What Is a Purpose?

by | Jul 29, 2024

Matthew 5:13-16

PRAYER:  God of salt and light, be among us today as we seek to explore the purpose you have for us.  Enable us to hear your calling that we, as a church, may strive to live into that purpose, that we let our light shine before others that you are praised in all things.  May the words of my mouth and the meditations of all of our hearts be acceptable to you, O God, my rock and my redeemer.  Amen.

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How many of you ever heard your mom or dad ask you, “Why can’t you be like your brother?” or “Why can’t you be like your sister?”  Growing up, my mom didn’t ask that question specifically, but she was always quick to point out what great thing one of my siblings did.  The question was always inferred.  Why couldn’t I be like them?

I always heard about how my one brother always did such a good job with the dishes.  Mom always had something good to say about how another one of my brothers always took care of one thing or another.  Or how another brother was so good at sports… I have absolutely no idea what (if anything) mom said to my siblings about something I did that impressed her.  But I’d like to think that she did. 

In the interest of fairness however, let me just say that there was also plenty of my mom telling me what fool thing one sibling or another did.  She would complain about something or another and the implication was clear: Thank God you’re not like your brother….

It should come as no surprise to you that we live in a culture of comparison.  Whether we’re talking about a good old fashioned sibling rivalry or whatever version of “keeping up with the Jones’”, we have a love/hate relationship with comparing ourselves to others. 

I remember one tax season I was helping my dad out putting together tax returns for his clients.  I got to see all of the massive refunds that his clients were getting and my income tax refund was under $100.  Oh, I was angry!  I couldn’t understand how this was fair.  All of those clients were obviously wealthier than I was, and they didn’t need those big refunds.  I needed it.  I obviously had much to learn about how income works…

We are taught that to be the best in life, we have to strive to achieve.  We have to do better than everyone else.  This can cause us to underestimate others, and even ourselves. Ultimately, it can impact how we understand our purpose and what we feel will make our lives meaningful. We have a lot of misconceptions about purpose: it must be tied to work or how much money we make; it’s about finding personal happiness. We sometimes think it never changes. It must be big, flashy, and make an enormous impact. We look at famous people like Martin Luther King Jr. or Gandhi and measure how well we live into our purpose by what they did with their lives – and perhaps we think: “We’ll never be able to do that.”  God disagrees!

In Stephanie Shackleford’s book You on Purpose, she defines purpose as: “All the special activities that God created you to perform in the world – a fulfillment of God’s intention and design for you – which will naturally result in service and benefit of others.”

In our reading this morning, Jesus says, “You are …the salt of the earth,” and “You are …the light of the world.” These are identity statements.  You were created uniquely with certain gifts.  Finding your purpose.. finding our purpose is connected to discovering who we are and what we uniquely offer.  Both as individuals AND as a community.

Our gifts are meant to serve others. Just by their very nature, salt and light impact the world around them. They are change agents.  Jesus says, “So are you.” Just by the very nature of us being in the world, we change it.  Jesus also tells his followers that salt and light are supposed to be shared, not hoarded or hidden away or kept for yourself alone.  How salt and light are used is important. Verse 16 tells us to let our light shine before others, so that they may see our good works and give glory to God.   As we live into our identity as God’s change-agents, others will benefit from it. 

Perhaps no better example than Martin Luther King Jr, who said, “When you discover what you are going to be in life, set out to do it as if God almighty called you at this particular moment in history to do it.”

We have a lot of misconceptions about what purpose is.  Finding our purpose is about discovering who God has uniquely created us to be and how our own gifts can serve others in any given moment.  And for that, Jesus urges us to use our saltiness… to not hide our light.  It has been given to us for a reason.  One of my favorite examples of this is Monsignor Oscar Romero from El Salvador.  Even as he witnessed decades of atrocities committed by the Salvadoran government, Romero – who was the Bishop of El Salvador – remained silent, hoping that cooler heads would eventually prevail.  But in 1977, after the assassination of three priests, Romero found his voice and began speaking out against the political violence that the poor were subjected to.  For the next three years, Oscar Romero’s voice was aligned with the people, and he became an outspoken advocate for justice.  And then in March 1980, the government assassinated him. 

For the first sixty years of Romero’s life, he could pretty much be described as dull or bland… no salt; no light.  The last three years of his life, he found his purpose.  He was filled with the light of God’s justice, and his saltiness could not be denied.  If he had never found his voice in response to the assassination of his friends, I daresay no one would know his name today. 

