus. With God anything is possible! So it is fun to stretch the horizons of our dreams.

Sometimes we talk about things we should do – they are many good and faithful things that fall into this category. Sometimes we talk about programs we should develop – more great ideas.

Here something else we can talk about – fruit we could bear.

I ran across an interesting quote, “Have you ever noticed the difference in the Christian life between work and fruit? A machine can do work; only life can bear fruit.” Andrew Murray

I have worked in factories where there are production quotas. You should produce x number of pieces in your 8 hour shift, if not you better have a good reason such as the amount of time the machine was down for repairs.

I have also watched the promise in the blossoms of trees this time of year with time and care become the abundant harvest of the fall. Bearing fruit takes more than the machinations of work. Bearing fruit takes the hand of God working together with the essence of life.

St. Paul wrote to the church in Colossae, “For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you and asking God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all spiritual wisdom and understanding. And we pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God.” Colossians 1:9-10

Do you see the connection, “bearing fruit in every good work”? We work, yes, but we do so not as a spiritual production quota but as a natural consequence of life that is growing in God. As surely as fruit follows flower so does our doing and developing follow our growing, fruit of our relationship in, with and through Christ.

In Christ's grace and peace,
Jeff Silvernail

Hidden Jesus – 4/23/09

2009-04-23T10:31:00.000-07:00

Do you know those Magic Eye pictures? They are the pictures that may appear to be random colors and patterns but if you stare at them long enough, and your eyes get out of focus enough then suddenly there appears a 3 dimensional figure that comes out of the picture.

You stare and go cross-eyed and just when you are about ready to give up – There it is!
The funny thing is that when you try to see the image that is when it is often the most difficult to see. We had one of these in the office the other day. I would look at it by myself and see a hand coming out of the picture. When I handed it to others they would try and fail to anything more than the surface pattern and when they handed it back to me to point out where the image was I couldn't see it either!

Then in the peace of my office – there was the hand!

In Luke's Gospel there is a story of travelers on the road, on the first Easter Sunday, walking with a stranger. As readers we are let in on the secret – the stranger walking with them is Jesus. “But their eyes were kept from recognizing him.” (Luke 24:16)

Even after walking and talking with him they were clueless. Only in the breaking of bread with Jesus at table were their eyes opened.

Sometimes I think life is like a Magic Eye picture. We are stuck in 2 dimensional life, seeing but not really seeing – and then there he is – 3-D Jesus, in the person in need, in the person who is reaching out in love, in the face of a child or in the face of the infirm elder – even in your face as you reflect his love.

Here's hoping and praying for opened eyes that see Jesus in the world.

Grace and peace,
Jeff Silvernail

Peace Be With You

2009-04-14T12:54:00.000-07:00

Peace Be With You - 4/14/09

Jesus is alive and that changes everything! Apologies if you are getting tired of hearing say and write this, but it is true. It is a truth that transforms. Consider the disciples in the Gospel of John. If you follow the text of the 20th Chapter they know the tomb is empty. They have heard the witness of Mary Magdalene, “I have seen the Lord!” But when it was evening on that first Easter day the house in which the disciples had met was locked – get this -

For fear...

For fear of the Jewish leaders as the TEV translation puts it. Empty tomb or not these disciples were in no hurry to get nailed to a cross.

Was it even more? Were they in fear in spite of the report that Jesus was alive, or maybe even a bit because of it?

Sound far fetched? Remember they were no where to be found in Jesus' time of need. If Jesus has the power to walk out of the grave what will be his reaction to those who failed him?

Timidity had carried them this far and they saw no reason to change now.
And then there he was! Before they can even begin forming the words of their excuses and their apologies Jesus says, “Peace be with you.”

Peace! God's shalom to all who have failed him, God's shalom to us, from the Prince of Peace himself.

“Peace be with you.” As we share those words in church consider that this exercise is not the church's equivalent of the 7th inning stretch. We are sharing the very same peace that Jesus gave to his frightened disciples. Giving and receiving God's shalom because Jesus is alive and that changes everything!

Once was not enough. Jesus again said, “Peace be with you.” this time he added, “As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” Fearful disciples became bold proclaimers to the ends of the world – because Jesus is alive and that changes everything. That same Jesus sends you! And because he is alive, with his peace, with his presence, with his wisdom, we can change the world.

Go in peace! Serve the Lord! Thanks be to God!

Shalom,
Jeff Silvernail

Waiting at Gethsemane 4/8/09

2009-04-08T07:16:00.000-07:00

Each year during Holy Week we invite people to enter into the drama of the passion of Jesus. We wave our palms on Palm Sunday; we remember the Last Supper and foot washing on Maundy Thursday; we revere Jesus on the cross for us on Good Friday, we gather around glimmers of light on the Saturday Easter vigil; and we shout our Alleluias on Easter Sunday.

We walk with Jesus through the events of the passion and on to his glorious victory in a rhythm that has gone on for nearly 2000 years. Powerful stuff!

When though do we pause to watch and wait while Jesus prays in the Garden of Gethsemane?

“I am deeply grieved, even to death; remain here and keep awake,” Jesus tells his disciples. The disciples fell asleep, oblivious to the agony of Jesus as he prayed, “Abba, Father, for you all things are possible; remove this this cup from me; yet, not what I want, but what you want.” (Mark 14:34, 36)

Could you not keep awake one hour? (14:37)

Let's take a moment to watch and wait and pray.

