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April 2, 2000 |
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[Colors Removed from Background for easier printing] LECTIONARY READINGS Numbers
21:4-9 [ Read the texts
at the Vanderbilt Divinity On-Line Library ] What a strange story the scripture from the book of Numbers tells! It is a story about how the People of God were complaining bitterly about living conditions in the desert they were trying to cross to get to the Promised Land. They were quite happy to escape the heavy hand of the Egyptians and sang songs of rejoicing when they were on their way out of Egypt, but... as soon as they began their journey to the homeland God had promised they began to murmur and complain. Instead of believing the promises of God, they were overcome by the difficulties they encountered. Finally, rebellion and a spirit of mutiny took root and the people began to form a "Back to Egypt Committee!" They would get rid of Moses and get a new leader who would take them back into the bondage of Egypt. These were the kind of people who would say things like, "I told you so! I was never for this new fangled way of doing things. Now we've got all this trouble and heartache. Besides... we never did it this way before!" Isn't it amazing? Even though the present journey across the wilderness of Sinai is a 45 minute flight from Cairo to Tel Aviv and the world is astoundingly different than it was in Moses time -- the human spirit has not changed at all! Do you know some of these people on the "Back to Egypt Committee?" They are never happy. Instead of rejoicing in gifts received, they complain about gains not made. When good things happen, they look for the bad. When bad things happen, they tell you they knew it would be this way. Sometimes you could almost swear that they are unhappy to see people happy. There's another aspect to people who make up the "Back to Egypt Committee" that is rather dangerous. Their spirit is contagious. Have you ever noticed how it is much easier to get a negative, complaining discussion going? Hang on to your seat as the campaign for the elections of 2000 gathers steam. There will be more complaining, criticizing and condemning going on than ever. And there will be more complaining about the complaining than ever. And... nothing will change. Why? As one political consultant put it, "Mudslinging works. Negative sells. You can gather way more people to protest than to praise!" Negative, unhappy, complaining people can bring any committee, task group, workforce or -- {dare we say it?} church -- to a grinding halt. In biblical terms, a complaining spirit is a sinful spirit -- precisely because it is so lethal in a community. *** This is where the story in Numbers takes an amazing turn. The patience of God has been tested over and over again. Moses has plead for the people time and time again. It became too much. It was tearing the soul of the nation apart. Then this:
Pretty drastic action, we would all agree. Yet, if the plague of complaining is not stopped, there will be no Nation of Israel and no Promised Land at all. (Every time I read this story in Numbers, I wonder what would happen if the Lord set loose a bunch of snakes in the church that went around biting people on the "Back to Egypt Committee." -- Shame on me!) No matter how we take the details of this story, the really incredible thing is in how the story continues:
This is the second time the people came to Moses with the confession on their lips, "We have sinned." The two instances help answer the question, "What's the cure for sin?" There are two answers. [1] How sin is not cured. and [2] How sin is cured. *** [1] How sin is not cured The first time the people came to Moses saying, "We have sinned," it was after they had moaned and groaned about having to take the Promised Land through battle. Some of those who had gone to spy out the land came back saying in effect, "There's good news and bad news. The good news is that it is truly a wonderful land. The bad news is that the people of the land are way too strong for us." Instead of believing God's promise to give them victory, the people lost heart. Listen to the story:
Amazing isn't it? There's the old "Back to Egypt Committee" at work again. After they begin to see the consequences of their moaning and complaining, the people come back to Moses and say, "Here we are. We will go up to the place that the LORD has promised, for we have sinned." [Num. 14:40] The problem is that they are still reacting to their own inner resources rather than on the strength of God's promises. "It won't work," Moses tells them. The cure for sin is not within us. [2] How sin is cured The second time the people come to Moses saying "we have sinned" is in our scripture reading. This time Moses prays for the people and is given instructions to elevate a bronze serpent which can be seen all over the camp. When someone is bitten they have to look to the bronze serpent and they would be cured. Why? They must look away from themselves to the consequences of their sin -- or rejection of God's promises. The consequence is fiery serpents in their midst. If we were to think carefully about this, we might come up with some "fiery serpents" that have been set loose in the church when we try to do things our own way instead of God's way. When the people in Israel's camp were bitten by a serpent, they looked to the bronze serpent and saw the deadly results of their sin. When they looked away from self and to God's instructions, they lived. It wasn't the serpent that did the healing, but the Lord who called them away from self. *** The Son of Man Must be Lifted Up There is a striking concept in the gospel reading:
In the cross, we see the consequences of sin.
