Community of the Lamb Annual Report 2018

December 2018

Advent Hope and the Joy of Christmas

This  last year has been a year of incredible change.  Last year I wrote that I wanted to simplify my life, attempt to retire again, while still continuing this ministry of the Community of the Lamb.  I have been open to where the Resurrection Presence of the Holy Spirit might be leading me.  And to my surprise I am now living in Spokane with new ministry opening up for the Community of the Lamb.

The two on-going Prayer of the Lamb meditation groups are continuing strong, and I travel back across the state on a monthly basis to be with them.  At the same time I have had our first introductory seminar here in Spokane already, and a basic 12 session course has begun.  There are several other possibilities here for further groups and retreats.  So there has been a resurgence and expansion for teaching the Prayer of the Lamb.

Another development with significance for the Community of the Lamb comes with the closure of the Center for Spiritual Development in Seattle as a nonprofit corporation.  It was through CSD that I was able to learn meditation from the Rev. Jerry Hanna and have him supervise my two year study of meditation out of which emerged the Community of the Lamb.  CSD has completed its mission and life cycle, yet some of us who have benefited from the meditation retreats want to continue.  So the Board for CSD approached the Board for the Community of the Lamb with a proposal that we were happy to accept.

  

The Center for Spiritual Development Bylaws stipulated that residual funds were to go to a non-profit whose purpose was similar.  Our Board has approved and accepted their proposal that these funds be used for subsidizing future meditation retreats.  Our accountant will track the expenditure of the funds from CSD, and these funds will be available to both CSD and Community of the Lamb meditators.  Plans are already underway for a five day meditation retreat in March.  More information will follow.

So welcome to all of you from the CSD mailing list receiving this annual letter from the Community of the Lamb.  And for all of you who have participated and supported the ministry of the Community of the Lamb I again encourage you to continue the service of meditation and intercession for the healing and transforming of a suffering world.  I am continually encouraged by what many of you have shared with me about how meditation has had a transforming affect in your own lives.  Would you join with us as we continue this ministry for 2018?

The Community of the Lamb mission statement: to teach and guide Christian communities and individuals in the intercessory practice of the Prayer of the Lamb for opening the heart to the healing and transforming power of Jesus.

                  A blessed Feast of the Holy Nativity to you all!

Community of the Lamb Basic 12 Session Course

The Community of the Lamb Basic 12 Session Course is being offered at the Episcopal Church of the Resurrection, Spokane Valley, beginning Wednesday, November 14.  

The Prayer of the Lamb is often introduced during a weekend seminar or through individual teaching sessions.  However undertaking this meditation practice is a spiritual discipline that can only be absorbed and integrated personally by practice over time.

Persons who discern a desire and calling to establish the Prayer of the Lamb in practice meet weekly for approximately a three month period.  Each of the twelve sessions includes:

·      Meditational practice of the Prayer of the Lamb together

·      Reflection on experience in practice

·      Study from text for further teaching

·      Gospel reflection

·      Offering intercessory prayers       Each session lasts no longer than two hours.

The Prayer of the Lamb in Community…

Being with others in the shared spirituality of the Prayer of the Lamb is a helpful way for each person to support commitment and to establish a regular pattern of practice. The twelve session period gives needed time for the Prayer to become established in the open heart, and for each person to discover through reflection on experience the mercy and grace of Jesus at work within.

At the first session:

¨      Participants schedule the 12 sessions

¨      The texts are distributed

¨      Discussion of group norms

  

Suggested donations:

$10-20 per session.

All are welcome regardless of financial ability to make a donation. 

Make checks payable to:

  The Community of the Lamb.

Personal use of the Prayer of the Lamb…

The practice recommended for establishing the Prayer in the heart is to sit in silence with the mental recitation of the Prayer for up to 1/2 hour twice a day in an environment as free from interruptions as possible.  Also one can use the Prayer in the midst of daily activities with increasing mindfulness about opportunities to engage the Prayer.  Being faithful to ourselves in practice honors our need for healing through this Prayer, offers service for the whole of creation, and makes application of the teaching we have received.

