In this passage from Numbers we get an
odd and disturbing story about God intentionally sending a plague of
serpents to kill his chosen people. Taken on its own it may cause
people to question whether or not God really is a God of love.
Especially when coupled with his command to Moses to construct a
serpent which, when looked upon, would save those bitten from death.
This God appears to be more abusive and manipulative than loving.
But our faith is not built on one or
two small snippets from the Bible. If it is, that is more
problematic than this passage. Instead, our faith is deeper, more
complex, and built on the totality of Scripture. With that in mind,
we need to look beyond the first-impression, disturbing oddness of
this story. We need to look deeper.
The book of Numbers is really the story
of the 40-year wilderness wandering. It begins in the desert of
Sinai and ends on the eastern shore of the Jordan, the people poised
to cross over into the Promised Land. Additionally, it recounts the
change in generations from exodus to conquest.
The Israelites have complained a
variety of times about a variety of things during those 40 years.
They complained about getting trapped at the Red Sea; about the lack
of food; about the lack of meat; about the lack of water; about,
about, about. As it turns out, today's story is the last complaint
story of the Exodus. And it's a doozy, as they complain against both
God and Moses.
In retaliation God sends poisonous
serpents. In compassion God instructs Moses to construct a serpent
on a pole which will be the catalyst for healing. So going beyond
this snippet of Scripture and looking more deeply, what can this
ancient story of disobedience, punishment, compassion, and healing
teach us today?
As I said, this is the last
grumbling/complaining story. There are many, many other stories in
the Torah in which the people grumble against God and/or Moses. In
most of them, they wish they were back in Egypt living as slaves
instead of facing death in the wilderness. In some of them, people
do die as a result of their complaining. At least once God threatens
to kill them all and start over with Moses; that is, until Moses
intercedes on behalf of the people. And today the camp is infested
with poisonous serpents that do kill many people, but they are saved
when they look upon the bronze serpent on the pole that Moses
constructs.
All of these stories have two things in
common: one, they are based in scarcity; and, two, they are inwardly
focused.
We don't have bread. We don't have
water. We don't have meat. We don't have food or water, and we
detest this miserable food. At least we had houses and food in
Egypt. In all of these complaints there is a constant focus on what
they don't have. And when God does provide for their needs, it's
never enough,. How much is enough? When we are focused on what we
don't have, we are unable to do anything.
The second item is their inward focus.
Their only concern is for themselves. We don't have . . . we need .
. . we were better off. There is no gratitude. There is no concern
for others. There is no concern for those who come after.
Both of these issues, a dwelling in
scarcity and an inward focus, ultimately lead to death. We see that
today. Their focus on scarcity in not having any food, and their
inward focus about detesting the food they have, leads to the
appearance of the poisonous serpents and the death of many
Israelites. What ultimately saves them is looking beyond themselves
and looking to God.
The message is clear – focus on
yourself, your scarcity, your selfish desires, and you will die.
Focus on something outside yourself, something that may even be
foolish, and you will live.
Jesus refers to this story in the
gospel when he says that just as Moses lifted up the serpent, so must
he be lifted up as well. Like the Israelites who looked upon the
bronze serpent were saved, so too will those who look upon Jesus, and
believe, be saved. And in both cases, those who look outside
themselves, those who turn outward, not inward, are the ones who
receive life.
In looking at these two stories, it is
clear that an inward focus leads to death, while an outward focus
leads to life. The Israelites who only focused on themselves and/or
what they didn't have, died. Those who looked outside of themselves
lived. Jesus says essentially the same thing – those who look
outside themselves will live, while those who look only to themselves
will die.
Communities of faith face the same
choice. When I was in Montana, Mrs. Ref and I visited small
congregations looking to get energized or revitalized. Those who
developed an outward-focused mission, a mission or ministry that
looked outside their doors, ended up becoming vital congregations.
Those that didn't continued to struggle.
Last week I wrote about All Saints in
Chicago. When that congregation began focusing not on themselves,
not on their budget shortfall, not on what they didn't have or
couldn't do, but began focusing on the community and people around
them, they began to thrive. And not only thrive, they began to LIVE.
We here at St. John's are not
wandering, complaining Israelites. Nor are we a struggling parish on
the verge of closing. We have looked upon the cross and believed in
the Son of God. But we do face a temptation that urges us to begin
focusing inward. It is a temptation to point out what we don't have
or what we can't do because we don't have enough. It is a temptation
to live in fear and scarcity. It is a temptation that, if followed,
will most certainly lead to death.
We are in the middle of Lent. This is
the time when people begin falling victim to temptation. But don't.
Don't give in to those voices who say, “No, it's too risky; it's
not enough; we need to look inward.” Instead, know that
resurrection and new life await. But resurrection and new life can
only be gained by looking outward.
As we move forward, both as a
congregation and as disciples, we need to ask ourselves where our
focus is. Are we, or will we be, only focused on ourselves and our
perceived scarcity? Or will we look beyond ourselves and outward
into God's abundance?
The choice to live or die is ours.
Amen.
Posts
0 comments:
Post a Comment