Sermons for the Month
God is Committed to Us: Part Four
DATE: March 22nd, 2009
SERVICE: Fourth Sunday in Lent
TEXT: Numbers 21:4-9; 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
We all know something about corporately suffering the consequences of our actions. After all, every U.S. citizen did not grant mortgages to people who could not pay them, or rack up thousands of dollars in credit card debt, or compensate CEO's with exorbitant salary packages or approve the spending of billions of dollars in the 21st century version of the war that does not end.
Yet, we all are suffering the consequences of those actions - and many more - that have created an economic recession. So, while we have not reached for a cooking pot only to be bitten by the poisonous snake inside, as was true of the Israelites in today's First Reading, it may seem as if something as startling as that has happened to us. And, if that Israelite who reached for that pot had never joined in the whining and complaining for which the snake bite was punishment, we might feel all the more empathetic toward him or her.
I mean … come one … poisonous snakes indiscriminately biting people; that seems a bit extreme, don't you think? Then again, it has been 40 years since the people of Israel left slavery in Egypt - freed by the power of God at work in Moses - and headed for the new home that God had promised them. So, you would think that by now the faithful would have influence over the whiners.
That's right - 40 years - because by the time we get to Numbers 21 we are into the second generation, the first having been barred from entering the Promised Land. Oh, they survived the golden calf incident that we talked about last week because Moses was able to convince God not to rain the fire of wrath down upon them.
Finally, they reached the borders of the Promised Land and 12 spies were sent to check it out. They returned and reported that it was indeed a fruitful and fertile land, BUT, they said, the people who lived there were strong, of great size, and the towns were well-fortified. Their message was, "We do not have what it takes to defeat them." (Numbers 13) Only the spies Joshua and Caleb said they should cross over and trust that God would give them the victory.
Well, the long and the short of it is that the people rebelled, they cried, they carried on about having been brought out of Egypt to die by the sword. They went so far as to consider selecting a leader to take them back to Egypt.
Once again, God is NOT pleased. Once again, God is on the verge of wiping them out. Once again, Moses debates with God on their behalf and, once again, the commitment of God was shown in a change of heart. They were not obliterated, but the consequence was that the Children of Israel would wander for 40 years in the desert until every single one age 20 and older - except Joshua and Caleb, was dead. (Numbers 14)
So, fast forward to today's text; that 40 years is ending, the children of the Children of Israel are headed back to the Promised Land and what happens? Did they not learn anything from the sins of their parents? Did wandering around in the wilderness for 40 years not make an impression on them? Evidently not, because there is more whining, more complaining and more doubting. Realizing that Moses may talk him out of it, God does not forewarn the Israelites, but sends the poisonous snakes to punish - and potentially wipe out - the second generation.
As writer Phyllis Tickle so creatively describes it: "There were droves of snakes moving through the camp of the Children's children…snakes in the tents, snakes in the breadbaskets and the cooking pots, snakes in the bed rolls and snakes in the cribs." (1) Let's just say that the people got the point. This time they petitioned Moses for help, confessing their sin, and Moses prayed for the people.
God tells him what to do; create a bronze serpent and lift it up on a pole. When those who have been bitten look at it, they will live. Can't you imagine the cry going out all over the camp - look up, look up! And, what were they looking at? It was the deadly consequence of their sin - the serpent - that stood unwavering before them. They had to look their sin straight in the face, acknowledge it, come to the realization that it could and would kill them and then keep looking up to receive the mercy of God and live. They could not save themselves, but thankfully, God was committed to them.
And, God is committed to us. That's good news for a number of reasons. One of them is that in life we continue to suffer the consequence of sin, sometimes deservedly and sometimes in spite of the fact that we are mere bystanders. Regardless, the way to deal with sin is clear in today's story.
We have to look straight at it, acknowledge it, come to the realization that it can destroy us and others, and then keep looking up to receive not only God's mercy, but also guidance. We put our trust in God and move on, making needed amends and changes, and holding on to hope. After all, within two years of the snake invasion, the second generation Children of God were entering the Promised Land.
I'm not an economist, but it seems to me that if we are going to move forward here in our "Promised Land", in the midst of financial down-turn, there has to be a spiritual as well as financial focus. We too - corporately - have to look straight at the sin, without defensiveness and excuses, acknowledge its power to destroy and then seek God's guidance to make needed amends and changes. As long as the excuses are flying, and people see themselves only as victims, as long as the faithful remain silent rather than exercising their influence, the deadly effects of the snake bites will continue to sicken everyone.
There's another reason, an even more important one, that it's good news that God is committed to us. Today's Gospel lesson begins with these words, "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." When we look up and see Jesus suffering on the cross, we are seeing the ultimate consequence of human sin.
Jesus, who knew no sin, became sin so that through him we become righteous. The power of evil slithers around our feet and, in fact, has bitten us. We call its poison original sin, and it has the power to destroy us by destroying our relationship with God. But the astounding thing is that, like the people of Israel, a way out has been provided. Look up! Look up! See that the serpent has been replaced by a Savior. When we see him, we are forgiven. When we see him, we live.
It's true, we all know what it means to corporately suffer the consequences of being human, BUT, we also all know what it means to corporately receive an act of grace. When we look at sin straight-on and with God's guidance, move on, and when we are forgiven through Jesus' act of sacrificial love it's because of one great truth - God is committed to us.
AMEN
(1) "A Serpent in the Desert" by Phyllis Tickle, Program #4906, November 6, 2005, www.csec.org