If you are interested in enrolling in this course, please contact the Rev. Beverly Hosea 

at 206-713-5321 or PrayeroftheLamb1@mac.com.

Sermon at the Episcopal Church of the Resurrection, Spokane Valley: An Invitation

I just recently moved to Spokane from Seattle.

            It has been 54 years since I’ve lived here.

Actually I was born here and grew up here,

            but I have spent most of my life living in a variety of places

                                    around the country.

There were five years back in the 90’s

            when I served congregations in the diocese

                        before I did something bold

                        and followed where I felt the Holy Spirit was leading me.

I took a sabbatical – for two full years –

            and spent that time meditating and reading scripture.

I did that because I had begun meditation practice

            and I was discovering how significant and powerful meditation is

                        as a transformative spiritual practice.

For me this was the way I could live out my relationship with Jesus

            most genuinely and faithfully.

And that is what brings me here today, to share with you about a meditational prayer practice that can be healing and transforming and is centered in Jesus.

Our Presiding Bishop Michael Curry has talked non-stop

            about the Jesus Movement,

                        the way we Episcopalians can authentically

            put Jesus back in the center of conversation and of our faith

so that we can go out and express the love of Jesus to a hurting world.

Jesus is the reason we are Christians, right?

Otherwise we could be Jewish or Buddhist

                        or anything else as a demarcation of religious and faith affiliation.

But if you are going to be identified as a Christian,

            Jesus has to be in there some place.

            Having grown up in the Episcopal Church

I can say unequivocally that we Episcopalians don’t say the word “Jesus” much.

            Why is that?

Well, what if we had a greater understanding, or, better,

                                    a deeper experience of him?

You would think that understanding Jesus wouldn’t be that hard,

            but look at what the Gospel for today shows us about that.

James and John, you would think they would know better.

They had been with Jesus all this time,

            they had heard him preach, watched him heal,

            been sent out to do what he was doing, had some success with that,

and now what do they want?

            The two seats of power in the coming Reign of God

                                                            about which Jesus had been talking.

The seat on the right would go to the equivalent  in our modern parlance,

                        of the Secretary of State,

            and the one on the left would go to the Secretary of Defense,

assuming, that is,

                        as the disciples James and John seemed to have been assuming,

            that Jesus was going to take the head position of power

                                                                                                            in the Kingdom of God

            and that the Reign of God would be a divine version

                                                                        of political and military earthly kingdoms.

James and John had visions of grandeur.

Their idea about who the Messiah was is so influenced by

their cultural and religious assumptions

and hopes and expectations

and moral framework regarding justice and righteousness.

It would take the crucifixion and Resurrection

and the hurricane force of Holy Spirit setting them on fire

            and abiding in their hearts

                                    for them to fully know who Jesus is.

So this picture of Jesus, this version of him is not what he is talking about.

Here, instead, is the Jesus that each of the Gospels describes:

            In all the stories Jesus looks at all with love and compassion,

            every single person wherever he went, even those he argued with.

He saw, and sees, the condition of suffering for each one;

            he sees the helplessness they experience in the face of their suffering.

He knows it all.

Nothing escapes from his loving gaze –

            Peter denying him, you in your pain and me in mine,

            known and hidden,

            the suffering we admit to and the suffering we hide out of the shame

                        of not being self-sufficient,

                        of not having it all together.

And then there is the suffering we are not even aware of,

            the ways in which we are bound by the limitations of our perceptions

                        and the timidity of our faith.

We can make things so tough on ourselves without even realizing it.

Let me suggest to you a spiritual practice that has been around for millennia             a spiritual practice that can help dispel our cloudy way

                        of understanding and experiencing Jesus and responding to him.

This is a way that can help us be open

            to the healing, restorative and grace-filled Resurrection Presence

                                                                                                of Jesus within us.

It’s been around for millennia, what we can call meditation.

It is so counter-intuitive – meditation is primarily sitting awake.

