Lent 4B
March 10, 2024
Numbers 21:4-9; John 3:14-21
INTRODUCTION
This week’s theme, as a part of our overall Lenten theme, A Seed of Joy, is “transformational joy.” We will see that in a dynamic set of texts which include one of the most Lutheran passages in all of scripture (Ephesians); one of the most quoted verses in all of scripture (John 3:16); and, one of the weirdest stories in all of scripture (from Numbers).
Let’s start there, with the Israelites in the wilderness. Remember that the Israelites wandered in the wilderness for 40 years, and this time is a sort of Faithfulness Boot Camp, in which they learn what it means to be God’s faithful people. The 10 Commandments we heard about last week gave a good foundation, but there is yet much to learn. Throughout this boot camp, the Israelites famously complain. Today their complaints are followed by the arrival of deadly, venomous snakes (it’s no wonder this is the final complaint story – lesson learned!), and God will respond by transforming the very cause of their pain into an agent of healing.
In our Gospel reading, Jesus refers to this strange incident with the snakes. What we hear today is actually just a part of a much larger story, in which the Pharisee Nicodemus comes to Jesus by night with some questions, and Jesus tells him he must be born again, born of the Spirit. What we hear today is a part of Jesus’ explanation about what that means. The reference to the snake story will set up the verse we all know and love: John 3:16.
All three texts show us the unexpected ways that God transforms brokenness into life – snake bites into healing, being dead in sin to being alive in Christ (by way of grace), darkness into light. As you listen, watch for signs of that transformation, all the ways God promises and delivers new life. Let’s listen.
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| This is Beauty. She is a ball python, not a spicy noodle. She is sweet, and belongs to my goddaughter. :) |
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
My husband used to be deathly afraid of snakes, but he finally decided he wanted to get over it, and that he would do this by exposure. Recently he has been following a “what is this snake” sub-reddit online, where every day he sees pictures of all manner of snakes in various situations, all in an effort to desensitize himself and chip away at his fear of these fascinating creatures. He’s also learned some funny internet names for snakes along the way. If you are afraid of snakes, you call them, “nope ropes.” If a nope rope is also venomous, that is called a “danger noodle,” or if you prefer, “hazard spaghetti,” “spicy noodle,” or “caution ramen.” Thank you, Internet.
I know Michael isn’t the only one who is afraid of danger noodles, or even just your everyday, non-venomous nope ropes. They certainly get a bad rap. And thanks to Genesis, readers of the Bible might even associate these slithery noodles with sin itself! But that is actually not the prevailing view of snakes throughout history and culture. In ancient cultures, the snake was a symbol of both death and life. They often represented fertility. A snake winds around the staff of the ancient Greek god of medicine, Asclepius, an image we still use as a medical symbol. Though snake bites can kill, snakes also shed their skin, a symbol of renewal, and dare I say, transformation.
It seems that people have long had a complicated view of snakes! And knowing that makes this story from Numbers all the more fascinating and complex. No doubt some of these varied perceptions of snakes were in the minds of those who first told, heard, and recorded this story. The very thing that causes the pain is what brings about the renewal. The thing that causes death also brings life. Lots of common themes here.
Now, I love this story, like a lot. But I admit there are a lot of things about it not to love. So let’s go through and try to understand and reconcile some of those things.
First, a tip: like many of the stories in the Bible, and especially the Old Testament, it can be easy to get caught up in the details. How did Moses make a snake out of bronze out there in the wilderness? It was a large camp, so how did people get quickly enough to the bronze snake before they died of snake bites? Why did God send poisonous snakes in the first place if God is supposed to be loving and merciful, and why didn’t he just remove them when asked? But let’s not get caught up in these spicy-noodle-infested weeds. It’s important to remember that ancient cultures did not tell stories like this to record factual accounts. That’s a post-enlightenment way of reading and recording history. Rather, stories like this are told to make a point – in this case, about God, and Israel’s relationship with God. That doesn’t make the story untrue. It just needs to be read differently.
