Sermons for the Month

The Light of Jesus Can Shine Through Us
DATE: March 30th, 2003
SERVICE: 4th Sunday of Lent
TEXT: Numbers 21:4-9 and John 3:14-21

“To all of you Saints here this morning, grace and peace to you from God our Father, from His Son, Jesus Christ and His Holy Spirit. AMEN

There have been a couple times in my life that I have nearly stepped on snakes - not just any snake, but rattle snakes. Having grown up in western Nebraska, the reptile was not an oddity. If one happened to be climbing the occasional rock, it was wise to look wherever a hand was to be placed before grabbing hold. And, if the sun was out, you had to keep an eye on your feet too since rattlers delight in stretching across the path to catch the rays. Sandals were not the accepted attire there, and cowboy boots served a purpose.

I guess you could say I have a healthy respect for snakes. When Leo Boes, our preschool director's husband who travels from place to place with a menagerie of creatures he uses to teach children, brings snakes for the preschoolers to pet and cuddle I put on a good face. But my conditioned avoidance of snakes makes me very standoffish.

I'm like my brother's dog that was bitten by a rattler and now cowers at the very sight of one. And that is a frequent sight since my brother, who lives in the middle of no where in south west Nebraska, shares his front yard with them and shoots one every now and then if it seems too interested in coming in the house.

While some people love snakes, others are more like me and do not seek them out. And if that's the case for you, then perhaps today's reading from Numbers also gives you the he-be-gee-bees. Snakes sent as a punishment - it's enough to make a person cringe.

I guess God wanted to make a point with the people of Israel. They have been freed from slavery in Egypt. God brought them across the Red Sea and is leading them day and night to their new home. Their creator is providing for all their needs. And, yet, they whine and grumble.

"Why", they say, "Have your brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no food and water and we detest this miserable food." In other words, there is food, but they do not like it. You know how that goes. Your children or grandchildren say, "There's nothing to eat," which isn't the case. There is plenty to eat; it's just not pizza, pop and popcorn.

We know what whining and grumbling sounds like, and how annoying it can be. God decides to nip it in the bud. The method is pretty extreme, though, poisonous snakes appear among the people. They are bitten and many of them are dying. Having gotten the point, the Israelites repent and ask Moses to petition God for the removal of the snakes. It's interesting what happens. Did you notice? We are not told if the poisonous snakes disappear, but only that God provides a way for those who had been bitten to live.

The solution was to raise up the image of a poisonous snake at which people looked if they were bitten. Then, they lived. As writer Brian Stoffregen put it, "The problem was serpents on the ground and the solution was a serpent on a pole." (Crossmarks Christian Resources, study for John 3:14-21)

But, was the problem really the serpents on the ground? Not really - the serpents were a consequence of all that whining and complaining. The problem really was the people. Taking away the consequence may solve the immediate difficulty, just as would be the case if a person stole something, was caught and punished, and then repented so that the punishment would cease but still carried a desire to steal. The snakes made an impression, it's true, but the people of Israel still carried with them ungrateful, unfaithful hearts which is why they continued to be in trouble with God.

It's the people who are the problem. Pastor Stoffregen mentions an old Charlie Brown cartoon in his resources. Lucy once said to Charlie Brown, "Discouraged again, eh, Charlie Brown? You know what your whole trouble is? The trouble with you is that you're you!" Charlie asks, "Well, what in the world can I do about that?" Lucy answers, "I don't pretend to be able to give advice … I merely point out the trouble."

People are the problem. So, God chose to lift up something other than a snake. This time it was the Son of God and the Son of Man, Jesus Christ. In the Gospel of John Jesus said, "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. For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but have eternal life. For God sent his Son into the world not to condemn the world, but that the world through him might be saved."

If the problem is what stirs and brews in people's hearts that then leads them to negative behavior, then the solution is not just to stop being bad, something that we imperfect people cannot do on our own. No, the solution is a transformed heart; it's not something we earn or create but is a gift of God in Jesus Christ.

When we acknowledge the gift, Jesus, we grasp the fact that we are forgiven in spite of our human failings. And, we are empowered by the Holy Spirit to live as children of the light.

But we still have freewill, so some people choose not to acknowledge the gift of forgiveness that belongs to them and ignore the power of the Holy Spirit within them. So it is that they resist allowing God's transforming power to change them.

I found it interesting to read this week that the basic meaning of the Greek word that is translated condemn in this text could be more accurately translated as separate. The sense of the passage would then be that those who believe in (trust, acknowledge) Jesus are not separated from him, nor from his transforming, healing ways. But those who do not believe (trust, acknowledge) him are separated from these things and that influences how they live. Of course, this has implications for eternity too, and that is an area which is totally in God's hands.

So, as Thomas Merton wrote in Seasons of Celebration: "Let us not then darken the joy of Christ's victory by remaining in captivity and darkness but let us declare his power, by living as free people who been called by Him out darkness into His admirable light."

We are free from the snakes, which, by the way have long been a symbol for sin or evil in the world. They may still be lying in wait for us as we walk down the road of discipleship, or make a faith climb. We may even get bitten every now and then. But, if we look at the Son of Man, lifted up on the cross, and acknowledge his forgiving power and presence we will live in the light, both now and in eternity.

Living in the light, that's another way to talk about Growing in Discipleship. In means that we open up to the light of Christ those dark corners of ourselves that we are trying to hide. It means that we open our minds, our hearts, and our relationships to the influence of Jesus and put ourselves in situations where we can grow in knowledge and faith and receive much needed support. It means that the way we think about people is changed. Our words are transformed. Our decisions are based on priorities that have been reordered.

It means that in spite of the fact that we are who we are the light of Jesus can shine through us.

I'm wearing a pin today that has a snake on it. It's a reminder that we all have been bitten by sin. But, the cross is bigger than the snake. Always the cross wins. Thanks be to God.

AMEN

---