We Want to See Jesus

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

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