Type 9 - Waking Up to God's Peace

Type 9 - Waking Up to God's Peace Easy going. Comforting. Accepting. Idealistic. Serene. But also self forgetting. And maybe a bit passive-aggressive. These are the common descriptors for the Enneagram type Nine. I am a Nine. For those who may have missed the first sermon in this series, a quick recap. The Enneagram is an ancient personality typing system that has been traced back to many secular and religious cultures. No one knows exactly where it started but it s been traced to the Greeks, Sufi mystics, Judaism, Christian traditions and beyond. It wasn t really until the middle of the last century that scholarly types began studying and writing about the Enneagram as a system for understanding ourselves and others. Breaking it down, ennea means nine and gram means drawing or a figure and the points on the Enneagram represent nine different personality types. When Selena first mentioned the Enneagram to me I was curious. It may be the mid-life crisis talking, but I was in a place my life where I was open to a little self discovery. Then I googled it. And up popped is weird, cultish looking geometric symbol and links to ancient mysticism and my curiosity turned to skepticism. What was she getting me into? But I trusted her and downloaded a copy of the book she recommended, The Road Back to You, which is an introduction to the Enneagram from a Christian perspective, and I began a journey of discovering what the best version of me can look like. The version that God sees. As explained by Ian Cron one of the authors, Working with the Enneagram helps people develop the kind of self knowledge they need to understand who they are and why they see and relate to the world the way they do. When that happens you can start to get out of your own way and become more of the person God created you to be. I will admit that when I listened to the description of the Nine personality for the first time there was a lot of personal recognition in those words and much of it was not really comfortable or comforting. Some of it was down right cringe worthy. But there was also a message of hope and a joy in understanding what my true gifts are. An inward journey will always reveal both the light and the dark. And this is definitely a journey not a

destination kind of thing. But I m beginning to see the value in doing the work. I have heard the Enneagram referred to as the nine facets of the light of God. If we are truly created in God s image then understanding each type reveals more to us about who God is and who we are in God s eyes. This can also help us grow in our understanding of one another. There is a lot of variation within the nine types. You can think of it like this: if you assigned the color blue to the type Nine, for example, the folks who identify as type Nine would vary from robbin s egg to navy still recognizable as blue but their shades and hues would be different. Keeping that in mind, here s general description of each type: - Ones are often called the Reformer. They have a strong sense of right and wrong that motivates them to seek justice and fairness. It can also lead them to be perfectionists. - Two s are natural Helpers and give generously of themselves. They love unconditionally and expect nothing less from others. - Three s are achievement oriented and they make great leaders. They often value themselves through their external accomplishments. Enneagram experts often say America is a country of Three s. - Four s are the Individualists, who tend to be creative and want to show off the beauty in world and in themselves. They are emotionally honest, feeling all feelings deeply, and passionately. - As much as Four s are in touch with their feelings, Five s are in touch with their minds. They are the curious investigators. They are often innovators but they can also get lost in their thoughts. - Sixes, the Loyalists, are security oriented which can make them responsible and trustworthy. They can be as loyal to strongly held beliefs as they are to people. - Playful and high spirited, Seven s are called the Enthusiasts. They are willing and eager to try new things. The only fear a Seven faces is fear of missing out. - Eight s are strong, self-confident and not afraid to speak their minds. They love a challenge and can be great advocates for causes they believe are right. And then there are the Nines. Nines are called the Peacemakers. This can refer to the Nine s general world view as well their desire for unity and

acceptance for all. I will totally admit to having a naive, idealistic vision of a world filled with rainbows, unicorns and cotton candy where we all get along! But the Peacemaker concept also, and I think more importantly, refers to the Nines need to protect their inner peace and calm. Sometime the world is just too much for Nines. In fact, many Nines, including myself, will go to great lengths to avoid conflict so that their environment of peace is preserved. Jonah is one such Nine. At the time of Jonah, Assyria had been forced out of Damascus, and Israel was enjoying great prosperity. Still bordering on the North, Assyria was seen as an enemy of Israel and Nineveh was one of its largest, and most powerful cities. Like today, things were not friendly in the region. So one day God spoke to Jonah and asked him to go to Nineveh, "...the great city, and cry out against it; for their wickedness..." had come up before God. Well, I don't know about you, but to me that sounds like a horrible idea! Going to a place that is home to my enemies, publicly confronting people about their sins, and telling them they are about to be destroyed by God? I can literally feel the anxiety welling up in my stomach just thinking about it! No thank you! Send a Two...they love to help people! (More on that in a future sermon.) So in true Nine, conflict avoiding fashion, Jonah fled the scene. "That sounds great, God, but first I need to take a cruise!" I can come up with a thousand and one tasks that need to be done when I am avoiding the one thing that really needs to be done. Especially if that "thing" involves confronting, conflicting or any other form of stress. I find cleaning particularly zen. There's just something really calming about doing dishes! And this avoidance isn't just mental, it can be physiological. When I was in college, I became acutely aware of this during my first finals week. Now I love school and learning new things, but testing really stresses me out. The night before a particularly difficult exam I laid out my notes and my books and brewed myself a fresh pot of coffee. I was ready for an all nighter! But within 20 or 30 minutes I was fast asleep! It wasn't because I was tired but it was my body's physiological response to extreme stress...to cocoon myself in peaceful sleep. Sleep is a Nine s happy place! And this is where we left Jonah. Sound asleep below deck on a boat to Tarshish in the middle of a storm. Meanwhile, panic is ensuing with the other passengers. All are trying to figure out how to appease whatever god