Nowhere has this been driven home more than in these words from 2 Corinthians,
"For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so
that in him we might become the righteousness of God. When we turn away from self and see the sinless Son of Man "lifted up" -- or crucified, we see the deadly consequences of sin. To believe in him is to live. The principles are the same, though the circumstances are different. The cure for sin is not within us -- but rather is from God beyond us. When Christ is lifted up for all to see:
*** All of us are on a spiritual journey in this life. We get side tracked from time to time and lose our way from time to time -- nevertheless, we are on a journey. The Season of Lent calls us to reflection on this journey. The secret to fulfillment in this journey is to look up and away from ourselves and to the promises of God. When we look to the goodness and graciousness of God, we walk more closely with Christ and are less vulnerable to getting lost in the hurry and hassle of our living. The joy of this season is the realization that our journey has a certain destination. In the time of Moses, the destination was a physical Promised Land. For you and me, the destination is rooted in the words of Jesus:
Connections in the Text Each of the texts points in some way to the issue of the consequences of sin. The only cure for sin is the grace of God. That curse, however, comes only to those who choose it. In the wilderness, the people had to look to the bronze serpent. In the gospel it is looking in faith and trust to the One who was lifted up as Moses lifted up the serpent. The epistle spells out the fact that spiritual life comes to those who are dead in trespasses and sin through the great mercy of God which flows from grace. This grace comes via faith. Or -- faith / trust is the conduit through which God releases grace and mercy so that sin is forgiven and the believer is raised with Christ and given a place in the eternal kingdom. The texts also point to the persistence of sin. An old quip said, "We are not sinners because we sin, but rather we sin because we are sinners." Why do human beings sin? Because it is in our nature to do so. The persistence of sin means that we can not reform or remake ourselves. New life requires the intervention of God because we were dead through trespasses and sin. Numbers 21:4-9 This passage emphasizes the persistence of sin. In spite of the fact that they had experience the gracious provisions of God and had drawn closer to the promised land, they began to grumble and complain as loud as ever. In a kind of precursor of the on again - off again commitment of the nation to the Lord, they have forgotten the God who brought them out of Egypt and close to their inheritance. Their complaining is as bitter as ever and they rail against God and Moses as they talk about the good old days in Egypt. In some ways, the fiery snakes of the desert are the fiery snakes of their own fickle spirits. Yet, one of the key messages of this passage is that God is far more gracious, patient and longing for relationship with us than any person would ever be. The snakes in the desert are a physical illustration of Paul's, "...the wages of sin is death..." and the concluding, "... but the free gift of God is eternal life." [Rom. 6:23] The use of the snake is interesting. First of all, graven images were not to be used in Israel. Secondly, the serpent was a symbol of evil. In Isa. 65:25, the wolf and the lamb shall lie down together -- but the serpent will eat dust. If they were to find forgiveness and healing, the people would have to look to the serpent Moses made. In other words, they would have to come to terms with the depth of their sin and rebellion. In other times, Moses prayed for the people and God forgave them. Now the people will be forgiven, but only after they look to the wicked thing that had brought about their separation from God. John 3:14-21 There is a connection with the Numbers text in the symbol of the bronze serpent, but there is also a seeing and not seeing theme in John that connects. The folk in the desert were forced to see what had brought about their demise. In John, Jesus speaks of the tendency we have to want our misdeeds hidden from view. Those, on the other hand, who come to the light of Christ have nothing to hide. The heart of the passage is the most familiar verse in the New Testament -- the gospel in a nutshell. Verse 16 would be a thunderous noise in the ear of Jewish listener in Jesus' time. The image of the serpent placed next to the giving of God's Son would stop a Jewish scholar's brain in its tracks! The contrast in the passage is between everlasting life and perishing. To perish here means more than physical death. The compound word for perish has the sense of being completely ruined or destroyed and thus to die. In context here, the word has the sense of completely, absolutely missing what God designed life to be. The life which is offered to the one who believes (has faith and trust) in the Son who is given, is life as God designed it to be. It life -- not only in the sense of duration -- but a quality of life which is the treasure of the one who lives in relationship with God. There is an important concept in the judgment words of this text. The Son did not come to condemn, but rather condemnation is the already state of the person apart from God. Looking back to the numbers text, it is the persistent nature, or sinful nature that is in a state of ruin or condemnation. Salvation or life, on the other hand, is something that God wants to give to those who -- look to the serpent -- believe on the Son. Ephesians 2:1-10 There is a wonderfully clear statement of the basic meaning of Christian faith in this passage. It can be outlined in this way:
Call To Worship (Based
on Psalm 107) A Prayer of Confession Assurance of Pardon The love and mercy of our God is available to cleanse and restore all who humbly turn to the Lord. Brothers and sisters in Christ, because of the wonderful grace of God, you are forgiven. Rejoice in the Good News. Amen. Prayer of Thanksgiving Thank you Lord for all the ways you have come to us and given us faith and hope in the face of difficulties that have plagued us. Our hearts are filled with gratitude today as we ponder the incredible extent of your love for us. How is it possible that you should surrender your very own son for the like of us? No human heart can imagine a sacrifice like this. It is a love we can not describe with words, but a joy we can sense in our hearts and sing with our tongues. We can only pray that you will enlarge our hearts by the work of your Holy Spirit until we are fully shaped by your love and given to the sharing of that love with others. Come into the midst of your people even now, O Lord and touch every heart with your Spirit, lighten every burden with the power of your touch. Call forth praise from our lips and the world shall know indeed that you are God and there is no other god before you. We are created to know and love You forever. May we go from this place today with a fresh understanding of just how wonderful your grace is and commit ourselves to following more closely the example of your Son. All praise and honor, all blessing and glory we give to you this day. Amen! A Prayer of Dedication O Lord, we open our hearts to the absolute wonder of your gift to us. The gifts we bring today are but pale reflections of our gratitude. In Jesus, your heart was fully opened to us and through Jesus our hearts are opened to you. May these gifts provide for the opening of hearts that have yet to know your love. Amen.
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