October 21, 2018 | Rev. Gary Nicolosi
Peter Drucker, the father of modern management, was onceasked, “What advice would you give to young people who aretrying to get ready for the twenty-first century?” Drucker replied, “Know your strengths. The most important thing is to know whatyou’re good at.”
Do you know what you’re good at? Sometimes other people tell you. Sometimes you take an aptitude test. Most of the time, youhave to figure it out by trial and error. I’ve known students whohave changed their majors in college countless times becausethey couldn’t figure out what they really wanted to do with their lives. I’ve known people in the workforce change jobs and evencareers because they discovered they had neither the interest nor the ability for the work they were doing. One of my law school friends was sure he wanted to be a commercial lawyer, but after a few years in practice he decided to become a high school teacher where he was much happier.
Know yourself – know your passions, pursuits and proclivities.Know what you’re good at and what you really like to do. When you know your purpose in life, when you know why you are here on this earth and what God has created you to do, then and only then do you find satisfaction and fulfillment – what Pastor RickWarren terms “a life of significance.”
Here is a basic truth: What God made you to be determines what God intends you to do. You are special. You are the only one-of- a-kind. No one else is exactly like you. God has made you unique. You are uniquely shaped for a specific purpose. The question forus is: Are we in S.H.A.P.E. for living out God’s purpose for ourlives? Are we living out our S.H.A.P.E. – our spiritual gifts, heart, abilities, personality and experiences – in such a way that we fulfill ourselves and benefit the world?
First and foremost, you need to discover your spiritual gifts. St. Paul says in Ephesians that God gave some to be apostles,prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers. That’s Paul’s shortlist. There are about 30 spiritual gifts listed in the Bible. No one has all 30 gifts but each of us has one or more. I like to think of spiritual gifts as the sweet spot on a baseball bat or a tennis racket or a golf club. Mark McGuire, the great homerun hitter,said, “When I feel the ball hit right on the sweet spot, a home runis right around the corner.” A spiritual gift is much like a sweetspot.
Have you ever done something for others that made you feel sogood you couldn’t wait to do it again? If you have done that, youhave discovered your spiritual gift. God has made you in such a way, created you with such a design, that you have a particular gift to share for the good of the whole. We are wise to discover our spiritual gifts. And when we live according to our spiritual gifts, there is an excitement about what we do, an eagerness about it, and we can hardly wait to try again because we want to feel the goodness of what God has entrusted to us.
Have you discovered your spiritual gifts? That’s fundamental ingetting in S.H.A.P.E.
Then follow your heart. What do you feel passionate about? What gives you excitement and enthusiasm for living? Some of us in this church feel passionate about mission and outreach. We are always giving ourselves to some cause to make the world a brighter, better place. Others are passionate about children, youth and young adult ministries. We want to make sure that every young person has the opportunity to know, love and serve God. And still others love the music ministry because through music we touch the heights of heaven.
So what’s your passion? Where is your heart, and what do youfeel deeply about?
John Knox the Scottish Reformer said, “Give me Scotland or I die!” That’s passion. Count Nikolaus von Zinzendorf, the founderof the Moravians, said, “I have but one passion; it is Christ. He only.” That’s passion. John Wesley, when asked the limits of his ministry said: “The world is my parish.” That’s passion. William Booth, the founder of the Salvation Army, was asked the secret of his success. He replied: “When God put the poor of London on my heart, God had all there was of William Booth.” That’spassion.
Follow the passion of your heart. What gets deep into your souland stirs you with such intensity that you can’t wait to see itbecome a reality? That’s God calling you.
Are you in S.H.A.P.E.? What are your spiritual gifts? What are the passions of your heart?
Then also, use your abilities not just for your own good but for God and people. I am only your interim rector, but I confess that sometimes I lay awake at night, asking the Lord to give me the wisdom to tap the talent, awaken the abilities, and spread the knowledge represented in this church. With the abilities in this church today, can you imagine what could be done for the good of the world if we got mobilized in a particular direction?
No one is without abilities. The question is what abilities do I have that furthers the kingdom of God and makes this world a better place? Some people have the ability to hear what other people are saying – they are really good listeners. Other people have theability to empathize with people’s pain. Others have the ability togive people the benefit of the doubt. Still others have the ability to see the best in others. Others have the ability to forgive. Then there are people who know how to express love, or to solve problems soundly and creatively. And there are people with the ability to help others see Jesus.
