1 Cor. 12: 4-13; Mark 9:2-9                      Radical Relationship 4: You Don?t Have to be Like Me!          Feb.26/06

1. You don?t have to be like me.  After the creative art of remembering of our Radical Relationships last week, this is likely the thing that could save more relationships in the home, school, church and world than any thing else.  Interesting isn?t it, how often we?d like people to change to be more like me?

2. Our scriptures are a perfect antidote to that idea.  In Mark, Jesus is on the mountaintop.   God speaks and says, ?This is my beloved son.?  Right now!  Not after he does anything.  Right now.  Our scripture from 1 Corinthians is a very familiar passage about the different gifts we are given by the Spirit.  We are different!  When we try to make someone like me, it is probably the most destructive thing we can do in relationship.  We can take the fangs out of a lion.  We then have a toothless lion ? not a domestic house cat.  And the creature is wounded.  Our efforts to change partner, child, or friend may result in change, but with a scar, not transformation.  There are many ways to look at differences.  This morning, we?re going to look at spiritual types.

3. Urban Holmes identified that people tend to fall into one of 4 spiritual types.  We are all, every one of us, spiritual persons, but how we express our spirituality differs from one another.

Type #1 understands the language of the Spirit best through words, concepts and ideas.  These people hear the Spirit most clearly through spoken prayers, sermons and Bible Study.  So their favourite music requires lots of words and complex ideas.

            Type # 2 understands the language of the Spirit best through lively, roof-raising music, and repetitive choruses sung with gusto. These people hear the language of the Spirit best when their emotions are touched, when they are energized and inspired through their hearts.

            Type # 3 understands the language of the Spirit best through silence, meditation and contemplative prayer. These people hear the language of the Spirit best in the quiet spaces.

            Type #4 understands the language of the Spirit best in love lived out in action, in justice-seeking. These people hear the language of the Spirit best out in the world where the hungry are fed and the needs of the marginalized are attended to.

4. Four different types.  Four different ways the Spirit speaks to us. Whatever our preferences, they are all valuable and enrich our worship life together.  We have the questionnaires available and an explanation to take if you wish.  The good news about the questionnaire is that there are no right or wrong answers, and you can circle as many answers as you think are true for you.  You don?t have to choose just one.  When you have finished all the questions, add up all the number 1s, you circled and write that by the first quadrant on the wheel, ..then all the number 2s, 3s and 4s.  Like me, you?ll probably have some in all quadrants.  It?s likely that one will have more.

5. So what did you find for you?  You can see why one type of worship, hymns, prayers, sermon, might fit better for you ? and not for someone else!  The gift of our spirituality is given by God.  We want to find the ways we nurture our spirit best, and make sure we do that- in both public and private worship.  At the same time we?ll want to make sure that others are nurtured as well, as much as that can be done in public worship.  Now that second circle.  It asks you to guess what the style would be for this church.  It is just a guess!  Is it different from yours?  If you want, you can hand in your sheets without your name, and I could tally what personal type is predominant for this congregation.  It would be helpful and interesting information to have.  It?s up to you!

6. The gifts of the Spirit, and how we understand ourselves and others can be very helpful to understand relationships in this congregation.  Understanding that we are all different in many ways as well as spiritually can affect all our relationships profoundly.   We want different things because we have different motives, needs, purposes, and values.  We believe differently, because we comprehend, perceive, think, and understand differently.  The ways we act and show our feelings will be radically different because of what we want and believe, and the customs we?ve grown up with. 

7. Of course as people of the resurrection, we believe change is possible.   Relationship can be healed.  And we know it happens best when we are affirmed and recognize our God-given gifts.  Because we are a unique, unrepeatable miracle of God.  When we really get that, we receive our greatest ability to grow and change.  When we accept that we don?t need to be like someone else.  Then we do not see others? gifts as flaws or afflictions!  They are simply different.  I see the other as someone I perhaps don?t understand, but can, with a sense of holy puzzlement at least appreciate!  God says to each of us, ?You are my beloved child.?  In that acceptance we can accept, and love in the radical way that builds relationships.