Advent message on Luke 1:26-38

Sermon for Advent 4 at Emmanuel Episcopal Church, Mercer Island

Purify our conscience, Almighty God, by your daily visitation,
that your Son Jesus Christ, at his coming,
may find in us a mansion prepared for himself. Amen.
[from the Collect for Advent 4]

Th Gospel for the fourth Sunday of Advent focus on Mary,
I want to say a few things about the Mother of our Lord,
and her witness of faith,
and the way we view her traditionally and biblically.

Throughout a couple thousand years of church history
the ecclesiastical institution has made assertions about her
that have been devotional in nature, or theological, or political
in order to emphasize one agenda or another
in a struggle for control, influence or power.

People respond or react to Mary.
It’s hard to maintain neutrality.

Protestants may be reactive to anything they see
as ascribing too much devotion to Mary
as “theotokos,” the God-bearer, Mother of God.
Or there may be reactions between one ethnic group and another,
such as suspicion about the attachment of Mexicans
to their strong devotion to the Virgin of Guadalupe.

For much of the time the male hierarchy of the Church
has instructed the faithful about Mary in such a way
that she has been used to perpetuate
submission and subservience among women.

Although more recently in history
with a renewed engagement in biblical studies,
Mary has become an example and champion of liberation theology.
For instance,
in some Latin American countries her song, the Magnificat,
is considered to be subversive, revolutionary literature.

You see, everyone has to come down one way or another
in reflection about Mary,
all dependent on individual situations, cultures, and life experiences.
Mary is a lightning rod for our reactivity.

So saying all that, let’s look at this key text about Mary
and notice our own reactivity
and what that may say to us about our Lord and our relationship to him.

First,
the angel messenger was not sent to just any woman of child-bearing years.
There was an openness in Mary to God,
to receive what God was saying to her.
She was fertile ground
where the seed of God’s Word could sprout and flourish
and produce 30-, 60-, 100-fold,
or produce just one, but the One who would give life to all.

Openness to God –
where there is openness to God,
then transformation and healing comes.
This is a spiritual principle I see at work all the time
in the lives of those with whom I relate.
But what is it that brings the openness to God?
because as logical and as practical as that may seem,
I encounter great reluctance to being open to God.

For good reason, I think.
If you really are open to God, then watch out.
Things are going to change!
And, well, I don’t know if I want that,
especially if things are going along just fine.
But it’s when things aren’t so fine
that then comes the openness to God.

So maybe we are being given a tremendous spiritual opportunity here
for openness to God.

I would suggest to you
that Mary was not just some sweet, innocent, pious girl
disconnected from the realities of the world around her.

Mary lived during a time of despair for her people;
they lived under foreign rule,
oppressed and without freedom of self governance.

For these people the biblical stories of the past seemed distant,
the biblical promises of the prophets hopeless to be accomplished.
And in this context Mary, a woman in a patriarchal culture,
which itself was subject to domination by a stronger power,
was lacking in any significant political or social power.

So where could Mary go for any sense of hope?
Perhaps the only appeal she could make was to God.
After all the message of the prophets emphasized
God’s preferential favor for the disadvantaged,
the widow, the orphan, the poor, the oppressed.
And so her heart was open.

When there is pain and the suffering that results,
when there is violence on any of various levels,
the violence of crime, of war,
the economic violence of the rape of greed
perpetrated upon those poorer and less advantaged,
such as we see in the rise world-wide
of economic exploitation of workers as the new slavery,
or ponzi schemes that steel from investors and pension funds,
when there is death and loss and grief,
then, I would put to you, in the midst of acute suffering
is the heart more likely to be open to God.

This is not to say that suffering is good,
that evil should prevail so that it can drive people to God,
but that this is a crucial moment spiritually
when incredible encounter with God can happen.

So when the angel came to Mary,
the greeting it gave changed everything in her life
- and not just everything in her life,
but everything was changed for the whole world.
Mary, and what she would do, was key to all that would follow.

She would give her body, her whole being to be at God’s disposal,
and within her the very Word of God,
the One who was in the beginning with God and who was God,
through whom all things were created,
including Mary herself,
this very Word of God would become himself subject to creation.

And so the Spirit of God, who brooded over the waters of the deep
as described in the opening verses of Genesis chapter 1,
now came to Mary and enveloped her in the same creative brooding.
And the waters of Mary’s womb welcomed their own Creator.

If we were to give special rank or place
to any of the saints whom we hold up as Christ-like examples for us,
Mary would deserve the place of highest honor,
and it would be not just for being the mother of our Savior,
as significant and important as that is,
and certainly not because she is some sort of benign role model
for holy, submissive, gentle girls.

But it is for Mary’s obedience,
her willingness to take great risk as an expression of faith.
Mary looked at what the angel was offering her,
and we do not know how long she pondered the situation
before she said, "Here am I, the servant, the slave of the Lord;
let it be with me according to your word."

She looked at the risks and the danger, the potential and promise,
and she said yes - with an obedience to match Abraham
poised with his knife raised at Mount Moriah;

It is significant to note just who it is that usually gets chosen by God
for these kinds of jobs.

