Sunday, March 10, 2024

Fourth Sunday of Lent
Numbers 21:4-9
Psalm 107:1-9
Ephesians 2:1-10
John 3:14-21

For he satisfies the longing soul. He fills the hungry soul with good.

Have you ever stood in front of a refrigerator or pantry full of food and find there is nothing to eat? Oh, there’s plenty of food, but nothing looks good. Nothing is worth the work and time to cook it. Everything is bland and unappetizing. We settle for something when we are hungry enough, but we are sure there must be something that would taste better and be more fulfilling. Instead of feeling blessed to have an overflowing abundance, we complain that it isn’t the right food.

The Hebrews had plenty to eat, but they were tired of eating the same old manna day after day after day. Can’t you see them saying, “There’s nothing to eat here!” just like we do when we can’t find what we really want? They complained about everything. They were tired of wandering in the wilderness. They complained against Moses and God. They wanted to return to the slavery of Egypt. Did they really expect that the food would be better in Egypt? After all, they were slaves and would never have received the best of fare. However, when we are not satisfied with our situation, we always expect that things will be greener on the other side of the fence. They thought that the food for slaves had to be better than the manna of freemen.

God was disappointed by their lack of faith and trust. The Hebrews wanted control. They, perhaps rightfully, felt helpless. Moses had led them into the wilderness away from their homes and everything they knew. Their life was not comfortable; they were oppressed and were being worked to death as slaves to the Pharaoh, and they hated their life. When Moses led them out of Egypt, they were excited to be alive and free. But the Promised Land was not right around the corner. Their wandering in the wilderness became such a burden that they began to look back on their sojourn in Egypt with fond memories. It had to be better in slavery than starving and thirsting, lost in the desert. Even though God was providing them with all that they needed - safety, food and water - they hungered and thirsted for Egypt.

The snakes got their attention. The people went to Moses and asked him to pray for them. Moses did pray and the LORD heard their pleas. Did He remove the snakes? That certainly would have been the most logical and loving solution to the problem, but in His mercy, God did not remove the poisonous snakes. Instead, He commanded Moses to create a bronze snake on a pole. When the people were bit, they could look at the snake and be healed. Ironic, isn’t it? Looking to the very thing that brought death brought them healing and life. God gave them the sign so that they could have a visible reminder of His salvation and deliverance.

The psalm for today is a call to praise God, given to those who know God’s redemption. It names several groups of people, including those who are wandering in the wilderness, freed prisoners and seafarers who have been saved from a shipwreck. In the section we read today, the psalmist calls out to those who have been healed from their sickness. They passage tells us that they abhor all manner of food and they draw near the gates of death. I’m sure we’ve all felt that way at some point. When we are suffering from the flue, we can’t possibly eat anything and we feel like we will never survive. At those times we do cry out for help and we eventually get better. Do we think God when we do? Do we really see our healing from the flu as an act of God?

Most often, I think, we see getting well from something like the flu as a natural course in the disease. While we felt like we were going to die from it, we knew we wouldn’t. We knew that we would eventually feel better and would be able to return to normal life as we know it. We don’t really give God the credit for making us better because there was nothing miraculous about getting over a cold or flu. So, we forget to thank and praise God for His healing, even though we did cry out for His help.

And what happens when our cry is not answered as we might hope? Sometimes faithful people get sick and never get well. Sometimes we ask for healing but we only see further deterioration of the one we love. Now, I am not saying the loss of a pet is the same as the loss of a human being, but how many of us have watched someone we love go through a similar process as our Felix? I’ve lost both my parents to disease, and prayed expectantly that they would both be healed. Though medical science is gaining ground on remedies and cures for disease, people still die. Does God not hear their cry, too?

God does hear their cry, but His answer is not always the answer we are looking to receive. Sometimes the best healing is the worst thing we can imagine: death. Sometimes God gives the redemption that will be eternal instead of a temporary return to whatever is normal in our world.

