Purpose Driven

Learning to live with higher purpose like Jesus

01/06/2020

Matthew 4:12-17, 23-25 When Jesus heard that John had been arrested, he withdrew to Galilee. He left Nazareth and went to live in Capernaum by the sea, in the region of Zebulun and Naphtali, that what had been said through Isaiah the prophet might be fulfilled: Land of Zebulun and land of Naphtali, the way to the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles,the people who sit in darkness have seen a great light,on those dwelling in a land overshadowed by death light has arisen. From that time on, Jesus began to preach and say, “Repent, for the Kingdom of heaven is at hand.” He went around all of Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the Gospel of the Kingdom, and curing every disease and illness among the people.

One of the things I’m discovering as I delver deeper into bible studies – like Mark (which we just finished) and Luke (which we’re about to start) – is how Jesus fulfilled his ministry as the Messiah. I don’t know about you, but I used to think Jesus just sort of wandered around the Judean countryside curing the sick and spouting off spiritual lessons. But the closer you look at our Lord’s life, you discover his path is marked by an intense itinerary and a deliberate destiny. There was nothing accidental or arbitrary in our Lord’s life, and certainly not in his death.

Have you ever read Pastor Rick Warren’s popular book called A Purpose Driven Life? It opens with this great line, where Warren insists: ‘It’s not about you.” The world in which we live today, on the other hand, teaches the exact opposite, crying: “It’s all about you! You are the center of the universe.” The purpose that drove Jesus’ life, however, was the Father’s plan, doing what pleased the Father even at the cost of Jesus’ own will and ultimately his own life. In other words, to live a truly purpose driven life is to live for a higher purpose than you own plans and pleasures.

Now, how did our Lord learn the Father’s will, the higher purpose that drove each of his decisions? I think Jesus had three guideposts: first, daily and deep prayer, second, saintly people surrounding him, and third, visiting sacred places. In the gospel today, Jesus begins his Galilean ministry, and that would consume the lion’s share of his public life, from 30 years of age to 33, when he finally travels to Jerusalem to die and rise. In Galilee, Jesus calls his disciples, he walks on the water, he preaches the Sermon on the Mount, and he does so much more.

But how did Jesus know when to begin his Galilean ministry? Our Lord’s public life was triggered by St. John the Baptist. The first line of today’s gospel reads: “When Jesus heard that John had been arrested, he withdrew to Galilee.” By the way, I love what happens to the daylight (at least in the northern hemisphere). Have you noticed? Every day after Christmas, the sunlight starts to increase slowly but surely, up to about the middle of June. And what does the Church celebrate on June 24th? The birthday of John the Baptist. Just like John the Baptist said in John 3:30: “He must increase and I must decrease.” In other words, the book of Nature echoes the Book of the Gospels in teaching how Jesus’ every move was premeditated and intimately intertwined with the life of John the Baptist, his precursor. The three signposts of personal prayer, holy people, and sacred places, guided our Lord to live the most perfect purpose driven life possible.

My friends, how do you go about deciding the path and purpose of your life? Do you flip a coin and go with heads or tails? Are you chasing money or a job promotion? Is it fame and fortune that makes you jump out of bed? It’s interesting to talk with high school and college students when they come home for breaks. When I ask them what their major is or what they want to do with their life, they answer: “I want to do such-and-such, but ask me again next semester and I might want to do something else!” And I would have probably answered the same way when I was in college. Many of them feel like a ship without a rudder being tossed about by the winds and waves of this world.

Part of the problem, I believe is they are trying to find the meaning of life by asking the question: “What do I want to do?” That’s an important question, but it is not the first or fundamental question. Like Rick Warren insisted: “It’s not about you.” Instead, I believe, the far better question is to ask: “What does God want me to do?” There is a world of difference between those two question: “What do I want to do?” and “What does God want me to do?” Indeed, it is the difference between this world and the next. That is, we make radically difference choices when what matters most is our final destiny in heaven, when the purpose of our lives is driven by God’s desires for us, not our own.

Ultimately, the reason to pursue a purpose driven life, like Jesus is to be happy. The higher the purpose of our life, the higher the happiness we will experience. And the highest purpose can be summarized by the Baptist’s own words in John 3:30: “He must increase and I must decrease.” But you don’t have to believe the Baptist, just watch the sunlight outside each day, and Creation herself will tell you.

Praised be Jesus Christ!