The Hero’s Journey, Part 3

The Hero’s Journey, Part 3

We shall not cease from exploration

And the end of all our exploring

Will be to arrive where we started

And know the place for the first time.[1]

It is difficult to identify the events in Jesus’ life leading up to the initial stage of the Hero’s Journey that ultimately led to his crucifixion and resurrection. The first phase of that journey, the invitation, is not usually a single event but a culmination from a series of events that create interest sufficient to make one willing to try something new. Jesus’ baptism could be considered the culmination of his invitation onto the Journey, but there is no information in the gospels about his adult life leading up to that event. There is, however, quite a bit of information available from extra-biblical sources about the area in which he lived and worked prior to his baptism. From that information we can make some semi-educated guesses as to what he might have been exposed to during those missing years.

Although there is little mention in the Bible and none in any church I’ve attended of the town of Sepphora, which was located a short distance north of Jesus’ pre-ministry home in Nazareth, it almost certainly influenced him. Sepphora was a bustling, regional hub of arts, entertainment, philosophical and religious thought in the area. It was a largely Jewish city with strong Roman influences. It was also a stop along the Silk Road, a major cultural thoroughfare where Western influences mixed with those of the East. If Jesus followed Joseph’s profession as a craftsman, as most young men of his age did, he almost certainly worked regularly in Sepphora because that was where the greatest need for craftsmen would have been.

Assuming this to be true, Jesus’ pre-baptism days would’ve offered heavy doses of exposure to philosophical and religious thought from all over the known world – not just Judaism, but also Hindu, Buddhist, pagan, and other organized thought about the Divine and its relationship to earthly life. I have frequently stated my belief that Jesus never intended to start a new religion, but to teach a way of life that draws us into unity with the Divine regardless of our religious beliefs or lack thereof. All of the world’s great “religions,” at their core, teach exactly that – a way of life. Religious dogma, doctrine, rules and regulations exist on the surface level of various belief systems and give them their distinctive traits, but at the deeper levels of all enduring spiritual teaching is the common articulation of a goal that brings us into unity with the Divine and with each other. It matters less what we believe and more how we conduct ourselves in relation to who and what is around us. It is our way of life that is important, not our professed beliefs. To the extent that Jesus participated in deeper discussions with thinkers from other parts of the world, this lesson of unity is what he likely would have heard. Certainly, his message of loving and serving others comes through loud and clear in his teachings and often puts him at odds with both Jewish and Roman leaders.

The gospels tell of a twelve-year-old Jesus staying behind in Jerusalem, unbeknownst to his parents, engaged in deep discussions with teachers in the Temple, listening and asking questions.[2] This reveals his propensity from early-on to explore spiritual thought on a deep level. My sense is that Jesus’ invitation onto his final Hero’s Journey began in discussions with spiritual teachers from both the East and the West in Sepphora. When he asked to be baptized by John the Baptist in the Jordan River he was accepting the invitation into a new way of living as he grew into his unique way of following and understanding God.

According to scripture, after his baptism he immediately found himself in the second phase of the journey – the initiation. This phase occurred in the “wilderness” where he was “tempted by the devil” as he fasted for 40 days and nights. An initiation is a rite of passage marking one’s journey from one phase of life to another. In Jesus’ case, his initiation marked the end of his days as a curious craftsman from Nazareth to become a human incarnation of God. The temptations, recorded in the 4^th chapters of Matthew and Luke, occur as Jesus is offered power, possessions, and prestige in return for renouncing his intent to serve as God’s Messiah. In order to faithfully fulfil his new mission, he would have to be focused on things of God instead of things of the earth. His initiation through the temptations proved his readiness for the challenging mission before him.

Following his invitation and initiation, Jesus continued his journey of transformation which eventually led to his crucifixion and resurrection. I will expand on those phases of his Hero’s Journey next week.

This is the 46^th in a series titled Crucifying Christianity, Resurrecting the Way.Life Notes are my explorations into mysteries that interest me. They are invitations for readers to explore more deeply into life’s mysteries. Engage with me or explore contemplative spiritual direction at ghildenbrand@outlook.com.

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[1] T.S. Eliot, from Four Quartets

[2] Luke 2:42-49