Now, keep in mind that finding your purpose doesn’t mean that you have to be an Oscar Romero or Dietrich Bonhoeffer.  We don’t have to be a great civil rights advocate like Pauli Murray.  The simple truth is that, in God’s eyes, our gifts are enough.

Making a difference just requires even the smallest amount of light, just a sprinkling of salt.  The theologian Henri Nouwen wrote in his book Life of the Beloved, “The truth […] is that I am the chosen child of God, precious in God’s eyes, called the Beloved from all eternity, and held safe in an everlasting belief.”  “When we claim and constantly reclaim the truth of being the chosen ones, we soon discover within ourselves a deep desire to reveal to others their own chosenness. Instead of making us feel that we are better, more precious or valuable than others, our awareness of being chosen opens our eyes to the chosenness of others.  That is the great joy of being chosen: the discovery that others are chosen as well.  In the house of God there are many mansions.  There is a place for everyone – a unique, special place.”

Over the next week, I want you to think and pray about the gifts that God has given you.  You may find a very simple answer, or it may take you quite a bit of time and discernment as you dig deeper into the question.   Think about those things that you are good at or those things that you get excited about. 

When in your life have you felt valued?  Studies have proven that feeling valued for whatever your contribution may be is linked to better physical and mental health and higher levels of engagement, satisfaction, and motivation. Leading to a healthy and productive relationship between people.

Think about what gives you joy or makes you feel alive, what activities make you feel most like yourself.  Or… and this is an invitation to get out of your comfort zone… what new thing are you curious about exploring?  In your bulletin (and on the screen) is a website for United Methodist Discipleship Ministries where you can take a Spiritual Gifts Inventory.  If you have access to the web – or if someone you know does that can help you, I’d encourage you to sit down this week and take this inventory and see what you identify within yourself.  It may help you identify within yourself some of the spiritual gifts that you possess.  And for those of you who do not have internet access, there’s also a paper version which I’m happy to print out for you.  Even if you’ve taken this inventory in the past, it’s worth taking again, as we evolve and grow, we may find ourselves stronger in areas that we once struggled with, or vice versa

Now, as I said, finding our purpose is about discovering who God has uniquely created us to be and how our own gifts can serve others in any given moment.  This is not only true for us as individuals, but it’s true for us as a congregation as well.  Let’s remember that God calls us to a life of faith within a community.  We are not called to be islands unto ourselves; we are called to faith together, so we therefore should likewise explore our spiritual gifts together and our purpose as a congregation. 

I want to encourage us, as a congregation, to reflect on our call and our purpose together.  Let us find our common cause, that which binds us together in one purpose, that we may continue the legacy of this church, carrying the name of Jesus with us as we do.  How do we as a church remind people of their saltiness and light – and even give thanks for it?  How do we help others see what they offer to the kin(g)dom of God?  How can we, as people of faith, encourage people to share who they are in a way that benefits all of us and makes us better?

It is not something that we will accomplish this week, or even this year.  But we plant the seeds of hope. We seek to build the church that has purpose, that is filled with grace, that seeks justice for all those who are made in God’s image, and we continue to love, love, love. 

I would like to close with a prayer that was written by the late bishop Ken Untener of Saginaw.  The words of the prayer are based on the writings and life of Monsignor Oscar Romero.  Let us pray:

It helps, now and then, to step back and take the long view.

The Kingdom is not only beyond our efforts; it is even beyond our vision.

We accomplish in our lifetime only a fraction of the magnificent enterprise that is God’s work.

Nothing we do is complete, which is another way of saying that the kingdom always lies beyond us.

No statement says all that could be said.  No prayer fully expresses our faith.  No confession brings perfection.  No pastoral visit brings wholeness.  No program accomplishes the church’s mission.  No set of goals and objectives includes everything.

This is what we are about.

We plant the seeds that one day will grow.  We water the seeds already planted, knowing that they hold future promise.  We lay foundations that will need further development.  We provide yeast that produces effects far beyond our capabilities.

We cannot do everything and there is a sense of liberation in realizing that.  This enables us to do something and to do it well.  It may be incomplete, but it is a beginning, a step along the way, an opportunity for the Lord’s grace to enter and do the rest.  We may never see the end results, but that is the difference between the master builder and the worker.

We are workers, not master builders; ministers, not messiahs.

We are prophets of a future not our own.

Amen.