The Refusal of the Call

"But Moses said to God, “Who am I that I should go...?" - Exodus 3:11a

The second stage of the Hero's Journey is called the refusal of the call. Moses provides a great example of this stage as well. Last week we talked about how Moses had just left his sheep behind to explore a strange burning bush. As he stood in awe and prepared to approach, he heard a voice from within the flames call out to him. God invited Moses to participate in an epic adventure, God told him that he would rescue the Israelites from slavery in Egypt. Moses had some objections.

"Who am I!?" Moses called out in a twisted sense of humility. God encouraged Moses, agreeing to go with him, but Moses had another objection. "I'd love to God, but I don't really know you, and if the people ask for your name they would know I was a fraud." To this God gave Moses his sacred name. Moses objected again "they won't believe me!". God produced several miracles as evidence. Moses objected again "It's just that I don't really speak well, someone else is surely better suited than I." God offered him an assistant, but Moses still refused and said, "please send someone else!".

We often use these same objections to the adventures God calls us to.

1.) False Humility

2.) Playing Dumb

3.) Imposture Syndrome

4.) Insufficiency / Self Doubt

5.) Refusal

Can you find any of these patterns in your life right now? If so, it may be a sign that you are declining the amazing adventure that God has in store for you. Moses learned that God had an answer for all of his objections. The presence of God with him made up for any perceived insufficiency on his part. This is true for you too. There is nothing you can't do with God behind you. Whatever journey you have been hesitating to start, go for it, God is with you!

Comments

Death Will Lose it's Sting

Our reading from the Narrative Lectionary this week is 1 Corinthians 15:51-57. In these verses, Paul reveals a mystery, that in the end some will be transformed, given a new body, instead of facing death. In other words death is not one of life's two certain terms. It seems taxes may be the only guarantee. "...in this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes ." - Benjamin Franklin. Ok, all jokes aside, these verses are difficult to read. Paul looks forward to a time when death will have no victory, it will have lost its sting. But today, we are in the middle of a pandemic, surrounded by death. Many are scared for their lives, or their loved ones, and too many have already been lost. Death does not seem to have lost its sting at all, it feels as if it is closing in. When I worked in wilderness therapy I remember holding a child who was desperately trying to kill himself. We cried together as he struggled to end it, and I struggled

Refusal to Return

The last cycle of The Hero's Journey begins with what Campbell calls "The Refusal of the Return". In this stage the hero has finished their quest and won their award, but now they are faced with the idea of returning to their place of origin. They struggle with the idea of leaving paradise, or sharing their wisdom with their old community. After being changed so much, do they even still belong in the place they came from? In The Lord of the Rings, after Frodo has tossed the ring into the fire and the battle is won, he is so tired he wants to give up, there is nothing left driving him to return home, so he lays down and prepares to die. Then, when the party regroups in Gondor, they linger there for a long time before each returns to their homeland. Finally, when Frodo does return home, he is uncomfortable, he feels out of place, and wants to leave. He has changed and realizes that he no longer belongs in the Shire. After Christ's resurrection he met with Mary fi

The Return Threshold

As we come near the end of our weekly series on the Hero's Journey, today we will cover "The Return Threshold". In this stage, the Hero has succeeded in their quest and now they are coming back to their old world. Joseph Campbell calls this the "ordinary world". The return to the ordinary world usually includes some type of challenge. Sometimes an enemy must be challenged, but sometimes the enemy is the ordinary world itself. As we have followed the hero's journey we have seen the hero change, what was once important is no longer important. While the hero has changed, the ordinary world has not. The ordinary world holds values that the returning hero has abandoned for something greater. This can cause tension as the hero tries to return as a changed person. In the Lord of the Rings trilogy, we see the Hobbits finally return to their home in the Shire. Unfortunately in their absence Saruman and his orcs have taken over the Shire and must be defeat

Monastic Pastor

Search This Blog