A prayer from Ephrem of Syria a 4th century church leader:

“You love humankind, O Christ, and I glorify you for that. You are the only Son, the Lord of all things. You alone are without sin. You gave yourself up to death for me, an unworthy dinner, the death of the cross. Through this suffering, you have delivered all human beings from the snare of evil. What shall I render to you, Lord, for such goodness?

“Glory to you, friend of all!
Glory to you, O merciful Lord!
Glory to you, long-suffering God!
Glory to you, who takes away all sins!
Glory to you, who came to save us!
Glory to you, who became flesh in the womb of the virgin!
Glory to you, bound in cords!
Glory to you, whipped and scourged!
Glory to you, mocked and derided!
Glory to you, nailed to the cross!
Glory to you, buried and risen!
Glory to you, proclaimed to all humankind, who believe in you!
Glory to you, ascended to heaven! Amen."

Awed by Christ's sacrificial love,
Jeff Silvernail

Across the Divide 4/1/2009

2009-04-01T07:52:00.000-07:00

After what might be the costliest congressional election in history, and certainly one of the nastiest we finally have the results and the winner is – (drum roll please)...

NO ONE

The election hangs by a handful of votes. It will be weeks if not longer before the absentee ballots are counted and the affidavit ballots are challenged and resolved. For the last two months both candidates and their political parties have sought to divide us with mud slinging, innuendo, and half truths. They have succeeded admirably.

Today is April Fools' Day – how's that for irony? And the joke is on us.

My devotions this morning took me to John 10 where Jesus says that he is the door of the sheep and he is the good shepherd who lays down his life for the sheep.

Sheepfolds in that time and place were enclosures without a gate as we know one. The sheep were gathered into the sheepfold for the night. Once all were in the shepherd himself would lay across the opening. He was the gate. Anyone who didn't enter by the gate – through the shepherd was a thief or robber. Any predator who sought to kill the sheep would have to go through the shepherd first.

Jesus said, “I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep.” John 10:14-15

If Jesus is the good shepherd then we are the sheep. Politicians certainly treat us like sheep but I doubt they will lay down their lives to protect us.

Jesus did. Sin and death want to snatch us away, but Jesus laid down his life for us - our good shepherd. He laid it down and he took it up again (John 10:17) – our crucified and risen Lord to lead us, his people to unity, peace and life.

“They will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd.” (John 10:16)
A question to ponder in these tumultuous, divisive and dangerous days:

Who are you listening to, who are you following?

In Christ's love and peace,
Jeff Silvernail

We Want to See Jesus

2009-03-24T11:54:00.000-07:00

In the Gospel of John tucked in between the triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem and Last Supper is a little request. The out-of-towner's, some Greeks come to Philip, “Sir, we wish to see Jesus.”

Had they heard of signs and wonders and wanted to catch a bit of local color on their junket to Judea? Were they collecting stories to tell the folks back home?

Or was it deeper longing – to come in contact with the one who has the words of eternal life?

We still want to see Jesus. How are we doing at seeing Jesus? How are we doing at showing Jesus?

There are a lot a negatives associated with Jesus' church. Let's imagine a person on the street poll. “Excuse me ma'am what is the first word you associate with the word church?”

What do you suppose we would hear? No doubt we would hear some uplifting words but I bet we would also hear these words: judgmental, hypocrites, close-minded, irrelevant, strange... The church has a lot of baggage.

The funny thing is I bet most of these same folks wouldn't associate any of those negative words with Jesus, whether they believe in him or not.

A good question for churches and church people to ask continually is: Are we faithfully showing Jesus? Are we truly welcoming of all people? If no one greets the visitor it won't matter what is said in the sermon the message will be loud and clear, and it won't be showing Jesus. Beyond worship, if we aren't out in the world are we faithfully showing Jesus? Sure Jesus was in houses of worship, but he didn't stay there. He was with the hurting, the rejected, even the notorious.

How are we showing Jesus? We all fall short. So let's try this first. Look for Jesus. Look for Jesus in your family, at your school or in your workplace, in the person who serves you and in the person that needs service, in the person sitting in the sanctuary and in the person who would never dream of going to a church. Jesus is there.

The better we get at seeing Jesus, the better we will be at showing him. The world waits pleading – We want to see Jesus.

Grace and peace,
Jeff Silvernail

The Promise

2009-03-18T07:07:00.000-07:00

It is amazing to think about how much has changed for my family in the last few weeks. We said goodbye to the church family, the friends and the community that was our home for nearly 12 years. We bought a house in a couple of whirlwind trips to the Capital District. We packed up our belongings and moved across the state, set up our new home (with lots of help). I organized my new office at Prince of Peace Lutheran Church (take a look now while it is still relatively neat) and I began this new call of being Senior Pastor at POP.

According to what psychologists teach about change my stress levels should be off the charts. Honestly, there have been a few moments when I felt a bit stressed. All in all though, I feel a remarkable sense of peace and confidence that this move is God's will, not only for me, but for the people of POP and those whom we will impact with the love of Jesus.

As this whole process began about 6 months ago one of the verses that helped focus my prayers was this: "Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him, and he will act." Psalm 37:5

We may not all be moving, beginning new positions or otherwise navigating major changes, but we are all on a journey with the Lord.

God loves you just as you are - that is true. Know this as well, God loves you too much to leave you just as you are.

The earliest name for Christians was "The Way" (see Acts 9:2). We are still on that journey, following Jesus, seeking his way, trusting in his presence we know his peace.

Grace and peace,
Jeff Silvernail