by the Rev. M J Hinchliff
Text: 2 Timothy 4.1-7
In the presence of God and of Jesus Christ, who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I give you this charge: Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke, and encourage--with great patience and careful instruction. For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths. But you, keep your head in all situations, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry.
For I am even now ready to be sacrificed, and the time has come for my departure. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.
When Paul wrote this letter to Timothy, he was facing his own death. The tone of the letter is one of a solemn "good-bye" but mixed within is the glimmer of joy that comes from a life transformed by faith.
I spent some time reading the messages posted on the unofficial SLCC Website,from the kids who were here this summer. Many of the postings were submitted immediately following a week spent here so the rush of those Mountain Top experiences was fresh. The kids promised to stay in touch with each other, to share photos, to help one conferee find another who was not online. Each one proclaimed the writer's love for this place. Many touted the excellence of their particular Conference and many more promised to return next year. They love this place. "This Place." And I wondered what they would feel and think if they returned next summer to This Place, minus the staff. Now, I know that for the kids who wrote the messages, you all are tied up in their definition of Silver Lake and they "mean" you when they talk about "This Place." But I want to spend a few minutes intentionally praising God for bringing you all here, to This Place, this summer, to do the work of the Kingdom.
I've been told by people who have served here that Silver Lake is "different" from the rest of the world. Its "magic," in a theological sense, is that miracles and the palpable presence of God are commonplace, so much so that people come here year after year just to have that Silver Lake Experience. I admit that I had accepted that description of The Lake in the past but not any more. Silver Lake isn't different from the rest of the world. There may be, on any given day, a gathering of faithful people that outnumbers any similar gathering of people anyplace else... or not. There are countless acts of love and mercy displayed here on any given day and that number may exceed the total of merciful and loving actions of any other group of people elsewhere... or not. There are problems here that seem to threaten to overwhelm us, more so than anyone elses' problems anywhere else... or not. You see, there really isn't anything special or different about The Lake compared to any other place.
This is a beautiful, protected, cared for area where people and nature co-exist with minimal impact. It's a place that is lovingly maintained. Where the wild turkeys and deer, the birds and even the slugs are in no danger of harm. It's pretty near perfect. But Silver Lake is nothing more than a patch of grass on a hill with a lake at the bottom without the one thing that defines it more than any other. Silver Lake becomes just another roadside rest stop on the map without the presence of something that does set it apart from any place I can think of. Silver Lake ceases to exist without you. God acts through people here. The Spirit moves individual lives, here. Jesus is seen in your eyes, here. You make the difference, here. You turn this hillside into a place where God can be found... even by those who think they aren't looking for him. Your commitment to preserving the legacy created by all previous staffs, allows people to return year after year and feel as though they never left. Your openness to the diversity present in God's children and your willingness to embrace them all as being in God's image, welcomes, perhaps for the first time in their lives, children and adults who had thought themselves unworthy of such grace, unworthy of a place at the table.
You, through incarnating your own understanding of who Jesus was, by allowing the Spirit to guide you through your day-to-day routine, staying alert to the movement of God's hand in the life of this camp, show the people who come here that the Kingdom of God is at hand and if they reach out, God will be there, looking a lot like YOU.
I think Paul's admonition to be ready to live our faith, "in season and out of season" is especially significant for us. The Silver Lake Season, although at times busier than others, never really ends. There are Action Weekends and Retreats, Association Meettings, and Confirmation Weekends, and the entire summer schedule of conferences. But your "season," these weeks spent here this summer, is drawing to a close. As you finish your last load of laundry (or not), as you pack up the stuff you seem to have accumulated over the past several months, as you hug friends for the last time and say goodbye, remember to embrace what you have seen and done here. Remember to pack away with your pottery and dreamcatchers, your Harry Potter and CDs, memories of how God has changed your life. Take those memories with you and share them, out of season, with your friends who couldn't understand why you would waste a perfectly good summer at "church camp." Tell the stories of troubled kids who had their lives turned around because you took the time to encourage them, lead them, and show them that even cleaning toilets can be an act of love. Share in your churches the truth that you saw lived out here.
I know you had hard weeks, some really hard weeks. Some weeks that seemed as though they would never end. Some interactions with deans or counselors or conferees that may have seemed more like a fight; some schedules that stretched far into the nighttime hours after a full day of racing around; times when you may have felt it was pure adrenalin rather than your faith that got you through the day. I also know that you supported each other and cared for each other, sang together, laughed together, and worshipped together. You gave flesh to the question "WWJD?" by actually DOING IT!
And because you are the people you are, because God has pulled you from schools and jobs and other summer-time opportunities, because you believe, many of you, if not most, would not think you accomplished anything particularly unusual this summer. It's what you have come to expect from Silver Lake and from each other. If one thing defines this place apart from any other place on the planet, it's that YOU were all here working together, crying together, suffering together, encouraging and rebuking each other, instructing and learning from each other, and living out your faith... together. Here. God has blessed you and Silver Lake through the relationships that exist here. You have much to be grateful for. Much to be thankful for. Much to offer.
To God's greater glory, you have fought the good fight, run the race, and kept the faith. Thanks be to God for all of you.
AMEN