is seeking to punish them. By the time Jonah goes up on deck, the storm is raging and the sailors are casting lots to see who caused this calamity and, of course, the die lands on Jonah. Now one thing Nines are really good at is finding ways to restore peace and harmony in tense situations and bringing unity to a group. I probably wouldn t have gone with throw me overboard but Jonah did. And that s how he ends up in the belly of a whale. I have seen cartoon depictions of Jonah in the belly of the whale even drew one myself in Sunday school. They make it look spacious but I m guessing it s not. I m thinking it s a little slimy and kind of smelly. But also dark and quiet. A true metaphor for sitting in the mess! For Jonah, it was a perfect place for sitting in the presence of God. I called the Lord out of my distress, and he answered me said Jonah. Many events had caused Jonah distress: a trip he didn t want to make, a terrible storm, falling into the ocean. And in those times of great stress some times the only way a Nine can find peace, other than hiding or running away, is to sit in prayer, laying everything out on the table, and finding strength in God s peace. These prayers don t often have a lot of words because sitting in the stillness can be powerful and healing for a Nine. I think in that place Jonah took an inward journey and came to realize why God had chosen him for that particular mission. He had the gifts necessary for the job! The true gifts of a Nine are born out of the same need for peace that makes them want to run and hide. Nines are natural mediators. They don t just smooth a conflict over, they seek to eliminate it. They tend to accept others with little bias and make people feel understood. They don t have to totally agree with you but they will listen and point out the positive aspects of both sides. And it was these gifts that God needed to deliver his message to Nineveh. Someone who could gently deliver some hard truths. Someone who is seeking unity with others and with God. Once he arrived in Nineveh, I picture Jonah talking with people that he met while he was there in a market or on the street and talking with them about his God and how he was sent there to deliver the bad news that God was unhappy with them. And Jonah would listen to them. He would hear their joys and their struggles. And then he would offer God s peace to them according to their need. Being a Nine, he could share their perspective.

- If he were talking to a One, he would remind them that God created them perfectly just as they are and they shouldn't be so hard on themselves - For Two s he might tell them that God s grace is the purest unconditional love and it belongs to them - A message of hope for Three s of the great rewards for seeking God s plan before our own - To Four s he might say God has made you lovingly and uniquely you and who you are is enough - Five s might need to know that while there is much to learn and understand about the universe, God calls us to be a part of the world not just an observer - To a Six he would say fear not, have faith in God and He will be with you - A Seven might need to hear that God wants us to rejoice and find true, authentic happiness - For the Eight s a message of God s mercy and forgiveness can soften a tough exterior - And to a Nine Jonah would suggest that they sit in the belly of a whale and find strength in God s peace Jonah was successful in his mission. The people of Nineveh turned to God and sought his forgiveness. And God forgave them and decided not to destroy them. And in the last chapter you would think Jonah would be celebrating or at least mildly happy that he accomplished what he set out to do. Yet he s not. In fact, he s angry. He feels as though his efforts were a waste of time because he believes in a loving and forgiving God that would have pardoned the Ninevehites with or without his efforts. Once again he is doubting the uniqueness of his gifts. Jonah is struggling with God s vision and methods. Still struggling with his own purpose and his own value. In fact, the book sort of ends mid-conversation between Jonah and God without any resolution at all! But maybe that s the point maybe it s unresolved for a reason. Understanding ourselves and building our relationship with God is something we never finishing doing. Our conversations with God continue as we wrestle with the messiness of life. As I said earlier, this is a journey thing and not necessarily a destination thing. We will always be looking for a way we can do better, be better. It s part of the reason we come here, to this church, right? To deepen our faith, to challenge our understanding of world and ourselves, to build our relationship with God and his creation. And it is under this roof we are

united together in that struggle. We come to this place with different personalities and different perspectives seeking same abundant light and love of the One who made us each in our own unique way. One last story of an amazing Nine and a tribute to this Pride weekend. It s a portion of my brother Timm s coming out story. He s 14 years older than me so when he told my parents he was gay in his early 20 s I was still just a little kid. I wasn't a part of the initial conversation but I do remember a lot loud voices and anger. Enough to make a little conflict avoider run and hide in her room. They way my brother tells it, he and my mom found me crying in my room. He tried to explain to me what was going on and some Disney version of what being gay means sometimes there s a prince and a princess and sometimes there s two princes. He said I looked up at our mom and asked, Mommy, is Timmy still going to heaven? And she said most definitively, Absolutely! Because God loves everyone the same. She was our Peacemaker! Her faith in God and her ability to see the good in almost everyone shaped my faith and my desire to bring the same feeling of peace to those around me. I am forever grateful for her example.