Our Legacy
Second Talk

Talk 2: “Our Place in this World” (9:00 AM)
Opening Song: I’m Still Here (Johnny Rzeznik)

People have always been trying to figure out why we are here; what human beings are here to do. There are a lot of different opinions about our place in this world. A lot of people think that our goal in life is just to be happy. We hear it all the time, “that’s OK, as long as they’re happy”. Other people don’t think about it too much and just assume they can do whatever they want in this world, no matter what. Some of those people go to jail, and a lot go through life without ever being challenged. Still others believe that they can do whatever they want as long as it doesn’t hurt anyone else. St. Paul wrote that when we are baptized, we all become members of the Body of Christ. He insists that just like a human body, when one member of part hurts, everyone hurts. Whether we like it or not, no matter what we do, it affects other people. (Give an example of how something you did ended up affecting someone else even though you didn’t think it would). One thing is certain: whatever our purpose in this world is, we are here to do it together.

The first book of the Bible gives us some facts about who Christians believe they are. (Have everyone take out their Bibles and ask for two volunteers to read the passages. Follow along with the text below):

Genesis 1:26 – 31: Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.” So God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him, male and female He created them. God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground.” Then God said, “I give you every seed-bearing plan on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food. And all the beasts of the earth and all the birds of the air and all the creatures that move on the ground – everything that has the breath of life in it – I give every green plant for food.” And it was so. God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning – the sixth day.

Genesis 2:7, 15:

• “The Lord formed the man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being…”
• “The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it.”

It says over and over that God created human beings to rule over the earth and take care of it. We are supposed to rule over the whole thing: the fish, plants, animals, everything. In a way, we are supposed to be kings and queens of everything that God has made. Write this down:

• I AM A KING/QUEEN OF CREATION.
  (Explain what this means to you, and how we are supposed to “rule” (Is it an important job? Is a king/queen always popular? What about dictators: are we supposed to be like them? What kind of decisions do we have to make?)
  
• I WAS CREATED TO TAKE CARE OF EVERYTHING GOD MADE AND PRESENT IT BACK TO HIM.
  The problem is that it still doesn’t tell us how we are supposed to care for everything God created. I’m only one person in Vermont. How am I supposed to take care of the whole world?
  Another thing that the Bible says is that God made human beings from dust and breathed the breath of life into them. We hear this at every funeral and memorial service: “For dust we are and unto dust shall we return”. Without God, we’re just dust. We can’t do anything without Him. In order to be a king or queen of creation, we need to be connected to God. If I’m to find out how to do this, I need to want to be with God. (Explain what you think being with God is like. Have you ever felt God’s presence in your life? When? Where? What did it feel like? If you haven’t, what do you think it would feel like?)
  St. Gregory of Sinai, a real spiritual leader of the Church wrote something that really sums up how a Christian is supposed to live. He said, and please write this down:
  
• “BECOME WHAT YOU ARE. FIND HIM WHO IS ALREADY YOURS. LISTEN TO HIM WHO NEVER CEASES SPEAKING TO YOU. OWN HIM WHO ALREADY OWNS YOU.”
  What am I? I am a creation of God made to be with Him and take care of His world. Where do I find Him? I can find Him anywhere. I only have to want to see Him. How do I listen to Him? By wanting to hear what He has to say. How do I own Him? I just have to remember that I was made by Him and need to be connected to Him in order to be alive.

Sometimes we get so worried about what we are supposed to do and how hard it seems to be, we convince ourselves to not even try. Other times we want to do things that maybe isn’t what God has in mind. How do we figure it all out? In the Gospel according to Matthew (Matt 10:28-31), Jesus tells us that God takes care of even the smallest bird, the sparrow. He also says that we are worth a lot more to God than a couple of sparrows so we don’t need to worry. We may not get what we want, but we just have to trust Him that He will give us what we need.

Closing Song: Everything You Want (Vertical Horizon)

Small Group Activity #2: Write about one time in your life you felt God’s presence in your life. It may not be “life changing”. It could be in the mountains or at the ocean. You may not have had this experience yet. (15 minutes). Share with large group (15 minutes).

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