            Sitting, that is, doing nothing, ceasing from our own activity

            which gets in the way of God’s saving action within us.

When we act, when we pray even,

            we bring our limited understanding to the situation.

We may do some good, much good,

            and yet we inhibit what the Holy Spirit could do through us.

Meditation is a primary spiritual practice for being a follower of Jesus,

            for entering into the process of discipleship –

            discipleship which is an action at work in us through the Holy Spirit.

In meditation we sit with openness to the Holy Spirit and trust in Jesus.

The more we sit in this trust, this faith, the more we may come to recognize

            that underneath the initial experiences of peace and relaxation

                        lie fears, anxieties, hopes, anger, despair –

all waiting to be recognized, acknowledged and compassionately addressed.

By sitting quietly one finally comes to the point

            of seeing through all the ego-constructs that we create

                        for defining ourselves and the world we live in,

                        and how we think it is all supposed to work.

Primarily meditation is simply sitting awake.

This coming Friday evening and Saturday morning I am offering

            an introduction to a form of Christian meditation

                        that has been around forever,

                        that is directly connected to scripture,

                        that has links with our liturgies, the way we worship,

                                                and the sacraments of Baptism and Eucharist.

I invite you all to come and explore what this Prayer of the Lamb is,

            a short, simple prayer,

                        “Jesus, Lamb of God, have mercy on us.”

And then for those who discern that this would be a good spiritual practice

            to explore more deeply and establish as a personal practice,

we will follow up with a weekly course of 12 sessions

            where we will meditate together,

                        reflect on the experience of meditation,

                        and look at what our Bible, and the Gospels in particular,

                                                            says that relates to meditation.

Because meditation is not like ordering through Amazon Prime

            and having it arrive on your doorstep the next day.

Meditation is a life style,

            that is, it has to be incorporated into our daily lives,

                        and become a part of the infrastructure of our being,

            so that its effectiveness can then be seen and experienced.

And honestly, meditation is not a DIY project – you know,

            read the instructions and put it together all on your own

                        like an IKEA kit.

That’s why a group meditating together,

            reflecting on the experience of meditation ,

            and getting some guidance along the way,

makes it far easier to discover and recognize the fruits of meditating

                        and to sustain consistent meditation practice.

So if you have ever wondered about meditation,

            or questioned whether there was a Christian form of meditation,

            or felt that your spiritual life needed a boost or renewal or direction,

come this Friday evening and Saturday

                                                and find out what the Prayer of the Lamb is.

We are all in a life long process of growing in our faith,

            endeavoring to comprehend who Jesus is,

                        who he is for each of us,

just as James and John were finding out

                                    in how Jesus responded to their request.

Not in seats of power, James and John,

            but down on your knees washing feet and serving humbly,

                        and becoming like Jesus in loving service.

The collect for this Sunday is a prayer for the community of faith,

            for those who identify as followers of Jesus,

            those of us who admit to the need to know Jesus more clearly and fully,

            those of us who would be disciples and accept a call to mission.

Almighty and everlasting God, (we prayed)

            in Christ you have revealed your glory among the nations:

            Preserve the works of your mercy,

                        preserve the works of your mercy,

            that your Church throughout the world

                        may persevere                        persevere

                        so that we can hang on, hang in there, stay the mile,

            with steadfast faith

                        steadfast in trusting and being faithful and acting on that faith

                        that confesses to be called by your Name,

                                                your Name, Jesus.  Amen.

Farewell Sermon at Emmanuel

Here we are, my last sermon with you.

I remember back to my first sermon with you

            back in December of 2007.

It’s been a good time here together with you.  I really mean it.

            I have loved being here with you.

Over the years I have participated with you in joyful baptisms,

            I have watched children grow up and become young adults,

                        and that has been an absolute delight.

I have walked with a number of you through illnesses, surgeries,

                                                stints of being in rehab and physical therapy,

and Hunt and I have presided over the burial office

                                                                        of way too many parishioners,

            being there with you in the grief, but also with the love and consolation

                        of our Lord Jesus present to encourage faith.