I could go on. The point is, the abilities we have are not always obvious, but they are important. When a church harnesses the abilities of its members, more is done together than could ever be done by individuals alone. Things thought impossible become possible. What seemed beyond imagining becomes feasible. I have seen churches grow exponentially because the abilities of members were brought together in common mission – senior centers are built, pre-schools and day schools are begun, pastoral counseling ministries are started, legal and medical clinics are commenced, after school programs are initiated – all because the abilities of church members are utilized for a common purpose tofurther God’s work on earth. It is absolutely amazing what Godcan do when we use our abilities for the glory of God and the good of others.
Are you in S.H.A.P.E.? You have abilities – use them!
And then, understand your personality. When God made us, he made us all different. Some of us are extroverts, others areintroverts. Some of us love routines. Others of us can’t stand thesame old thing. Some of us are thinkers. Others of us are feelers.
There is nothing right or wrong about any of it. God loves variety. Therefore, God made us with a variety of personalities.
Think about it. Jesus took an accountant by the name of Matthew, an impulsive extrovert by the name of Peter, an introvert by the name of Andrew, a deep thinker by the name of Thomas, a young dreamer by the name of Philip, a couple of ambitious entrepreneurs by the names of James and John, along with a handful of people we hardly remember and managed to changethe world. It’s amazing but true – the most unlikely people together started a movement that today has more than 2.3 billion Christians.
What might happen, if the people of God were to turn loose for good in the world? What might God do with the likes of us? Areyou in S.H.A.P.E.? St. Augustine said, “Conquer yourself and the world lies at your feet.” Know your personality type.
Finally, what experiences are you bringing to the table? Do you ever wish you could live life backwards? I do. If I only knew then, what I know now, I might have done things differently. Some of you know what it is to wade through a divorce, deal with the death of a child, lose a job, move to a new place, doubt God, have family disputes, battle the darkness of depression, and deal withan aged parent. You have been there and done that. Don’t letyour troubles go to waste. The best thing you can do with the pain in your life is to turn it into a ministry for someone else. That is the Christian way to deal with your hurts and troubles. Take the worst thing that could possibly happen to you and let it become a tool by which you minister to others.
When Heather gave birth to Allison, we had no idea that shewould have Down syndrome. As Allison came out of Heather’swomb, all we knew for sure was that something was wrong. There were doctors and nurses flocking to the delivery room examining Allison on a table. We had no idea what was going on. Shortly after Heather got to her room, Allison was brought in and we held our daughter for the first time. She was beautiful, but we noticedthat her eyes seemed different. Heather said to the nurse, “Does my daughter have Down syndrome?” The nurse didn’t say a word.She immediately left the room and a short while later the doctor who delivered Allison walked in. She told us that there would be more tests but that it seemed as if Allison did indeed have Down syndrome.
The news hit us like a blow to the belly. All our hopes and dreams about our daughter seemed dashed. We were frightened, anxious, not knowing what the future might hold for her or for us. The hardest part was making the phone calls to our parents telling them the news. What should have been the happiest day of our lives was a sad one.
And yet, that is not the end of the story. Allison has turned out tobe an incredible blessing and a beautiful human being. We can’timagine life without her. She has given us immense joy and we feel so very blessed to have her as our daughter – what a gift from God!
The experience of being the parent of a Down syndrome child changed my life completely. I became more sensitive, a more compassionate human being, someone who knows the pain ofbeing human because I’ve been there. It has allowed me tocounsel parents with special needs children, to help them face the future with courage and hope, and to be a better priest to them because I have been in their place myself.
Have you ever taken your troubles and transformed them into tools of ministry for somebody else? The author of Hebrews refersto the high priest who “is able to deal gently” with people “since he himself is subject to weakness.” The people who can best helpother people with their pain are the ones who have suffered pain themselves. Whatever suffering you have known in life, and whatever wisdom you have gained from that suffering, you are now in a position to help others in the same way.
Napoleon once pointed to a map of China and said, “There lies a sleeping giant. If it ever wakes up, it will be unstoppable.” Everyso often, I wake up in the middle of the night and think the same thing about the Episcopal Church. “Here lies a sleeping giant. IfGod ever wakes us up, we will become unstoppable in terms ofsharing the good news of God’s love in Jesus; and showing theworld the mighty acts of justice, mercy and compassion thatwitness God’s presence in the world.”
So, know your S.H.A.P.E., fulfill your life, and live out the purposefor which God has placed you on this earth. You’ll feel betterabout yourself and you will make the world a better place as well.
Dr. Gary Nicolosi
October 21, 2018
Text – Hebrews 5:1-10; Mark 10:35-45 Proper 24, B