Lent 4- Look to the Symbol of Your Faith and Live

 

Numbers 21:4-9; 

Psalm 107:1-3, 17-22; 

Ephesians 2:1-10; 

John 3:14-21

The Hebrew people in the book of Numbers seem to constantly get stuck in a pattern of ingratitude as they wandered in the wilderness. I’m sure we can’t really judge them for that. We live with technology, medication, and access to information and food that most of humanity that has lived on this planet couldn’t even dream about, … and yet we never seem to lack a reason to complain. So maybe we can identify with the Hebrew people as they wander the wilderness and grumble.

When we meet the Hebrew people in our Numbers reading (chapter 21), they are in the middle of complaining. Despite the miraculous way God has rescued them from slavery in Egypt, they complain that they were better off as slaves. They complain that they will starve, and God provides them with manna for food (Ex 16). They complain that they are thirsty, and Moses strikes a rock and God provides water (Ex 17). They complain that they are tired of manna and want meat, and God gives them quail (Num 11). … And yet, they continue to grumble. After all this miraculous provision they still complain. They complain against Moses and they complain against God. Their hearts are ungrateful. They are constantly looking for what is wrong, and overlooking their blessings. … Again, it might be tempting to look down on them, but we don’t seem to be all that different.

While the people complain and express their lack of trust in God, this really odd thing happens. We read, 

“the people became impatient on the way. The people spoke against God and against Moses, ‘Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no food and no water, and we detest this miserable food.’ Then the Lord sent poisonous serpents among the people, and they bit the people, so that many Israelites died” (Num 21:4-6).

The Early Church saw some interesting symbolism in these serpents. They made a connection to the Garden of Eden and the temptation of Adam and Eve by the serpent (Justin Martyr, Dialogue with Trypho 94; Bede, Homilies on the Gospels 2.18; Augustine, Sermon 6.7). So, the serpent is the symbol of the devil and the original temptation to sin. Cyril of Alexandria said, 

“for the serpent signifies bitter and deadly sin, which was devouring the whole race on earth ... Biting the soul of man and infusing it with the venom of wickedness. And there is no way that we could have escaped being conquered by it, except by the relief that comes only from heaven” (Commentary on the Gospel of John 2.1).

 … The serpents invade, and bite, and people begin to die.

God is the rescuer. God is the one who rescued the people from slavery and fought on their behalf against the Egyptian army. God is the one who provided food when they were hungry, and water when they were thirsty. God has rescued them from the dangerous world many times already. … God is the source of all love, life, joy, peace, and beauty. … To reject God is to reject the fountainhead that provides all the good that we desire and enjoy. … To grumble and rebel against God is to put yourself in danger because to reject the source of good, leaves us to experience not-good. To reject the source of beauty, leaves us to experience not-beauty. To reject the source of peace, is to experience not-peace. To reject the source of life, is to experience not-life. To run from the light, is to be left in the dark. … To reject the fountainhead of all that is good is like walking into a snake pit. To push away from God is to push yourself into the presence of all that God wants to save you from.

In a strange kind of living parable. The Hebrew people feel the pain of turning away from God- in the form of snake bites. They realize the error of their ways and they come to Moses and say, 

“We sinned when we spoke against the LORD and against you. Pray that the LORD will take the snakes away from us.”

 They repent. They turn towards God. They realize the stupidity of what they've done. Turning away from the God of life means death.

Moses hears their cry and has compassion. He prays to God on behalf of the people. And God give Moses some strange instructions. God told Moses, 

"Make a snake and put it up on a pole; anyone who is bitten can look at it and live.”

 They needed a focal point for their faith. They needed a sacrament- a visible symbol of God’s grace. They needed to put their trust into action in a very practical way.

