Our Legacy
Third Talk

Talk 3: “I’m a Legacy” (10:00 AM)
Opening Song: In A Little While (Uncle Kracker)

We’ve talked about our beliefs and how they affect our lives, and what Orthodox Christians believe the purpose of life is: to be with God and care for His creation. However, we still haven’t talked about what that means for us. I mean basically, after everything we’ve said so far, you could say, “so what?” It still doesn’t tell me how a high school student from Vermont fits into the big picture.
To figure it out we have to know ourselves a little more. Let’s look at some of the gifts we have received. There are two types of gifts we have received: material and non-material. All of us have received a lot of material gifts: clothes, sneakers, CDs, TVs, etc. Take a couple of minutes to write down as many as you can think of. While everyone is writing, make a list of your own. Who has over 5? 10? Keep asking until they stop raising their hands. Find out who had the most and have them read their list out loud. Does anyone else want to share some of the things on their list? Some of the gifts I have received are…read your list.
Even though we don’t think about them as much, each of us has received a lot of non-material gifts: loving parents, friends, certain talents and abilities. Take a couple of minutes and make a list of some of the non-material gifts you have received. Do the same as for the last question (make a list, find out who had the most and have them read it). Anybody else want to add something from their list? Some of my non-material gifts are…read your list.

Project Song: The Will

We’ve just talked about the gifts which we have received from others. What gifts do you want to leave behind? In your retreat book, you will find a Last Will and Testament. Between now and the end of the retreat, take a few minutes to sit down and think about the legacy you want to leave after you are gone. Of the gifts you have received from others, which do you want to leave for others to remember you by?

While we were reading our lists, many of our gifts were the same, but many were different. Write this down:

• l EACH OF US HAS TALENTS AND GIFTS THAT DIFFER FROM EACH OTHER.

The real question is, what do we do with these gifts? One of the biggest and most obvious gifts I have been given is my life. But what do I do with it? I can use it to try and make the world a better place or I can help destroy it. St. Paul writes that our bodies are a gift from God and a temple of the Holy Spirit. What do I do with that gift? Do I take care of it, or do I damage it? It’s kind of like getting a pet for Christmas. What do you think we are supposed to do with that gift? Get a few responses (love it, take care of it, help it grow, etc.) If we have a dog, maybe we need to train it to protect our family. If we have a poisonous snake, we need to make sure that it doesn’t hurt anyone.

When Jesus was teaching his disciples, he spoke in a lot of parables. In one of them, he spoke about a man going on a journey who gave some money called “talents” to his servants to take care of (Matt 25:14-30). Each servant was given as much as they could handle. One servant received five talents, another two, and another only one. The servants with five and two talents managed the money and doubled their amount. The servant with one talent went and buried it in the ground. When the man returned from his journey, he was happy with the servants who doubled their money, but extremely angry with the one who did nothing with his talent. His one talent was taken from him and given to the servant with ten and he was fired as a servant.

We’ve already said that we have been given many talents. How do we manage ours? Do we work on them and try to make them grow, or do we just ignore them, and expect them to be there when we want them? According to the parable, we are only given as many as we can handle. Write this down:

• GOD ONLY GIVES ME AS MANY TALENTS AND GIFTS AS I CAN HANDLE

Share one gift you are really grateful for and what you do to develop it. If you can’t think of one, try to think of a talent you didn’t take care of and how you lost it. According to the parable, the gifts we don’t take care of will be taken from us.

• WHEN I DEVELOP MY TALENTS AND GIFTS I GROW CLOSER TO GOD. WHEN I NEGLECT MY TALENTS AND GIFTS I LOST THEM AND SEPARATE MYSELF FROM GOD.

Take a look at your list of gifts. Put a check next to the gifts you work at and put a line through the one which you take for granted. Each of us has been given special talents and gifts in order that we may use them to help people know God. In a real way each of us in “on a mission from God”. Unfortunately, we tend to turn down the mission. We don’t want to develop our talents. We don’t want to get closer to God. And we don’t want to help others get closer to God. It’s time to turn this thing around. It’s our tomorrow!

Closing Song: Again (Lenny Kravitz)

Small Group Activity #3: Pick one gift God has given and describe how you have or have not taken care and nurtured that gift. Pick one challenge God has given you and describe how you have dealt with it. (15 minutes). Share with large group (15 minutes).

		Department of Youth, Young Adult, and Campus Ministry Orthodox Church in America PO Box 675 Syosset, NY 11791 http://yya.oca.org yyacm@oca.org The Hub | Back to top