Marriage is the joining of two people, but it is much more than that. It is the joining of two families. Those families are often very different, especially in today’s world when young couples meet when they live far from home at college or at their first big job. These two families often have very distinct cultures. City girls marry country boys. Boys from New York marry southern bells. California babes marry Texas oil sons. In each case, their worlds are very different, and though they get along as a couple, it is harder to bring their families together.

Sometimes it doesn’t happen; those families only merge in name, meeting together only at that one big wedding event and never gathering together again. The couple often has to make tough decisions about where to go for holidays and who to invite for special events. On those rare occasions when the families do gather together, the atmosphere is strained as they try to deal with their differences, rather than celebrate their common love for the couple.

Christianity is the bringing together of two very distinct “families.” The Jews had a number of expectations of their people, rules to live by, and things to do. Those rules limited their gathering with people like themselves. They were not allowed to eat with Gentiles or purchase certain things. Their rules kept them separated from others, not because of their nationality but because of their actions. The Gentiles did things that made them unclean according to those Jewish laws. They ate food that was unclean. They worked on the Sabbath. They had followed other deities and practiced unacceptable religious traditions.

So, when Christ came and died for all men, those early Christians had to deal with the marriage of two very distinct cultures. They had to find a way to live together, work together, and worship God together. It was hard for them, and it is still hard for us. Despite two thousand years of trying to work out these issues, we still have many Christians who find it difficult to get along. “We” look at “them” and do not understand their culture or religious practices. Some argue against creeds, others think creeds are the way we define our belief. Some like liturgical settings of worship, others feel crowded by the routine. Some use the word “trespasses” in the Lord’s Prayer, others use “debts.” These may seem minor to those on the outside, but they can be major stumbling blocks for those of us trying to deal with this incredible marriage between cultures.

The Ephesians were dealing with these issues, so in his letter to the Ephesian Paul wrote about what we have in common. We were all sinners in need of a Savior, and we all have faith in the same Savior, Jesus Christ. God loves us all. It isn’t by our traditions and practices that we are saved. It isn’t the way we say the Lord’s Prayer or the form of our worship that brings us salvation. We are saved by grace and are made alive together in Christ Jesus. We may have to be like those families that don’t get together but love one another because we have a common love. We may, sometimes, be able to find the courage and humility to gather together for His sake, despite our differences. Whatever happens in the family of Christ, we are who we are because of what God has done, and as we remember this, we will look at our “in-laws” (“in-graces”?) with a whole new perspective, through Jesus-colored glasses, so to speak. And we can work together to do God’s will in this world.

There are quite a few television shows that look into the paranormal, myths, legends, and other unexplained mysteries. I prefer the shows that take a scientific look at the study of these things. They go into places with reports of abnormal events and use specialized equipment to see if they can catch evidence to prove or disprove the claims. Some of the shows go into the situation certain that they will prove the paranormal, but others are purposely skeptical and try to prove that there are natural explanations for the events.

On one episode of “The Ghost Hunters”, the team went into a home where the residents were experiencing nausea, sleeplessness, depression, and sightings of oddly shaped shadows. When the team went through the home, they discovered that the man worked with many dangerous chemicals and that the heating system was located in the very room where he worked. The fumes from those chemicals circulated through their heating system into the rooms where the couple spent most of their time, especially the bedroom where they sleep. The team also found dangerously high electro-magnetic fields and mold. They found nothing on their video or audio tapes to confirm paranormal activity. So, as they revealed their findings to the couple, they said that it was necessary for them to take care of these other issues. The fumes, electro-magnetic fields, and the mold could be a natural cause for all their problems. Knowing this information meant that the couple could take control. They saw their problems and could deal with it. If, after getting rid of those problems they still experienced paranormal activity, then the crew could visit again and do a new study.

