Invitation to a Hero's Journey

There’s nothing like a good story to capture our imagination – one with a surprising hero and a really scary villain. These are grand stories that draw you in to the adventure. By the time you turn the last page and close the book or leave the movie theater, you’re sure that there is a Frodo, a Luke Skywalker or a Dorothy somewhere inside of you. You’re waiting to invited on your quest, and you will be.

Of course you will. After all, what did Frodo, Luke Skywalker, and Dorothy have that you don’t have? Well, ok, maybe, you don’t have a ring of unimaginable power or a really tall wizard friend like Gandalf. And then again, you don’t have a light saber, a little green Jedi master or Obi Wan to teach you about the Force. You don’t even have ruby slippers or a good witch in a beautiful pink dress to help you use them. So how could you be a hero?

You might not believe it, but it’s more likely than you think. Let’s look at the story of a hero. To start with, at the beginning of their stories, Frodo, Luke Skywalker and Dorothy don’t look much like heroes. Frodo was a Hobbit, which means that he’s small, simple, not a great warrior, quite childlike and an orphan living in an unexciting, quiet place. Luke Skywalker, if you’ve ever seen the original Star Wars movie, was young, kind of small, an orphan living an unexciting life as a water farmer of all things. Dorothy, was a young girl, that no body listened to, an orphan living on a farm in Kansas. While they live with relatives, aunts and uncles, they felt like they didn’t belong. They all dreamed of a world beyond – somewhere over the rainbow, out among the stars, beyond the edges of the shire where adventure waits.

Into each of their lives, came a moment. Their quiet days were shaken up and they were sent on a journey, on a quest. Luke met Obi-wan who tolds him who he really is and taught him about the force. For little Frodo, Gandalf, the magnificent wizard came to visit and told him that the ring given to him by his uncle Bilbo Baggins, holds unimaginable power and it was Frodo’s responsibility to keep it from falling into evil hands. Dorothy, as you all know, was picked up by a tornado and dropped into Munchkinland and into danger and adventure. Glinda the Good Witch gave her the ruby slippers and told her that they are very powerful indeed. On her journey, Dorothy was to keep them safe from the Wicked Witch. The only thing that Frodo, Luke or Dorothy had to do was to say “yes, I’ll go” and the journey began.

One important part of any hero’s story is that they never go alone. Along the way, they meet and gather wonderful friends. Sometimes the friends save our hero, sometimes the hero saves the friends. It’s all a part of the adventure. Frodo, or course, traveled in the company of the Fellowship of the Ring, wizards, elves, dwarves, kings in disguise and mighty warriors and of course, Merry and Pippen and Sam, his loyal Hobbit friends. Frodo’s task was heavy but as he went, he was never alone. Luke Skywalker, traveling with Obi Wan and his unusual droids C3PO and R2D2, met Han Solo, Chewbacca, Princess Leia and found Yoda, his greatest teacher. Even when Luke felt alone, the presence of Obi Wan and the teachings of Yoda were always with him.

Think of Dorothy’s friends, the Scarecrow, who wanted a brain, even though he seemed to be full of good ideas already. The Tin Woodsman, worried that he has no heart but who already overflowed with love and emotion. The Cowardly Lion who always managed to do the very thing that scared him the most. And Dorothy’s constant little companion – Toto. Did you know that Toto’s name is a word in Latin that means “everything?” Dorothy, the Scarecrow, Tin Woodsman and the Cowardly Lion always had “everything” they needs with them. Every hero learns that.

There’s another really important story about a great hero who was born in a stable in Bethlehem. Jesus’s story begins when he is a tiny, defenseless baby. From early on, he surprises his family as he talks about his true Father and being in his Father’s house. He met his great teacher, John the Baptist and gathered his wonderful friends, Peter and James and John, and the rest of the Disciples. And everywhere he went, the voice from Heaven and the whisper of the Spirit, let him know that he was never alone.

By the end of every hero’s story, they have reached their destination. Luke Skywalker has saved the galaxy from the Darth Vader and evil empire, Frodo has destroyed the ring and leaves with the elves. Dorothy has accomplished all of her tasks, her friends have what they wanted and she understands that she can go anywhere and do anything. Jesus’ great heros journey has conquered death and made us all one family – we are all the children of God.

Now what on earth does this have to do with you? Quite simply - everything! Not just those of you who are going on to high school. Everyone of you has a hero’s journey in your future. At some point, you will be called to begin a new thing. Will you be ready to say, “yes, I’ll go!”

What will make you a her? Will you stand up to a bully, for yourself or someone else? Will you search for a truth that others might try to hide? Will you give yp some of what you have or want to help others? When you follow the hero’s path, your talents might take you to strange and unfamiliar places, But along the way, you will find your brain, you will find your heart courage and you will find the courage to live the wonder of your journey. You will learn to be the one that God needs to do a particular thing, at a particular time and place. You will have family, friends and teachers as companions and Jesus as your guide. Jesus invites you into your own hero’s journey to rescue the world from hatred and division and seeing people as different and scary instead of as brothers and sisters. Jesus might whisper to your heart, “save the world with love, your quest is to vanquish fear – to create a world of peace.

You can do it because we have Jesus’ words today that he is the vine and we are the branches of his story. We’ve been given, not a light saber or ruby slippers, but the cross. The cross is not for telling people that they are wrong but for telling them that love is stronger than anything in the universe. Armed with the Force that is love, you are set on the path of the hero to do nothing less than save the world. Are you ready to go?