God has a way of choosing the poor and the humble;
this is God's preference in most all the biblical tales
- the poor and the humble and the most unlikely as God's representatives
and as God's partners in carrying out the great acts of salvation:
people like Moses - a murderer,
and Rahab – a prostitute in Jericho,
and one who was the youngest of 8 sons with the least to inherit, David with his wandering eye.

So at this time,
the most important key time in all the history of salvation,
God asked a humble peasant woman,
whom some say was no more than an adolescent,
to be the decisive agent,
to be the human partner -
in producing the divine child that would be our salvation.

Mary's agreement to being a partner with God
is our perfect example of obedience,
and, of course, this kind of obedience
is what God is asking of each of us.

This is not a matter of heroics.

For Mary from that moment of conception
the Holy Spirit was hovering over her, and her life was graced.
And so it is with us.

We are baptized into that same Holy Spirit.
We too are graced.
We too are called into obedience,
called not on the basis of our prestige or wealth or power,
but on the basis of our openness and willingness to risk faith,
our own obedience in making room within us for Jesus.

Mary shows us the way of opening
so that Jesus at his coming
may find in us a mansion prepared for himself.

Next Introductory Seminar

Our next Community of the Lamb offering will be:

Introductory Seminar
followed by a 12 Week course

Friday, Feb. 20, 7 – 9 PM
Saturday, Feb. 21, 9 AM – 3 PM

hosted by

Emmanuel Episcopal Church
4400 86th Ave. SE
Mercer Island WA 98040

Looking for a spiritual practice beyond a personal meditation focus?
a form of Christian meditation that is
• outward looking
• inclusive
• ecological
• intercessory
a spiritual practice that is
• grounded in scripture
• from a long tradition of devotion and usage
• linked with the sacraments of Baptism and Eucharist
• and that can be practiced both in quiet sitting and in the midst of activity

To register call 206-713-5321 or email PrayeroftheLamb1@mac.com
Suggested donation for the introductory seminar $50
Lunch on Saturday will be provided

Testimony

There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment and he who fears is not perfected in love.
1 John 4:18

I think I was born with fear and joy in my heart and developed both in the womb. My mother’s expectations for me were always beyond what was normal all through my life from the moment of conception on. Fear was always competing with joy. My father loved me without expectations, loved me as I was. He and I were very close and when he died suddenly when I was 15 years old the fear of abandonment held me in its grip for many years, and any loss in my life was magnified. I have had a lot of healing prayer for this, and then I began to pray the Prayer of the Lamb in 2001. Through that prayer prayed daily on a regular basis the Lord began a deeper healing and without realizing it I was being set free of that inner enemy, fear.

I realized in 2006 that the fear of abandonment was gone. I knew it was gone when my husband was diagnosed with dementia. I knew the day would come when he would be “leaving me,” an ongoing thing, but I wasn’t afraid of losing him. The loss would be tragic, but the fear of it was gone. I also realized this summer of 2008 that other fears were gone as well – fear of financial loss, fear of the dentist, fear of pain, and numerous other fears. God’s perfect love has cast out fear, and I’m able to love more deeply, see people and situations with Christ’s eyes and be more compassionate with others. I also have more energy, as fear was a heavy weight that I was carrying.

It is so freeing to be rid of fear and I am so grateful to the Lord for this miracle in my life. Now the joy of the Lord is my strength.

Jane Gray York

Agnus Dei Vol 6.4 Annual Report

This year the Board of the Directors for the Community of the Lamb decided not to send out our usual annual appeal letter. Instead of asking for donations and pledges, we want simply to give you a report of our activity and ministry during the last year as a way to express faithful accountability in the stewardship of the gifts give to the Community of the Lamb. While acknowledging the current economic situation, I am happy to announce that, as usual, the financial support received for this ministry has met all expenses and has provided a modest salary of $1,200 for the year of 2008 for the Executive Director.

During this last year our activities have included the ongoing group in Shoreline and intermittently an Eastside group meeting in Bellevue, as well as spiritual direction for individuals. I led a Columbia Region clergy retreat in Longview, held a short workshop at the Cathedral, led two Lenten programs in Everett and on Mercer Island, gave a presentation at the spring Ministry Resource Day, held a summer retreat at St. Dunstan, Shoreline, and led weekend retreats for the Total Common Ministry congregations and for Church of the Apostles.

Prayer beads were also sent to a new congregation in Sacramento starting up after most of the Episcopal churches in that diocese disassociated from the rest of the Episcopal Church. These were sent as an expression of prayer support not only for continuing Episcopalians grieving the loss of their diocese and church buildings, but also for those who were now feeling free to join the Episcopal Church and enter into a faith community that welcomed diversity of theological perspective within the faith of Jesus Christ.

