(To be clear - this is NOT me!!)
Our readings this morning shift our focus from God’s covenant with the people, and how to live that covenant to exploring the covenant relationship itself and pondering how we will rejoice over the gift of Grace God offers in the midst of a world roiling with suffering, brokenness, hurt and loneliness … one of our passages today has revisted what is perhaps the most famous scripture passage that of John 3:16.
A few years ago in a Sunday Morning Service I had one of the members of the Choir hold up a sign reading "John 3:16" much like those we see at sporting events and live tv happenings ... through the service at random intervals Bob held up the sign without saying a word ... it was an effective way to remind us of the importance of the issue we must face when we consider that it is not how many times can we hold up a sign at a sporting event proclaiming “John 3:16” – but rather how can we make real that love God has for the world…
Our Old Testament reading is from the book of Numbers, which one commentary I consulted this week notes should have been called “Into the Wilderness” because of the happenings and events the book records. It goes on to acknowledge that the content of the book of Numbers is a retelling of the fears haunting the Israelites as they continue their generational adjustment to the freedom that came with their departure from Egypt.
The fears they faced in turn created pockets of frustration, petulance, rivalry, rashness, and outright rebellion in the community … not ANYTHING we’re familiar with in modern life … Over and over though, the stories emphasis the importance and the centrality of whole heartedly trusting in God and God’s unending patience in dealing with a fearful and a fear-filled people.
In this morning’s reading, the people are once against grumbling about the conditions in which they find themselves … grumbling seemingly to be something they’re very very good at … in this case they are being plagued by venomous snakes. The people cry out for God’s help to keep them from suffering and dying from the bites of the snakes.
Mercifully God provides relief from the painful inflamed wounds - all the people need to do is look up and fix their gaze on the bronze serpent Moses lifted up on a pole … the people were asked to look up … to face the very thing they feared by looking past the real one, and seeing the bronze serpent … a metaphor perhaps?
Face the fear in THIS MOMENT by having the courage and the vision to look up – up towards where we think of God being – to look up BEYOND this moment to something bigger … to look beyond the fears and frustrations and the emotions of THIS MOMENT and to keep our eyes fixed on this gift of Holiness, this gift of Grace, this gift God offers, so that we can journey THROUGH this moment and find wholeness …
Then we turn to our New Testament reading where Nicodemus comes in the night to visit Jesus.
Nicodemus is a knowledgable and well connected man – he has much to lose associating with this wild provincial yahoo Jesus who has been stirring things up all through Galilea. So, he arrives in the darkness of night to keep his visit secret, and in the process we have a moment in Jesus’ ministry where his teachings tackle the fundamental Jewish traditions and teachings from which Jesus’ understanding and knowledge arises … in this reading we have a glimpse into the heart of how Jesus and the earliest Church understood his ministry, his role and his place in life and faith …
Jesus on the cross is to become the bronze serpent … in the troubles of this moment we are to look up beyond it and through the suffering and death of Jesus on the cross KNOW that we are people of the Resurrection, and that THIS moment is fleeting in the presence of God … no matter HOW BAD this moment may we know that wholeness will come!
One of the essential proclamations in the Gospel reading today is that God brings about our healing and our salvation though the death and resurrection of Jesus – For God so loved the world that Jesus was given so that EVERYONE – not just a select few EVERYONE may have eternal life.
The bronze serpent of Jesus crucified, suffering and dying becomes an essential and central aspect of our understanding of this Covenant with God to be a people of the Resurrection …
We ARE a community of the Ressurection … this weekend we can get it – finally. The cold and snow of winter has ebbed away and we are standing in the transition – a very very pleasant transition – between seasons with the warmth of the sun seeming that much more powerful and wonderful …
But as we stand basking in the warmth of the sun and SAYING the words – we are a community of the resurrection, the question lingers – how will we live out that understanding of being, of embodying and of celebrating this Resurrection?
Perhaps more importantly, the bigger question becomes – do we even show that we’re people of faith who trust and celebrated the gift of Grace as revealed through the Resurrection?
In a way, we would serve ourselves well to step back and consider the lessons we teach our children and how those moments can in turn teach us … we are very good at trying to convey to our kids the importance and centrality of faith.
We’ll teach them songs like “They’ll know we are Christians by our love, by our love. They will know we are Christians by our love …”
But if we dare to listen to the youth in each successive generations, they will question the disconnect between what we’re teaching and what we’re actually living … we may teach them the songs “they’ll know we are Christians by our love …” but our teens and our young people ARE going to call us on whether we are actually living out that fine words …
In many respects, the Church has gotten very good at living out our faith on the BIG stage … we can do the food banks, and the mission trips and the outreach over there somewhere, but when it comes to the day to day living out of a simple concept like “they’ll know we are Christians by our love” – we face a few more challenges …
But before we despair, I’ve come to appreciate over the last few weeks as we’ve faced challenges within the circle of our faith community here, that we are doing pretty well in striving to live out our faith.
We’re not perfect, but we’re trying … through prayer we’ve lifted one another up to God and acknowledged the many challenges, concerns and burdens being felt within our community – a process that continues and that is ongoing … by countless small gestures, we’ve continued to nurture the bonds of community that pull us together, and we strive to open that circle to include others, and to welcome in more than just the same old folks who share the pews with us Sunday by Sunday … prayerfully, faithfully, and with care – we continue to strive to share with the community around us, the best of who we are in faith, and the blessings of this faith we share …
As I reflected on ALL of this, I couldn’t help but consider the role our youth and young people play as a vivid reminder of who we are as a community of faith … and as I thought more about this, I was reminded of a reading by Ann Weems that speaks of who we are and what we do as a Church, and how that circle continues to draw itself ever wider to include more and more people who are yearning for this gift of grace …
Ann Weems writes: (stay tuned – I need to find the reference!)
In the season of Lent, we are to avoid the Alleluias as we prepare and anticipate the coming Holy Season and the dark shadowy places that are very much a part of that journey. But in prayer, and in fellowship, with laughter and great care for one another, we as a Community of Faith can and will continue to share and celebrate this faith we have as a community of the Resurrection …
May it be so … thanks be to God … let us pray …
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