The Ordeal
Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man also have kept this man from dying?
John 11:37
Open up your movie streaming service of choice, and skip to somewhere between dead center and three quarters of the way through. Unless the director has decided to do something experimental, odds are you'll see the world of the Hero being torn to pieces, his plans countered, his friends in danger or worse. Screenwriters call this the midpoint (because not even screenwriters can be creative all the time). Others call it the Ordeal. Up to this point, there has always been some danger, but the Hero and her allies have managed. By the end of the Ordeal, however, the stakes have been raised so high victory seems impossible.
In 1991's Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, Robin and his merry men have had a rousing time (it's a Robin Hood movie, so all times must be rousing) robbing from the rich, giving to the poor, and generally causing the Sheriff of Nottingham grief. But when blind Duncan returns to Sherwood and apparently dies, Robin is faced with consequences of his actions. Immediately, the Sheriff's men attack and nearly everything is taken away. Their forest sanctuary is burned, his friends captured and sentenced to death. Now Robin must make an impossible choice. Does he turn his back and run, saving his own life? Or stay stay and fight a battle he cannot possibly win?
The gospel writers tell us much about Jesus' ministry, and it wasn't all preaching sermons. He healed the sick and blind, fed the 5,000, forgave the woman caught in adultery, and more. For someone so drastically upsetting the religious establishment, he was doing quite well. But in every story there is a moment where the Hero must confront death. Even Jesus had an Ordeal.
Near the end of Jesus' time traveling and preaching, he received word that his friend Lazarus was very ill. But when Jesus heard it he said, "This illness does not lead to death. It is for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it." John tells us clearly that Jesus was only two days away, and we know that he could have healed Lazarus. Instead, he waited.
Since the original Call to Adventure, when Adam and Eve gave into temptation and brought death into the world, evil, brokenness, and deterioration have become the way of things. While we know that God can intervene, sometimes for reasons we don't understand he chooses to wait. The waiting is often the Ordeal that we must face. However, God tells us, "For I the Lord love justice; I hate robbery and wrong; I will faithfully give [my people] their recompense, and I will make an everlasting covenant with them." The Apostle Paul reminds us, "And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose."
God doesn't cause bad things. But in his wisdom he knows exactly when step in for the most powerful impact. And when he does, good things happen.
When Jesus arrived, Lazarus had already been in the tomb for four days. His sisters, also close friends of Jesus, didn't understand why Jesus had waited so long to come. Mary said, "Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. But even now I know that whatever you ask from God, God will give you." She hadn't lost faith, even as she struggled with her grief. She was confronting the Ordeal as best she could.
"I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live. and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die." Jesus didn't tell her she was wrong to be upset, or not to ask questions. All he did was promise her what she would find beyond the Ordeal. John also tells us, "When Jesus saw her weeping... he was deeply moved." He knew what was coming. He was in control of the outcome. Yet he still empathized with her pain.
The Hero must confront death. Jesus went to the tomb and said, "Take away the stone." Lazarus' other sister, Martha, tried to talk him out of it, warning him of the smell. Not just the smell, I'm sure, but also considering the horror of opening up the tomb of a recently lost friend. Jesus said to her, "Did I not tell you that if you believed you would see the glory of God?" And after a moment of prayer, he cried out with a loud voice, "Lazarus, come out." And the man who had died came out.
What is the Ordeal that you face today? Like Mary and Martha, it could be the inexplicable death of a family member or friend. It could be the process of waiting for a long desired hope. Perhaps it's an evil situation, past or present, and it seems that justice will never come. Maybe, like Robin Hood, it's an impossible choice. If Robin Hood had fled Nottingham, leaving his men to die, the story would have ended prematurely. Ordeals must be confronted if the Story is to continue.
As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today.
Genesis 50:20
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