4 Lent, Year B, March 10
Num. 21:4-9 • Ps. 107:1-3, 17-22 • Eph. 2:1-10 • John 3:14-21
The children of Israel complain that they have no food and no water, which is not strictly true as they continue to receive a daily supply of manna, a food they vehemently hate — “we detest this miserable food” (Num. 21:5). Having rejected what God gives, they suffer the consequence of their infidelity. “Then the Lord sent poisonous serpents among the people, and they bit the people, so that many died” (Num. 21:6); “God is not mocked, for you reap whatever you sow” (Gal. 6:7). Judgment, however, is always tempered by mercy. “The Lord said to Moses, ‘Make a poisonous serpent, and set it on a pole; and everyone who is bitten shall look at it and live’” (Num. 21:8).
This is a story about sin, death, and redemption.
Hunger and thirst, especially thirst, are among the most basic of human needs, and so we sympathize with the people of God as they complain against God and against Moses. Still, the theological thrust of the story is to underscore the importance of a total and unreserved trust in the Lord, and the consequence of that trust being broken. The biting sand serpents are a graphic illustration of life without God. Such a life is not merely empty; it is miserable and impregnated with death. Have we not known precisely this Fall, this misery, and the specter of a consuming grave?
Recognize yourself in these words. “You were dead through the trespasses and sins in which you once lived, following the course of this world, following the ruler of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work among those who are disobedient. All of us once lived among them in the passions of our flesh, following the desires of the flesh and senses, and we were by nature children of wrath, like everyone else” (Eph. 2:1-3). Desires, it must be said, that serve human well-being and flourishing are not rejected but rather wholly embraced by a faith that preaches the goodness of creation and the redemption of the entire cosmos. The garden of desire, however, has been infiltrated by an enemy, the result of which is disordered affection. We desire as dictated by “the course of this world,” wanting whatever social pressure and the advertisers present. We are influenced by unseen powers, “the powers of the air.” This is why otherwise decent and good people can do terrible things. No wonder St. Paul asked, at Romans 7:24, “Who will deliver me from this body of death?”
Are we then left to the terror of biting snakes? By no means! Looking to Jesus as the children of Israel once looked to the graven bronze serpent, we cast our care upon God and there place our hope. We see fire in the eyes of Christ, but always the fire of love. His skin is ablaze with glory, the glory of a sweet and merciful radiance. These words include perhaps the most beloved Bible verse. Looking to Jesus, we meditate on 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. For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life. Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him” (John 3:14-17). The divine intention, which cannot be thwarted, is to save and not condemn, to heal and restore. Looking to Jesus, we are lifted above all created things, “raised up with him and seated with him in the heavenly places” (Eph. 2:6, slightly adapted). This is our homeland, and, in some measure, we are already there.
Look It Up: The Collect
Think About It: Christ in us and we in him is the fulfillment of every desire.