Over the years I have also continuously encouraged us all

            to be ever engaged in faith formation and education,

and we have had some great Sunday morning adult forums, speakers,

            Lenten series, women’s gatherings, retreat opportunities,

and, of course, I can’t leave out mentioning meditation.

With my other hat of the Community of the Lamb

            I have offered here at Emmanuel meditation seminars,

                        the basic 12 week course

                        and numerous subsequent courses and series

            on a whole variety of topics relating scripture to meditation,

often times attended by those beyond this congregation.

But you, Emmanuel, have been the host in providing this space.

I leave behind two ongoing groups of meditators

            who are clear that they can continue without my presence.

That lets me know that I have done my job well.

You folks have also opened your doors to letting my Hindu friends           

                        use the facilities on occasion

            and even had a great fund raising dinner for my sabbatical,

            so that I could take a generous donation check to Amma in India

             for her humanitarian projects there.

Which is amazing because you were also good natured about my

                        “cabaret act” as we had some fun together that evening.

I have had a lot of fun with you all, which I treasure in my heart.

I have also shared a lot of tears with many of you,

            which I also treasure in my heart.

It is in the tears and the laughter as it says in Kate Wolfe’s song,

                                                            “Give Yourself to Love”

It is in the tears and the laughter

                                    that we are most intimate and experience the love.

As an aside, it’s worth going back and checking out that song from the 80’s

            that’s been an earworm with me this last week.

And it makes my heart extremely glad to know that just recently

            the Outreach Committee in your name

just gave the Jubilee Center at St. Matthew/San Mateo in Auburn

                        a wonderfully generous donation

            for the very vital ministry they do

especially in the areas of immigration advocacy and domestic violence intervention.

So thank you very much for that show of support,

    and I do hope that you will continue this connection with the Jubilee Center.

Thank you for the privilege and joy that it has been for me

            in the work of mutual ministry in this faith community.

So now I must say some words to you,

            a message from my heart, words I would like you to remember me by.

Jesus did that with his disciples the night before he died.

Each of the Gospels devote special chapters to that final conversation.

John’s Gospel gives it Chapters 13 through17, five whole chapters.

            There it starts off with the New Commandment.

Jesus said,

            “This is my commandment, that you love one another.

            Just as I have love you, so you love one another.”

That commandment was not just for those disciples there with him at the time,

            but it quickly became the distinguishing mark of all followers of Jesus                                                                                                                                    after that.

We are called to love –

            that New Commandment that Jesus gave his disciples            

                        on the night of violence when he was then betrayed

                        and taken and tortured and handed over for execution.

If that is what he asked of us

                        at that incredibly tense and challenging moment in his own life, how can we not take his words without absolute seriousness?

So how are we doing with that?

            Looking at the Church as a whole,

                        not just this congregation or denomination,

                        but the whole enterprise, the whole institution,

it looks like we’re dying.

In the eyes of the general society we are becoming irrelevant.

And so the Presiding Bishop for the Episcopal Church, Michael Curry,

            has been calling us to a renewal in the Jesus Movement.

That’s important for bringing us back to the realization

            that Jesus has to be at the center of the life and ministry of the Church.

Because if it’s all just our own efforts,

            we can’t put the world right in the politics of things.

Too often the Church has fallen into the same trap as the people of Israel did

            in the reading from I Samuel 8

when they came to Samuel and asked him to get them a king

            so that they could be like all the other nations.

Give us the powerful ruler who will govern us and go out before us 

                        and fight our battles.

But it’s not a political answer or making the best deals or by wielding power.

Our society lives in that space

            and people suffer as a result:

                        the weak, the powerless, the alien, the marginalized,

                        women and children,

            all get exploited, taken advantage of,

while those at the top, the ones with the power,

                                    secure their power and wealth for themselves.

But Jesus was not a king, not a political presence,

            even though some have addressed him as a king,

            even though some have politicized his words,

and used their faith beliefs as a rationale for judgment and moral exclusiveness.

