One of the great things about being a Christian is that our faith gives us the assurance that there is some definite meaning and purpose to life. We’re not alone in that belief of course because it’s one we share with people of other faiths. And we are, I think, blessed in that belief. To know that there is some ultimate meaning to life and that we have a definite purpose in life is one of the sources of joy we find in our faith because the alternative, that life has no meaning or purpose, that we’re born, we live out our time on earth and then we die could, and perhaps would, be the cause of despair and misery. I think it’s certainly the cause of much misery in the world because a belief that this life is all there is and that there’s no meaning or purpose to life other than personal happiness and satisfaction for the few years of this life, is what lies behind much the greed and selfishness in the world; the greed and selfishness that causes so much suffering and misery in the world.
So the belief that life does have a meaning and that we have a purpose in life is a great joy, both to us, and to others because it should stop us from causing pain and suffering to others by our greed and selfishness. But, having said that, one of the great problems we can have as Christians is knowing just what purpose God has for us, personally. We believe that we’ve all been called, by name and that God has a definite purpose for each and everyone of us, a purpose that’s been given to no one else and so a purpose that won’t be fulfilled unless we fulfil it. But it’s often very difficult for us to discern just what God’s purpose for us, the one he’s committed to us and no other, actually is.
That’s a problem summed up very well by St John Henry Newman in some words from his work, Meditations and Devotions. I’m sure some of you will be familiar with these words but if not, they’re well worth reading and getting to know.
‘God has created me to do Him some definite service. He has committed some work to me which He has not committed to another. I have my mission. I may never know it in this life, but I shall be told it in the next. I am a link in a chain, a bond of connection between persons. He has not created me for naught. I shall do good; I shall do His work. I shall be an angel of peace, a preacher of truth in my own place, while not intending it if I do but keep His commandments. Therefore, I will trust Him, whatever I am, I can never be thrown away. If I am in sickness, my sickness may serve Him, in perplexity, my perplexity may serve Him. If I am in sorrow, my sorrow may serve Him. He does nothing in vain. He knows what He is about. He may take away my friends. He may throw me among strangers. He may make me feel desolate, make my spirits sink, hide my future from me. Still, He knows what He is about.’
If we’ve ever thought seriously, as all Christians should, about just what God is calling us to do, and been unsure because the answer isn’t clear to us, as it very often isn’t, those words will resonate very strongly with us. We often aren’t certain what God wants us to do with our lives but, if we can’t discern God’s purpose for us in specific terms, we can all, always, follow God’s purpose for us in general terms until that specific purpose does become clearer to us. And we can learn a lot about following God’s plan, at least in general terms from today’s liturgies.
Our Gospel reading today was the story of the 12-year-old Jesus putting his parents into a panic by going missing in Jerusalem. Then when they found him 3 days later in the temple,
‘…sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions.’
simply dismissing his parent’s concerns with a response that in modern parlance would amount to ‘What’s your problem?’ And by way of explanation, Jesus simply said to them,
“Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?” or “… about my Father’s business?”
depending on the translation. But what is being about the Father’s business? Isn’t that simply another way of saying we’re doing what God wants us to do, or that we’re carrying out God’s purpose for us?
So what this tells us is, that in general terms at least, to be about God’s business, to do what God is calling us to do includes being in his house, not only to worship him and to pray, but to talk about and learn about our faith. For us, that means coming to church and using that time, not only for worship and prayer, but as a time to talk to people about our faith and to learn about our faith. But how many of us do that?
We worship God and pray in church and, hopefully, we learn something about our faith by doing that. But how many of us ever talk about our faith to the fellow Christians we meet in church? I don’t intend this as a criticism but as an observation; when people talk to me in church, they very rarely ask me anything about the Christian faith. And yet one of the things I was specifically ordained to do and instituted as vicar of this parish to do is to teach the faith. That is part of my specific purpose in life as a priest of the Church. But isn’t it true that the conversations we have in church, with our fellow Christians, are far more likely to be about what we saw on the TV this week, or where we’re going on holiday this year, or to arrange or discuss our social lives and calendars? As interesting, and necessary too, as these conversations are, they probably won’t help us to discern God’s specific purpose for our lives. Jesus’ example is to use our time in God’s house as a time for worship, prayer and learning, not least through conversations about our faith with those who share it.
Today, 26th December, is St Stephen’s Day. This year, because it falls on a Sunday, we transfer St Stephen’s Day to the next free day in the Church’s calendar, which this year is Wednesday, 29th December. But I make no apology for introducing St Stephen into today’s liturgy because St Stephen is also someone who can teach us something about God’s purpose for our lives.
We know that St Stephen was one of the first deacons of the Church. We also know that the first deacons were appointed to carry out the ‘daily distribution’ of provisions for the needy so that the Apostles could concentrate on preaching and teaching the Gospel. We read all this in Acts 6. But in Acts 7 we read that, in addition to the daily distribution, St Stephen was also proclaiming the Gospel, a heresy to some of the Jews, and so he was arrested and stoned to death. Being appointed as a deacon, what we would now call being ordained to holy orders, was St Stephen’s specific purpose in life, his calling from God. But his calling can help us to follow our calling in life too.
As Christians, we’re all called to good works, perhaps especially to helping those in need. And we’re all called to proclaim the Gospel, not least as we go about the business of our daily lives. So St Stephen’s calling, the specific purpose of his life, is part of the general purpose God has for all of us.
But if we’re going to follow God’s purpose for our lives, we have to remember that all of the things we’ve read and heard about today go together. We can’t pick and choose which bits of God’s purposes to follow and which not to follow.
There’s no point in coming to church if we don’t use our time in church to learn about our faith so that we can proclaim it and live it out in a better way. There’s no point in having great knowledge of our faith if we don’t proclaim it and live it out. There’s no point either in proclaiming our faith if we don’t come to church to worship God and to pray, just as there’s no point in proclaiming our faith if we don’t carry out the good works our faith entails. And despite what many people seem to think these days, good works alone do not make us Christians. People of all faiths and no faith can, and do, carry out good works so there’s nothing specifically Christian about doing that. For our good works to be true acts of Christian charity, the works must go hand in hand with our worship in church and our proclamation of the Gospel because it’s only when all these things go together, that the good works we do can be seen as acts of Christian charity. It’s only when all these things go together that the good works we do can be seen as part of our worship of God. It’s only when all these things go together that people can see that we know what our faith is about. It’s only when all these things go together that our good works can be seen as a proclamation of the Gospel by our living it out in our daily lives.
These are the things that all Christians are called to do, they’re all part the general purpose God has for all us, so we all need to carry them out to the best of our ability. What our own specific purpose in life may be is more difficult to discern but even if we can and do discern it, we can’t neglect to fulfil the general purpose God has for all of us. And even if we aren’t ever able to discern what we think God’s specific purpose for our lives is, as long as we do those things that all Christians are called to do, we won’t have gone too far astray. Who knows, as St John Henry Newman suggested in the words we heard a little earlier, if we simply keep God’s commandments, if we do what he calls all people to do, perhaps we’ll have fulfilled God’s purpose for our own lives without even realising it?
Amen.
The Propers for Holy Family Sunday (Christmas 1) can be viewed here.
Parish Church of St Mark Chadderton 