Now, let’s recall what is happening in the larger narrative. The Israelites have been wandering in the wilderness for a few decades by this point. They are weary. The Hebrew tells us that their very souls are weary – and wouldn’t you be? To be in-between for so long, eating the same old food, waiting and wanting to get to this alleged Promised Land, even as the generation who first made that dramatic exodus out of Egypt are dying away. And so they complain – a lot. And every time they complain, God provides just what they need. Hungry? Here’s manna, bread from heaven. Thirsty? Here’s water. Water is too bitter? Here, now it is better. Need protein? Here are some quails. God has shown again and again that he is trustworthy.
And yet… even though the number one commandment is to trust God above all things, Israel is struggling to do that. Instead, they complain. They have no food, they hate the miserable food. Just as they are supposed to be learning to love and trust God above all, they are instead turning in on themselves. They do not trust.
Numbers tells us that in response to this round of complaining, “God sent poisonous snakes.” I know, it is easy to get caught up on this. It brings up all kinds of big questions like, “Does God punish? Are we not allowed to bring our concerns to God without fear of being plagued with venomous serpents? Where is the mercy and compassion?” But remember, that the definition of theology is “faith seeking understanding,” and that is what this story is doing: it reflects a faithful people seeking understanding about their unfortunate lot. To the Israelites, it no doubt felt like God was punishing them and sending the snakes. We do the same thing: “Did God strike me with cancer or send this tragedy because I’ve been sinful? What did I do to deserve this?” So, I’m hesitant to say with certainty that God actively sent this plague in order to teach Israel a lesson. That’s a human way of acting, and I don’t think God works that way. I’m more willing to say that Israel is experiencing a natural consequence of their ego, navel-gazing, and lack of trust. As one commentator writes, “When we spend too long worshiping our own wisdom, we start poisoning ourselves and harming the vulnerable in our communities.”
So rather than dwelling on whether or not God actively sent the danger noodles, notice that God responds to their cries for help… even if not the way we hoped or expected. I think they and we were probably hoping God would just remove the source of their anguish. No more spicy noodles! And while this might be yet another thing not to love about this story, I think it is important, because it is so much more like real life. God does not always remove what causes us pain. Instead, God shows us a way to live and thrive even amid the struggles. And the path he shows, strange as it sounds to us, is exactly what we need to hear.
“Make a poisonous serpent of bronze,” God tells Moses, “and set it on a pole. And everyone who is bitten and looks upon it shall live.” How unlikely, that God would suggest looking at a likeness of the very thing bringing death and suffering upon them… as a means toward healing and life! Wouldn’t we prefer to look away from our pain? Away from even the memory of grief and brokenness? Wouldn’t we rather ignore it, put it behind us, move on? And yet here God says, “Nope. (Rope.) You have to face it. Face the nope rope. But don’t look down anymore at what is poisoning you. Don’t look toward your own navel. Instead, look up – up toward me, up toward the source of life. Face what has harmed you, because that is the only way you can deal with it. But, as you face it, make sure that you see that I am there with you in it.”
In our Gospel reading today, Jesus refers to this story. “Just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the son of man be lifted up, so that all who believe in him may have eternal life.” You see, Jesus does the same thing with the cross as God did with the serpent: he transforms this instrument of death into a pathway toward life. But with Jesus, looking upon it is not only for survival. The cross is not only a means to get through this one trial, this one struggle. The son of man, lifted up on the cross, becomes the way toward eternal life. He becomes the way to know God, and be in relationship with him.
And so, we do just as the Israelites in the wilderness: we lift up this instrument of suffering and death, knowing that what Christ did for us there brings us life. Through that cross, our pain and brokenness is transformed into joy. Through that which would have brought the worst kind of death, we are saved, brought into relationship with God – not by our own doing, but as a gift of God. “By grace [we] have been saved.” And we are given a new chance to live and be the people God has called us to be: “created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand to be our way of life.”
Let us pray… God, your ways are mysterious, strange and confusing, and yet you find a way to turn the very thing that meant us harm into a way toward new life. Open our eyes and lift our heads, so that we might always see you working in and among us, even in our struggles. In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
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