Did you ever wonder why Jesus willingly entered Jerusalem knowing what awaited him there? I mean after the Palms, high fives, and Hosannas celebration, Jerusalem became a nightmare for Jesus. Just what was he thinking?
Now we know according to traditional Christian doctrine, Jesus passed through those gates in acquiescence to a life-ending fate; willingly undertaken to save humanity from the consequences of its sinful ways. According to this interpretation, Jesus death is seen as no less than the supreme purpose of his life.
When we see Jesus as a Wisdom Teacher, we see the same set of “facts” through a different lens of understanding and come up with a radically different interpretation. Through the lens of oneness, we can recognize the supreme purpose of Jesus’ life was to realize and demonstrate a relationship with God that transformed him at depth. His success in overcoming the world of appearances, as a man who realized complete oneness with God, became a profound legacy for humanity to follow.
So why did Jesus go there? Since Jesus was bent on breaking down the barriers to realizing his oneness with the Divine he would need to face and overcome each and every temptation to believe otherwise. Whatever belief would persuade a person to believe that they exist apart from God, or that the world is against them, or are separated from Life, must be challenged. In other words, Jesus knew that the path to liberation would take him through the gates of ego hell. Our ego bears witness to separation from God, testifies relentlessly to a bottomless pit of needs that can never be satisfied, and a life of lack, suffering, and death. This is the grand illusory world that we face, even though as A Course In Miracles states “we are at home in God dreaming we are in exile.”
Jesus had obviously made great progress in overcoming the illusions of the ego, yet the grandest illusion of all awaited him in Jerusalem. Most of us could not imagine a more gut wrenching faith-shattering scenario, than to be betrayed, abandoned by friends, and turned over to people who would torture you unto bodily death. Was Jesus tempted to back away from this dreadful fate? Yes, we know he doubted his mission in the Garden by his passionate plea to take the cup (of his fate) from him. However, Jesus ultimately knew that a realization of oneness with God would need to stand up to all tests. If love were the greatest power in the universe, it would not fail him even through this horrendous ordeal. It was only in going through the most powerful illusion of separation from life and love, that Jesus could establish for himself (and all of us) that Life and Love are eternal qualities, not circumstance dependent.
Jesus fulfilled his supreme purpose and was transformed by his difficult journey. Stripped of the last vestiges of his ego, he was able to emerge from the tomb of darkness, and bear witness to the Light of truth and his true being.
Perhaps you are facing the prospects of a difficult journey right now in your life. You may feel trepidation as you contemplate the risks of what lies ahead. You may be tempted to back off and take a safer course. I invite you to ask yourself this question before deciding how to proceed: What is my supreme purpose in this life? Once you have answered that question, see how it guides your best course of action.
I have not always walked courageously into risky situations. Sometimes I saved my skin, and lost my soul. During those times when I did muster the courage to face the dragons of uncertainty and fear I was frequently rewarded to find my true self, and authentic self expression.
When we are committed to a journey of transformation, when our desire to know God intimately, as an indwelling presence that never leaves us, we are drawn through the refining fire of circumstances. This can be painful as the narrow gate strips away our cherished but limited beliefs of who we think we are in order to make way for our true self to emerge.
The gates of transformation are wide open for you. Go ahead and enter, trembling if you must, knowing God goes with you. As you enter you may hear the angels sing, Hosanna, blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord.
With you along the inward path,
Larry
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