The WHY Is The Point

Understanding the message of Jesus as revealing your true purpose is essential for this message to actually change you.

German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche said: “He who has a why to live for can bear almost any how.” Spend any time with my writings, and you’ll see me say this and more often about resetting your idea of “normal” so you can understand WHY the wisdom of the Faith is vital to your everyday life!

Having a purpose transforms daily life from drudgery to meaning. And when a purpose is missing, life lives you rather than vice versa. You may be asking, “How do I discover my purpose?” The best place to start is answering this question: “What do you love?” Find out what you love and want, and then you can start evaluating whether those things are your purpose or hindering you from finding your purpose.

But guess what? God, our Creator, has a purpose for the whole earth. He has a purpose for you! Knowing that purpose will help you discover your ultimate WHY as well!

By the way, this requires consistent attentiveness. If you are like me, maintaining attentiveness is not only challenging but exhausting as well. No wonder the Church calls us to pray, “Lord, have mercy!”

Look at our lesson today in Isaiah 14:24-32:

The LORD of hosts has sworn: “As I have planned, so shall it be, and as I have purposed, so shall it stand, that I will break the Assyrian in my land, and upon my mountains trample him under foot; and his yoke shall depart from them, and his burden from their shoulder.” This is the purpose that is purposed concerning the whole earth; and this is the hand that is stretched out over all the nations. For the LORD of hosts has purposed, and who will annul it? His hand is stretched out, and who will turn it back? In the year that King Ahaz died came this oracle: “Rejoice not, O Philistia, all of you, that the rod which smote you is broken, for from the serpent’s root will come forth an adder, and its fruit will be a flying serpent. And the first-born of the poor will feed, and the needy lie down in safety; but I will kill your root with famine, and your remnant I will slay. Wail, O gate; cry, O city; melt in fear, O Philistia, all of you! For smoke comes out of the north, and there is no straggler in his ranks.” What will one answer the messengers of the nation? “The LORD has founded Zion, and in her the afflicted of his people find refuge.”

We continue our Lenten journey in the wisdom of the Old Testament prophet Isaiah. And here, the prophet gives us a peek into God’s ultimate purpose for the world!

He starts by giving us an insight into the harsh life of the Jews under the control of foreign powers, specifically here, the power of Assyria. The Assyrians were constantly threatening Judah with attacks and invasions. They were the most significant military power of that day, and they wanted to conquer Judah and make Judah part of their Empire. They had already cost the Jews tribute and subjugation in negotiations, and now the prophet was telling the Assyrians and the Jews God was about to intervene!

God was going to end the Assyrian Empire and the burden that this powerful nation had imposed on His people. And then the prophet let slip a powerful insight: “This is the purpose that is purposed concerning the whole earth…”

What was that purpose? Nothing less than freedom from oppression, relief for the oppressed, and the reality that God’s Nation will become a refuge for all who struggle! A side note: IF you think of this freedom only from a political or physical perspective, you’ll miss the real power of this whole passage!

And that, dear ones, is what Jesus Christ offers you today: Freedom. But not some mere political freedom or material possessions. No, this freedom we are offered today amid our Lenten journey is a freedom from the slavery of the passions that keep us locked away in the subjugation to the fear of death and the desires of our unruly hearts! That freedom illustrated here in God intervening on behalf of His oppressed people in the Old Testament is seen as God’s purpose for the whole world, you included!

To prove that this idea of “freedom” and undoing “oppression” isn’t just a political or economic reality, the Church has us remember six heroes of the Faith who were part of the original 70 disciples of Jesus in His earthly ministry. Sts. Herodion, Agabus, Rufus, Asyncritus, Phlegon, and Hermes were all part of the 70, that group of disciples following Jesus and supporting the 12 Apostles of Christ. St. Herodion was called “my kinsman” by the Apostle Paul in Romans 16:11, and he was made bishop of New Patras, where he was martyred for his Faith in the 1st Century AD. St. Agabus is mentioned in Acts 21:10-11, and he was the one who told St. Paul he would be arrested in Jerusalem and that there would be a famine in that area as well. St. Rufus served as bishop in Thebes, and Sts. Asyncritus, Phlegon, and Hermes preached Christ all over the area and suffered persecution for their Faith. These heroes are all remembered together to remind us that the message of Jesus isn’t just about the temporary injustices and tru=oubles of this life but about the life-changing and perspective-changing message of eternal freedom and eternal life in communion with the eternal God!

So, today, are you ready to hear that God’s ultimate purpose for you is your freedom? Are you willing to learn that the path to freedom runs through the paradox of the disciplines of the Faith so that your passions no longer oppress you, so that you can become by grace what Christ is by nature, and finally live a Normal Orthodox life?

P.S. O Holy Apostles, intercede to our merciful God, that He may grant our souls forgiveness of sins.