A king is so different from the liberating, healing power of Love

                        that a Crucified Savior brings.

No Jesus is out of his mind. 

That’s what they said about him in the Gospel reading for today.

            He’s crazy.  That’s how this society, this culture would characterize him.

Say he’s crazy and you can discredit that whole love one another thing.

That’s a familiar tactic used over the ages.

            Call your opponent a liar, discredit their work.

And the culture we live in today has such a pervasive effect on us

            that we unconsciously start to accept the whole political thing

                        that led the people of Israel to say to Samuel give us a king,

                        and reject God as their Sovereign Creator.

So I say to you today that here is what our problem as a faith community is:

It is our lack of yielding to the intimacy and awareness of the Presence of Jesus

            that is killing us off.

If we were to let down our guard

and our tight grip on a belief in a merit based morality,

            and instead take our suffering in all its many forms to Jesus

there would be a huge break through in the spiritual potency of the Church.

We would experience the stunning intimacy of Love in the Presence of Jesus

            and we would discover how to love one another

                        with authenticity and genuine intention.

And that would rock the world.

Crazy – The Cross of Jesus is a mass pardon. – Crazy.

            It stands between us and the condition of suffering in the world.

One might think Jesus was crazy to attempt that – saving the whole world –

            but then he went farther and in one huge Resurrection appearance,

there is then the Holy Spirit, the Resurrection Spirit and Presence of Jesus

                        put on us,

                        into which we were baptized

            which provides in us a continuous process of sanctification

                                    provided in that space of the Cross, which we call salvation.

This is the experience accessible to all in the Church,

            accessible through spiritual practice

                        spiritual practice such as prayer, meditation, the liturgy and                                                             sacraments, reading and hearing the scriptures,

                                    breaking bread together, forgiving one another.

That being in the Presence of Jesus Love

            is what liberates us to freely love others.

This is not the way of a king or any other type of political leader.

They called Jesus crazy, out of his mind.

And he didn’t do a thing to deny that.

He looked at those sitting around him and said,

            “These are my mother and my brothers and sisters.”

Those doing the will of God,

those yielding to experiencing that Divine Presence

            as it was coming to them through Jesus at that moment.

Brothers and sisters in the same craziness as Jesus.

And mother also, in whom the divine seed is planted and grows

            and is born and comes forth into the world.            Crazy.

Matthew chapter 25, the story Jesus told

about when the king would come and separate the sheep and the goats,

            you know the one:

“Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry and gave you food, or thirsty and             gave you something to drink?

And when was it that we saw you a stranger and welcomed you,

            or naked and gave you clothing?

And when was it that we saw you sick or in prison and visited you?”

And the answer, “Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are brothers and sisters, you did it to me.”

Jesus tells us in this story that these are the people he identifies with.

            Crazy the world would say.            Those people?!            Those losers?!

Just look at how our society treats the homeless poor,

            the aliens seeking refuge and asylum at our borders,

            those needing to access health care and the incarcerated.

But I have seen that those people, the ones in need,

            are those who get it about Love.  That’s where Jesus is, really.

Crazy.

Our presiding bishop, Michael Curry, has referred to the followers of Jesus

            as crazy Christians.  He even wrote a book with that as the title.

This way of Love in the heart of Jesus is craziness to the world

            that will call it names and call what is good evil and of the devil

                        and seek to discount, discredit, ignore and push it aside.

But when you experience being loved by Jesus then you can get crazy too

            in that life-giving, liberating way for others.

That’s what I want to say to you,

            what I have said in one way or another over and over again,

            what I first said to you and last say to you now.

It’s crazy but Jesus is the Love of my life.

Don’t be afraid to get close to that Love, to get close to Jesus.

Give up resisting, give up the merit based theology and

            and accept the fact that you are just as much in need of a free gift of Love                         as anyone else.

Let yourself be loved by Jesus, and go crazy in that good way with him.

Give yourself to Love.