It is strange that the instruction was to create a bronze serpent and put it on a pole. The pole makes sense, I suppose, so that you can make it more visible. But, why a serpent? Why not the opposite of a serpent? Why not a dove? … The Venerable Bede saw this as connecting to Christ- 

“Just as the bronze serpent had the likeness of a fiery serpent but had absolutely none of the strength of harmful poison in its members- rather by being lifted up it cured those who had been stricken by the serpents- so the Redeemer of the human race did not clothe himself in sinful flesh but in a likeness of sinful flesh in order that by suffering death on the cross in [this likeness] he might free those who believed in him from all sin and even from death itself. … just as those who looked at the bronze serpent that had been lifted up as a sign were cured at that time from temporal death and the wounds that the serpents’ bites had caused, so too those who look at the mystery of the Lord's passion by believing, confessing [and] sincerely imitating it are saved forever from every death they have incurred by sinning in mind and body” (Homilies on the Gospels 2.18).

 And St Augustine says, 

“whoever has been bitten by the snakes of sin need only gaze on Christ and will have healing for the forgiveness of sins” (Sermon 6.7).

 Of course, this reflects the words of Christ we heard in our gospel reading, 

“And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life” (Jn 3:14-15).

 … As the bronze serpent is lifted up in the wilderness for the Hebrews to gaze at with eyes of faith and be healed, so Christ was lifted up on the cross that we might look to him with eyes of faith and be healed from the bite of that old serpent, the devil, whose bite is sin and death. … Strangely, instead of getting rid of the snakes they were taught to trust God in the midst of their suffering. When they were bit, they looked at the bronze snake and they lived. When they looked at that strange symbol of their suffering they lived. We are told that “in this life we will have trouble” (Jn 16:33). The trouble isn’t taken away, but when we look to Christ and his cross we are given healing and strength to overcome the trouble.

I do want to say something else about these serpents that was pointed out to me by an Old Testament professor of mine (Glen Taylor). Some have looked into the Hebrew and have concluded that these were no ordinary serpents. The serpents that were biting the people were called in the Hebrew "Saraph" serpents. This word "Saraph" can mean a few things. The plain meaning is "fiery". This might mean that the bite burned like fire. …. "Saraph" might be even more mysterious though. "Saraph" might point to a kind of winged serpent that we find in the art of ancient Egypt. …

Perhaps it is a stretch, but it is an interesting thought. Imagine a serpent standing tall in front of you with wings stretched out on either side…. They looked at this cross-like symbol trusting that God would save them from the poison of the world. The Hebrews looked at this strange symbol- this sacrament- this means of the grace of God- and lived. Interesting to think about.

This bronze serpent remained important to the Hebrew people. They carried it with them when they established themselves in the Promised Land. We read that around 800 hundred years later the reforming King Hezekiah smashed the bronze serpent (which may have been kept in the Temple) because people were worshipping it by burning incense to it. What was meant to be a sacrament for healing became a source of idolatry and so it had to be removed. But, this symbol remained in the hearts and minds of the Hebrew people as an object of faith for around 800 years.

As we read, Jesus points to this Bronze serpent in the gospel of John chapter 3, 

"Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, that everyone who believes may have eternal life in him.”

 Jesus is saying that he is like the bronze serpent. Jesus will be lifted up on the cross. People will look at the suffering of the cross and it will become a means of their own healing from the venom of the world. We are invited to look at him and believe. We are invited to look at the cross- an instrument of torture and destruction- and, mysteriously, receive life. Just as the Hebrew people looked at the symbol of their suffering- the serpent- so we look at death and suffering symbolized by the cross and through it we receive life through Jesus.

We don't know exactly how it works, but we are told God's motivation for doing it in verses 16&17, 

"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him."

 The cross, was God's self-sacrifice. It was the best way to show that God would hold nothing back- Jesus would hold nothing back- in order to show us how much he loves us. Even though we constantly grumble in spite of all the good He surrounds us with.

The bronze serpent was raised and they were invited to look upon it and believe God would save them from the venom. Jesus was raised on a cross and we are invited to look to him and believe that this is the ultimate act of love for us- this is God saving us from the poison of Sin. We are invited to see God entering into our suffering out of love for us. … Like the Hebrews, we are not promised that the serpents will be taken away. We are told that when we get stung by the world that we look to Christ for healing and protection. AMEN