Most significantly during the last year I have been going twice a month to the Monroe Correctional Complex and providing instruction in meditation with the Prayer of the Lamb for some 25 men in the Twin Rivers Unit. This is a major outreach ministry for the Community of the Lamb that I have been able to offer because of your contributions, since this is not a service for which I receive direct donations from the participants, nor am I paid by the prison. After a year now of working with these men I have observed how their motivation for meditation is significantly different from others I have worked with, how the prison environment presents challenges in how to carry out daily practice, and how I should direct instruction about meditation. There is much less talk filled with theological or churchy sounding words, and definitely no room for anything that might sound like easy platitudes, but instead pragmatic reality checks and compassionate listening, and a lot of reflection on the themes of escape, truth and faith. I continue to learn along with the men.

So thank you very much for making this ministry possible and for your role in nurturing faith development and increasing realization of Light, Life, Way and Truth as revealed through Yeshua. And with your support I look forward to the coming year in which we will have a major presentation of the Basic Introductory Seminar accompanied by the 12 Week follow up course beginning in February. I also look forward to continuing to build on the foundation now firmly laid at the prison in Monroe, to continue with those in spiritual direction, and to offer more quiet days, retreats and workshops. I feel that this is all possible because of Yeshua’s faithfulness in mercy and grace and great compassion working through many beings open to his love.

Along with my thanks I want to encourage you to continue in the spiritual practice of the Prayer of the Lamb, offering intercession for our environment, our stewardship of resources and deepening faith. Meditate every day. Mediate every day, because meditation is a form of fasting from all the ways in which we limit God’s mercy and grace that would operate within us. When we fast from our own assumptions and expectations about how we think life should work, then we provide the space for the great liberating Truth, the reality of the Reign of God, making its advent in our awareness and realization. Keep meditating!

Blessings in the Lamb,
Beverly

Agnus Dei Vol. 6.3 Some Basic Thoughts about Meditation

Some Basic Thoughts about Meditation

How can I live my spiritual practice so that I can see it bearing fruit in my every day life? That is a practical question for those serious about being authentic and honest with the intentions of life, and not just looking for an escape through meditation in an attempt to avoid or deny the difficulties of human existence and the issues of suffering.

This requires a meditation practice of the heart and not just the mind for integrating wholeness throughout the mind-body being that I am. The spiritual practice of meditation requires dedication, energy and commitment. But this is not just a project of the mind in which we strive to think the right thoughts, reject other thoughts and “have faith.” Striving in meditation only increases our problems. Where we have been judgmental, we find that we become even more judgmental of ourselves regarding our spiritual practice. Where we have been cut off from feelings and our own body, striving toward a spiritual goal can heighten a sense of even further separation.

So a meditation practice of the heart helps us in facing, rather than fleeing from, what we may want to avoid or deny: our own greed, self-hatred, anger, fear, pride, self-centeredness. But this heart practice also gives us a hugely valuable tool as a spiritual practice grounded in personal experience, because in faith knowledge or knowing is not intellectual assent but personal experience, knowing from the heart not the head. It is firsthand, not second hand.

Faith is a key component in the spiritual practice of meditation. We sit and do nothing, wasting our precious time, in faith that it is Yeshua/Jesus, the Lamb of God, his Resurrection Life and his own faith that are at work in every aspect of our being. As the Apostle Paul put it in Galatians 2:20, “It is no longer I who lives, but Christ who lives in me; and the life I now live in the flesh I live in [the] faith of the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself up for me.” Yes, I know that most translations read “I live by faith in the Son of God,” but that seems to be reading into the text that it is my faith. The translators get around the obvious genitive case “of the Son of God” by applying a grammar rule that seems constructed for only a couple of instances in New Testament Greek. But it seems to me that what Paul actually literally meant was that it is indeed Christ’s own faith that is at work in us and by which we live.

See also Philippians 3:9 as another example: “…that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own, based on law, but that which is through [the] faith of Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith.” This is to acknowledge that the faith we may claim as our own is actually a gift from way beyond ourselves. Trusting then that this faith is utterly sufficient for all needs we can then practice meditation with an openness of heart relieved from the burden of our own mental efforts and striving. We can be with our personal experience and direct knowing when we sit in meditation, and be able to face the greed, self-hatred, anger, fear, pride and self-centeredness we otherwise would not be willing to encounter. And the process of healing is at work.

Now when we engage in the spiritual discipline of meditation, we have a way of addressing the war going on within ourselves, the struggle with self regarding addictions, desires, denial, fear of death and isolation. But this is not by forcing ourselves through an act of will, but rather through cultivating a new way of being and relating which lets go of the battle. Facing what is the truth of self is not only an act of courage. It is also an act of compassion, compassion for ourselves. The hard work in practicing this new way of being is facing the truth about ourselves that is uncovered.

To live a life of faith requires us to engage in regular practice of a spiritual discipline such as the Prayer of the Lamb. This is meant to “ripen” us so that we can come face to face with life, be in the present, and be more honest and conscious. Then in meditation a sense of wholeness and abundance can arise within us as we sit, for in that sitting we are open to everything, rejecting nothing. Every possibility is there, nothing questioned, rejected or discredited – emptiness, and also expansion of awareness of and connection with all. Fullness.

Blessings in the Lamb,
Beverly