Bible Tuesday for Holy Cross Day, September 14th, 2014

Numbers 21:4-9

4From Mount Hor they set out by the way to the Red Sea, to go around the land of Edom; but the people became impatient on the way. 5The people spoke against God and against Moses, “Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no food and no water, and we detest this miserable food.” 6Then the Lord sent poisonous serpents among the people, and they bit the people, so that many Israelites died. 7The people came to Moses and said, “We have sinned by speaking against the Lord and against you; pray to the Lord to take away the serpents from us.” So Moses prayed for the people. 8And 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.” 9So Moses made a serpent of bronze, and put it upon a pole; and whenever a serpent bit someone, that person would look at the serpent of bronze and live.

When Esau and Jacob had their feuds over birthright and blessing, they parted company with the family. Jacob went to live with Laban, his uncle on his mother’s side in the land of Nahor in Mesopotamia while Esau went to Edom. As Biblical writers recount these stories of their forefathers and mothers, they pay attention to setting, and so should we. In the land which is gifted to Abraham and his descendants, the Israelites tend to behave better than in foreign lands. Also, in Canaan/Israel, the Israelites things tend to go better for the Israelites.

In this text, the Israelites are in the wilderness between their escape from Egypt and their taking possession of the promised land, Canaan/Israel. They are in the land Esau, the unfavored, and they act as if they are not favored either. Once again they complain that life in slavery was worse than life liven freely with God.

I really struggle with the idea of God sending poisonous snakes among the people to bite them and kill them. While there are many accounts of such interactions between God and people along these lines in the Hebrew Scriptures, I don’t believe that God tortures us like this. So then, if I don’t trust the biblical writer’s account of this story, when would I bother to read it, to contemplate it? This is Holy scripture, given to humanity through humanity by God. What is more worthy of contemplation?

While I find God to be the source of the snakes problematic, I get excited about the remedy God gives. “Put a hand fashioned snake on a pole in the midst of the people so that when they are bit, they can turn to look at it. Through this act of trust to turn and look at the vary thing that bit them, I will bring healing.” The snake becomes a sign of the sin of lack of trust, and through facing their sin, God brings healing to the Israelites.

Psalm 98:1-4

Sing to the Lord a new song,
for he has done marvelous things;
his right hand and his holy arm
have worked salvation for him.
2 The Lord has made his salvation known
and revealed his righteousness to the nations.
3 He has remembered his love
and his faithfulness to Israel;
all the ends of the earth have seen
the salvation of our God.

4 Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth,
burst into jubilant song with music;

The psalmist proclaims that God has done new, wondrous things so a new song of praise is in order! “This kingship psalm highlights the military victory of God,” says The Jewish Study Bible.

As discussed with previous psalms, the right hand of the king is his symbolic seat of power and is mentioned as such in this psalm. While we may lend more sentimental views to God’s “love and faithfulness to Israel”, in fact this is a covenantal obligation. God promised to be steadfast and faithful to Israel, protecting and leading it, while Israel was in turn to follow God’s laws, worshiping and trusting only Yahweh.

While we, Christians tend to read “All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God” terms of the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus, in this psalm it refers to God’s salvation of the Israelites through a victorious battle. The military prowess of the Israelites is attributed to their God, a reputation that would spread among the nations.

1 Corinthians 1:18-24

For the message about the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. For it is written, “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart.” Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, God decided, through the foolishness of our proclamation, to save those who believe. For Jews demand signs and Greeks desire wisdom, but we proclaim Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, but to those who are the called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.

On occasion I have tried to look at Christianity from the perspective of someone who had never heard of it before. As an adult, I have learned about other religions for the first time and evaluated them as I might evaluate a house or a car when I am shopping for one. I have tried to look at Christianity from that same, very objective, cerebral point of view. I have even tried to describe Christianity to non-Christians on our congregation’s website (smotmascoutah.org tab: Christianity Basics – Jesus, God, and the Holy Spirit.) When looked at from that vantage point, Christianity is a foolish religion.

St. Paul sees that too. It is much easier for Paul to see Christianity from this view point because it is the dominant view of his time. It is hard to imagine a world where there are no cathedrals, nuns, monks, or popes. There aren’t even any Bibles! Just scrolls of various books in the Hebrew scriptures but almost no one except the Temple in Jerusalem has the whole collection of scrolls! So Paul Is able to write that yeah, faith in a guy who said he was completely God and completely human who was publicly executed and vilified, then forgotten, but rose from the dead, that faith sounds really foolish. But only for those who don’t have time for that kind of god. For people who have known love and mercy and forgiveness from that God, Jesus’ rejection and abandonment, torture and horrific execution is the power and wisdom of God. It is the way that God has turned our human world upside down to reveal His logic and His way of love.

John 3:13-17

No one has ascended into heaven except the one who descended from heaven, the Son of Man.* 14And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, 15that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.*

16 ‘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.

17 ‘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.

The origin of Jesus is a major theme in John’s gospel. In the first chapter, John tells the reader that Jesus comes from God and is God. The rest of the book is the story of how some believe and some don’t believe this fact.

This pericope (selection of verses) comes from Jesus’ conversation with Nicodemus, a conversation that is an example of faithful Jews trying to wrap their minds around Jesus’ claims. Nicodemus wants to know who Jesus really is: Joseph and Mary’s boy? carpenter, therefore member of the very low trade class? prophet? hero of the people?

Jesus’ answer to Nicodemus’ question is a Gospel of John style admission that he is from God and will return to God but before that, will save from dying eternally all those who believe into him. Why? Because God loves the world so much that saving it is the only option. If that means sending his only offspring, the only one who will carry his name and his right hand of power, to do the job, then that’s what God has done.

Note that Jesus did not come to rail condemnation with a microphone on the crowds that pass his streetcorner. No, Jesus came to save the world God style. So that all people may look on the cross with the eyes of faith and live.