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March 15:
March 15, 2015 Call: Numbers 21: 4-9 Reading: Lent #268 (revised by me) Text: John 3: 14-21 Closing: Ephesians 2: 4-8 Snakes and The Darkness I do not like snakes! I am grateful that God has not given me Harry Potter's (fictional) gift of passel tongue. For the idea of conversing with a snake sends a shiver up my spine. As I may have shared with you before, One Friday several years ago, I asked a Jordanville parishioner to help me get rid of a snake lying in the grass outside the parsonage and near where the school bus dropped students off. Well, actually I didn't ask him to help me I asked him to get rid of it. And I had every intention of staying a safe distance away. Al came over And he seemed to relish the task For be arrived - with a loaded pistol! That snake would be no match for Al Miller. Now, I am not a hunter And I am not particularly comfortable with loaded pistols But my discomfort with snakes was substantially greater And so, I raised no objection to the executioner's weapon However, just as I was pointing out the snake to Al A nine year old boy got off the bus In my best father-like voice, I warned him about the snake. But Josh, looked at me quizzically And instead of moving away from the snake Walked directly to it Picked it up and said, "Mr. Barnes, this is a fake snake." And then, if it were not embarrassing enough To know that I was about to have a man shoot a rubber snake, My supposedly loving wife Acting behind my back Obtained possession of the said snake And placed it on the pulpit Where it greeted me on Sunday morning. So you can imagine what my reaction would have been If I had been a complaining Israelite in the wilderness In the passage that Shaq read this morning. The snakes in the story would not have even needed to bite me For me to feel chastised and punished. And in the future Every time I saw the snake on the pole that Moses made I would have been reminded - albeit uncomfortably - Both that God is a healing, forgiving God And that if I knew what was good for me I had better avoid complaining. I would also have been reminded of the example Moses set. For this man had - along with his God - Endured a multitude of unreasonable complaints about him And yet, when those complainers asked the man who had led them out of Egypt, the man about whom they were complaining and complaining over trivial rather than meaningful matters Anyway, when they asked that man to pray for them He did!! He did so He did so without sarcasm He did so by resisting what must have been a powerful temptation to respond, "Why should I?" or "You've got to be kidding!" or at least make them grovel a bit before praying? Moses set an example for his traveling companions and for us And God's answering the prayers by granting them relief Should have driven home the lesson in that example But just in case the memories were short, God had Moses create a bronze snake So that each time the people were bit They could look at it and by seeing the reminder Of how much God loved them Even when treated poorly And be healed. After God punished the people with the flood Got set the rainbow in the sky to remind God's self of the promise to not destroy the world like that again. After God punished the people with snakes God had Moses create the brass one to remind the people of God's love and healing power. Sadly, however, as time went on, The message in this story faded And what was to be a reminder of God's love Was transformed by many into a god itself. People began to worship the brass snake - instead of God. Ultimately, King Hezekiah, knowing that the well intentioned reminder of God's love Had become an idol removed it from the temple [2 Kings 18:4] With the message forgotten, The descendents of those in the wilderness with Moses, Became like their forefathers They ignored God except to complain or when they needed something. They ignored the prophets God sent to warn and advise them And to produce a reconciliation with them Again God punished them Not with floods or snakes For the flood and the snakes had not had a permanent impact. This time God punished them with exile to and in Babylon. And yet, while in exile They again adopted the behavior of their ancestors They complained that God didn't care for them They complained that God wasn't powerful enough to save them The difficulties of the exile did have an impact - for a while. But not long after they were allowed to return to Jerusalem They resumed the practice of ignoring God Except when they wanted something And of grumbling when they didn't get what they wanted, It was as if their hearts had plunged into a darkness That prevented them from seeing or recognizing God's love. Now darkness, like snakes, is something that scares some people We tend to think of children being afraid of the dark But adults find the absence of light discomforting Because we cannot see what - if anything - is lurking And thus our minds can play tricks on us. While I'll take darkness over snakes any day, I have at times experienced some uneasiness And have wanted a light to help me find my way. So did the people who had strayed from God. And so, despite their behavior, again they prayed to God They asked God to send a deliverer. God had sent a deliverer before That deliverer led them out of Egypt And all they did was complain and ignore. God had sent prophets Who had alerted them to correct their errors And their response had been to ignore and complain. Now they again have found themselves asking God to once more send someone to help them out of a mess. Wouldn't you think that at some point God would have given up on them - and thus on us as well? But God didn't give up. And that brings us to the text from John When God rescued their ancestors from the poisonous snakes God gave them a visible reminder of his love The snake on a pole crafted by Moses And now, God gives them another visible reminder of his love God's own son Jesus Christ [John 3: 14-21] Christ is the light of the world Through him you and I see our relationship with God And come face to face with the reminder of God's love The messages of these two scriptures are similar. God so loved his people that he sent his servant Moses to lead the people out of Egypt God so loved the world that he gave his only son Not to judge, but that the world might be saved. You and I are expected to lift the light of Jesus up Like a flag bearer in the Olympics or in battle So that we will see So that everyone will see The love that leads to eternal life. As followers of Christ, we have to do so Knowing fully well that it can be difficult After all, the history shows That flag bearers make great targets.