In many Native American tribes the vision quest was a traditional rite of passage. Young people were ‘tested’ by sending them into the wilderness alone to discover their identity and their life’s direction. They fasted and prayed to attune themselves to the world of Spirit. The quest prepared them to assume adult responsibilities in the tribe according to their unique gifts, gifts revealed during their time in the wilderness.
The vision quest is a helpful lens for understanding what Jesus is going through as he launches into the wilderness immediately after his Baptism. He, too, is being TESTED. The Greek word here means both “tempted” and “tested.” He, too, is fasting and praying, attuning himself to Spirit as he prepares to fully take on his identity and his life-path as ‘the Beloved Son of God, in whom God is ‘well pleased’.
Jesus’ experience of being TESTED mirrors our own in ways we may not see at first glance. As a human being Jesus also has an ego, that part of who we are that wants to be in full control of our personal universe, wants to be the ‘god’ of our little world. The TEST for the ego is to recognize that IT is not God, and to accept that it isn’t God’s will that the small ‘self’ should be in control. The TEST is for that little self to take a back seat and learn to let God work through its small prism of selfhood so that God’s light, love and joy can enter the world. (more…)
