Numbers 21:4-9
Psalm 107:1-3, 17-22
Ephesians 2:1-10
John 3:14-21

FIRST READING

Numbers: The Serpent Lifted Up – Moses led the people out of slavery into freedom, but they would rather return to the old ways. “We hate this food.” So human. The people whine. Scholars call it the murmuring motif, but we know what it is: whining. And so God sends serpents to kill them. The people repent! “We have sinned by speaking against the Lord (and against you, Moses). Help!” So Moses prays. God instructs him to take a bronze serpent and put it on a pole that whoever looks upon it might live.

Ephesians: Grace through Faith – Chapter 2 of the Letter to the Ephesians deals with the transformation the Ephesians have taken. What one believes, changes how one lives. Like Peter in the gospel for Lent 2B, the Ephesians were focused on earthly things, and not as concerned with spiritual things. Dead in their sins, they were following the “prince of power of the air.” This phrase is used nowhere else in the New Testament. Satan is not in hell (a word that never appears in this letter), but in the space between earth and heaven. Jesus tells Peter, “Get behind me Satan.” Paul tells the Ephesians following the prince of power of the air leads to becoming children of wrath.

In contrast, God, rich in mercy, loved us when we were at our worst, and made us alive together with Christ. Like Christ, we too are raised up and seated us in the heavenly places. God did for us what we could not do for ourselves. This is grace. It is not our own doing. It is a free gift, not by works (ἔργων, ergon). Christ has transformed us, and created us for good works.

John: The Son of Man Lifted Up – Just as Moses “lifted up” (ὕψωσεν, hooposen) the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be “lifted up,” that whoever believes in him will have eternal life. Just as the serpent was lifted up for the healing of the Israelites, so Christ, lifted up, will be the healing of the world. God loved the world so much he gave his Son, not to judge/condemn the world, but that it might be saved, that it might not perish.

Judgment comes in another form, that people prefer darkness to the light. Works may not make one righteous, but as Jesus says in various places, you can tell a tree by the fruit that it bears. If the heart is right with God, good works will inevitably come. When the works do come, we cannot take credit for them, because we are naturally selfish. The only explanation for selfish people doing good works is the power of the Spirit transforming us. The whole world can then see that our works are from God.

PASTORAL REFLECTION

One year I found myself reading this Numbers text with just a little too much emotion. What preacher doesn’t feel this text? A congregation moves from an inward, survival mentality with a 1950’s style of ministry, to an outwardly-focused ministry that attracts a postmodern crowd. The pews are full again and the bills are being paid, but the old guard is really upset that things aren’t being done like they used to be done. The troops long for the fleshpots of Egypt. Sigh.

The snakes come, and the people repent. Moses sets up a bronze serpent on a pole, that all who look upon it might be healed. This becomes a symbol for the healing profession, the caduceus. What, then, is going on here? Magic? Is this a fall-back to an age of serpent-worship? Hezekiah eventually takes down the pole during his Temple reforms a few hundred years later.

Or is this punitive? A reminder for whiny Israelites? “PEOPLE! REMEMBER THE SNAKES!” My 5th-grade teacher had a huge paddle hanging up in front of the room, that all might look upon it and be healed from their urge to do mischievous things. For nine months I stared at that thing, five days a week. It worked on me – most of the time. So is the serpent law? Or is it gospel, an invitation to healing by placing our trust in a God who is merciful in spite of our whiny, disobedient ways?

For the author of Ephesians, salvation, healing and wholeness, are free gifts. Period. God saves us in spite of ourselves. We are not saved by the law, or by our works. But notice we are, nevertheless, created in Christ Jesus for good works. We may not be saved by our good works, but we are saved for good works. They may not be the cause of salvation, but they are certainly the result. They are an indispensable part of the equation. You can tell a tree by its fruit.

God acts mercifully in the midst of a chaotic world. Can you see it? Christ being lifted up is a metaphor for his crucifixion. A violent world kills its maker. This is Lord of the Flies. Gaze upon it, and understand. God responds with mercy and forgiveness. “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” “Turn the other cheek.” “Go the extra mile.” “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.” The resurrection is God’s vindication of the way. The death and resurrection of Christ are healing signs for the world.