Snakes, Crosses, and Life

 How many of you saw the Facebook post last night, or are taking note of the sermon title on the screen and get a little uneasy-"Snakes, Crosses, and Life." Some of you may be thinking, "What is that preacher up to now? He lined the Communion rail with Pokemon right after he got here. He's had Communion served out of the manger on Christmas Eve. Now he's going to do something with snakes." Some of you may be thinking, "I sure hope he's not turning into one of those crazies that handles snakes in church." Some of you might even be a little uncertain of whether you wanted to be here or not. If your curiosity or concern is raised, then good. That is what is what it is supposed to do, because that is the same struggle that I had when reading the passage from Numbers 21:4-9 and John 3:14-15 for many years. These passages account for a story about Moses and the Israelites as they were wandering for 40 years. They were in the wilderness and the people were complaining as usual. God had brought them out of slavery in Egypt, and when they came to the Sea, they complained that Moses had brought them out of slavery only to die. God parted the waters and Moses led them through. Then they complained that they had nothing to drink. God provided water. Then they complained that they had nothing to eat. God provided the manna. Then they complained that they had no meat. God provided the quail. They came to the Promised Land that God had promised them. There were giants living there-"we can't go there," they said. So they began wandering again. In our passage they begin complaining again, "Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in this desert? There is no bread! There is no water! And we detest this miserable food." Then, rather than finding a banquet set before them as a result of this complaint, they found their camp infested with snakes. People were getting bit and dying. Suddenly, they realized what they had done. They had sinned. They had spoken evilly against the God that had delivered them so many times. So they asked Moses to pray to God to take the snakes away. Here comes the part that I used to struggle with. God told Moses to make a snake and put it on a pole for the people to look at and live: "And Moses made a bronze serpent, put it on a pole, and anyone who looked at the bronze snake lived." When I read this in the past, everything inside of me wanted to say, "Wait a minute here! Isn't this the same God who said 'You shall have no other God's before me," and "You shall not make for yourself an idol, whether in the form of anything that is in heaven above, or that is on the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth."? Isn't this the same Moses that was so infuriated when he came down the mountain from meeting with God and found that Aaron had made a golden calf? What is this "make-a-snake-put-it-on-a-pole-and-if-folks-look-at-it-they-will-live-thing"? Isn't that saying make an idol or image for the folks to find their salvation in? It really use to troubled me. Then I heard a song by contemporary Christian artist Michael Card. The text is based upon this passage. The words of the chorus of the song are something like this, "Take the suffering symbol/Place it high upon a pole/Tell the people to look up/And be made whole." It was then that I realized that I had been focusing on the wrong thing. It was not the snake that the folks were supposed to be focusing on, but the actions that looking at that snake caused. First, looking at the snake caused them to remember their sinful past-they were reminded of their constant grumbling against Moses and God and their lack of faith in trusting God to provide them with what they needed. They were reminded that no matter how bad things might seem, they could be worse, if they weren't trusting God to provide for them. Secondly, it was important that the bronze snake that Moses had made was placed high upon a pole. The folks had to look up to see it. Meaning, they had to stop looking down focusing on the problem of the snakes on the ground, they also had to stop looking at themselves for an answer, and turn their eyes heavenward for a solution. It reminded them that they needed to turn toward God for their salvation, not dwell upon their problem. The snake wasn't to be an idol, but a tool to remind them of their sinful past and get them to turn toward God. The question then becomes, how is Jesus using this story when he says in John 3:14 and 15: "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"? Let me relate a story to you that happened at a church that one of my colleagues serves: This particular congregation was getting ready to put new stained-glass windows in the church. They wanted the windows to depict the life of Jesus. One member of the congregation spoke up and said, "I don't think we want the crucifixion. Children don't want to look at that." One difference between Protestant Churches, such as the Methodist, Baptist, and Presbyterian Churches and the Catholic Church, is that we have bare, empty crosses on our altar or hanging in our sanctuaries while the Catholic Church usually have a crucifix-a cross with Christ's dying body hanging upon it. I, like my colleague, have always thought, "hey, we Protestant's celebrate the resurrected Christ, not a Christ still hanging upon the cross." That was all well and good until I encountered these passages juxtaposed and was reminded that Christ upon that cross is for the world what the snake upon that pole was for the Israelites. Looking at Christ raised up on that cross, with his arms stretched out to either side and nails through each palm and his ankles holding him to the boards, and the crown of thorns placed upon his head, with their points digging into his scalp and forehead, we are called to remember. We are called to remember that it was for our sins that Christ went to that cross. It was because we live in a world of darkness and sin that we find Christ upon the cross. We are reminded that it was our sin that crucified Christ. We are reminded that without this crucifixion there would not be a resurrection. We are reminded that our little decorative crosses are more than pretty gold, silver, or wooden symbols, but the tool that was used to put Jesus to death. But looking at Christ raised up upon that cross does something else for us. It gives us life. We are reminded that God so loved the world, so loved each one of us, that He gave His only begotten son that whosover believeth in him might have eternal life. It reminds us that no matter what problem we may be having-whether it is trouble at home with finances or family, whether it is trouble at work with co-workers or customers, whether it is trouble within our community, state, or nation, or whether it is some personal struggle that we are going through-that we are called to look up, see Christ raised up upon the cross and remember that he was raised even further. For after the crucifixion, the resurrection did take place, and following the resurrection we know that Jesus ascended to Heaven and now sits upon the Throne. No matter what the suffering is, if we look up and turn to God, trusting in His love for us-a love so great that He sent His only Son to save us-we will find ourselves healed and receiving life. If we simply open ourselves up to God, allowing the Holy Spirit to fill us with God's grace, focusing upward to the One greater than all our sin, greater than anything in our lives, we will find that God will lift us past the snakes and crosses in our lives reminding us of His gift of eternal life, for all who surrender themselves to the Son of Man who was lifted high upon that cross. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, Amen. 1 Snakes, Crosses, and Life Numbers 21:4-9 / John 3:14-21