Would you count yourself among the half of all Americans—and I would presume Canadians as well—who say they are actively trying to “discover” themselves? And around 40% of adults say they are still searching for “purpose in life.”[1]
Regardless of how you may define purpose, let’s say that purpose is how you evaluate and measure your value in the world.[2] So, what is your purpose in the world?
I believe each one of us here has value and dignity, created lovingly in God’s image.[3] And perhaps our challenge today, personally and in community, is to focus our attention and centre on each other’s inherent worth, value and dignity, amidst all the challenges we face. So, why the confusion about purpose?
We may feel guilty we have this problem today because it wasn’t always like this. We often think fondly of the past. We remember when police officers and politicians apparently protected our interests. “We could rely on what the doctor told us, walk into a store and buy something without comparison shopping, and a handy person could repair their own car without an advanced degree. We feel that formerly we were more able to rely on things, on institutions, and on people in some greater or stronger way than we do today, whether or not that is actually true.”[4]
What may contribute to our confusion about our purpose today is that we are filled with apprehension and mistrust. Fear lurks beneath the lack of trust we feel today.
So, what do we fear? “Is it pain, loneliness, loss of position, loss of respect? Is it possible that underneath all of these fears, real as they are, lies one core dread: the fear of not having love? If we dig deeply enough, will we discover that our deepest fear is, What will I do if no one loves me?”[5]
“Let your kingdom come.” In this sermon series during Lent we look at various phrases from the Lord’s Prayer. Today, we reflect on the meaning of our petition to God: Let your kingdom come. Thy will be done. God’s will be done, in our lives and in the world. That is our prayer, indeed.
In his Small Catechism, Martin Luther in the 16th century offered short explanations for all the petitions in the Lord’s Prayer. He begins his explanation of this third petition by stating that God’s will is done even without our prayer, even without our specifically asking for it.[6] That’s because, for Luther, God’s will is about God’s grace, first and foremost, God’s good gift to us in the Holy Spirit.
And long before Martin Luther, Archbishop of Constantinople in the 5th century—John Chrysostom—linked the will of God in us to God’s love in us.[7] From the original Greek, Thy Kingdom Come, therefore means: “Allow love to reign fully.”[8] That is our prayer, indeed.
When Jesus gives the greatest commandment—to love God, yourself, and others with every fibre of your being[9]—we find the singular purpose of humanity: We are loved, and we are here to love.[10] Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth.
God is love[11]. And when we exercise love, the world on earth cannot be the same. The order of things is forced to change by virtue of a love that paints a different vision of reality.
When love reigns, we can trust others more, even those in authority never mind our closest family. When love reigns, we can find clarity of purpose for our lives. And it’s possible.
In answering the question about your purpose, did you think about what you did, or need to do? We often inquire into purpose with a task-focused mindset. But we can ask a far more probing question about purpose. What if the question of purpose isn’t at all about what we do but what we truly love? What do you truly love?
To ask the question, ‘What do I love?’ is to reconsider what matters most. When love is the driver, we think differently about money and accolades. Love shapes how we act toward our family, our friends, those we meet every day.[12] Love re-orders our priorities.
They recently renovated our local McDonalds in Arnprior. And, sure, it needed it. The restaurant is now refreshed, clean and all new and high-tech. But they still have to update the big sign outside. Because one important part of the McDonalds experience, from childhood, is no longer there: They removed the playplace.
I remember as a kid going for birthday parties to McDonalds. And parents had birthday parties there because of the playplace. We would all dive into the ball pit which we now know as the “multi-coloured petri dish where all forms of bacteria grow and thrive.”[13]
But as children we didn’t really care. We climbed the netting, followed the yellow-tinted tubing, and with arms up down the slide we went only to ascend again.
It was a joyful space, a particular world we pursued with love. But not just for children. It was a place for early risers grabbing a coffee and off to work. It was a place for those down on their luck in need of a cheap meal. And at the centre of this world was an elaborate playground to stoke the imaginations of the gathered children with hope and innocence. We loved it. When we played, we loved it all.
When Jesus spoke of the kingdom of God, I think he was painting a picture of what the world on earth could be like, as in heaven. He was giving us a dream of a place where “everyone knows why they are there.”[14] The purpose, then, is to live out the love of being a part of a joyful space: to play, to share, to laugh, to create.
I think for young people today especially, they need to know as we all do that the kingdom of God is a place of love and purpose for a wandering people. The kingdom of God a space that gathers anyone who wants to come and give energy and focus to what they love. Will we listen? Will we learn and grow? Will we play together?
The Israelites had to lift up the image of a snake, for their healing.[15] Jesus was lifted up on a cross, for the healing of the world.[16] Healing and salvation happen only because someone is loving, caring, acting out of compassion. Healing, reconciliation, forgiveness, renewed hearts and purpose cannot happen without love. Because God so loved the world, Jesus came to us.
Allow love to reign on earth, as it is in heaven. Amen.
[1] Tygrett, (2023). The Gift of Restlessness: A Spirituality for Unsettled Seasons, p. 54. Broadleaf.
[2] Tygrett, ibid., p. 54
[3] Genesis 1:27
[4] Shaia, A. J. (2021). Heart and Mind: The Four-Gospel Journey for Radical Transformation, p. 412-413. Quadratos LLC.
[5] Ibid.
[6] Martin Luther. (2024). The Small Catechism: The Lord’s Prayer. The Book of Concord Online. https://bookofconcord.org
[7] Damian, T. (2010). St. John Chrysostom’s Teaching on Neighborly Love. Columbia University. https://academiccommons.columbia.edu
[8] Tygrett, ibid., p. 147.
[9] Matthew 22:34-40
[10] Tygrett, ibid., p. 55.
[11] 1 John 4:16-19
[12] Tygrett, ibid., 55-56.
[13] Tygrett, ibid., p. 56.
[14] Tygrett, ibid., p. 57.
[15] Numbers 21:4-9
[16] John 3:14-21
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