The crews of these paranormal shows usually investigate the sites at night. They set up their equipment and then turn out all the lights, banging around in darkness. Though some experiences happen during the daytime, paranormal activity tends to heighten at night. Plus, most of their equipment is designed to work in the dark, to capture fields outside the normal range of human vision and sound.

We often forget that the people are walking in darkness as we watch. On one episode, several people were inside an ancient chapel building late at night far from any light pollution. For them, the room was pitch black, so much so that they could not even see their hands. When two of the investigators were sitting side by side on a pew, one asked the other where she was. She thought the other investigator had just walked behind her. I wondered how she could make that mistake, after all, on film we can see them perfectly. How could she not know the other investigator was right next to her? Then I remembered, it is so dark they can’t see their hands, but with those special cameras, we are given enough light to see what is going on.

John 3:16 is one of the most beloved of all the scriptures; it is probably one of the most quoted (and perhaps even misquoted) verses in the Bible. Yet, there is so much more to today’s passage than just that one verse about God loving the world so much to give His only Son, so that all who believe in the Son will live forever. This passage is about light. Jesus Christ is the light, and without Him we live in darkness. He is like those night vision cameras that help us to see when there is no natural light around us. We might prefer to live in the world as we know it, without that Light of Christ, because there is so much in that world we enjoy. Yet, peace, hope, and life are found in the world Jesus has created by redeeming His people by His blood. Living in God’s love, living in love of others and serving them, might not seem like the happiest way of life, that’s why so many people reject it, but those of us who believe have seen the light and have eternal life that will be better than anything we can want or imagine in this life.

I have a cousin who got into trouble when he was a youth. He was caught up with the wrong crowd, doing the wrong things, acting out against everything and everyone. One day he was hanging out with friends and under the influence of something, when they decided to burn down an old, abandoned house on their street. They didn’t consider the consequences of their actions; they didn’t consider what could happen if they did this. They decided the house was worthless because it was empty and falling apart. It was an eyesore and a health hazard. It didn’t matter. Unfortunately, there was a homeless man sleeping in the house and he died in the fire. No matter how they justified the fire, they could not justify murder.

My cousin was caught and tried for arson and murder. He spent many years in prison paying for his crime. He could have responded to this defeat by living in darkness, turning to revenge and hatred and more crime. That’s what happens to many people who end up in prison. They think they have no choice but to do what is wrong. They learn how to fend for themselves, growing more egocentric as they sit alone in their cells pondering their lives. A few, perhaps very few, realize that they have done wrong, and they look beyond themselves for hope and redemption. They seek healing and peace.

My cousin wrote to me on several occasions about how thankful he was to have been caught. He believed that the life he was living was leading him toward death. Prison helped him see the reality: that he was a sinner in need of salvation. My cousin grew up in a Christian household; his mother was very active with her church, and she encouraged her children to follow her footsteps in the faith. They attended worship together and went to Sunday school. But everything he learned about God in those younger years was lost to his self-centered occupation of trouble as he grew older. He forgot the Savior that had already saved him. In prison he was set free from his selfishness and pettiness so that he could live truly free in the world. He saw that his trouble was not only because his actions were sinful, but that his attitude reflected his sinful nature.

It would have been very easy for him to stay in the dark. Many prisoners do, and when they are released, they return to the world to act out against the society that had imprisoned them. The crime builds, from minor infractions to major ones, from assault to murder, from theft to armed robbery. They take the lessons learned in prison and use them not to do good things, but to do bad things better. On the other hand, my cousin caught a glimpse of the Light he had known as a child and turned back to it. To him, prison was God’s way of calling him back to Himself.

God could have saved every one of the Israelites who were bit by the snakes, taking away the poison and making them well. He didn’t need to give them a snake on a pole to look at when they were ill. He could have removed the snakes from the situation, driving them further into the wilderness and away from His people. However, they had to learn how to trust God in their times of trouble, not to count on Him to always get them out of it. They needed a sign of God’s presence to help them look toward Him when they were losing hope. They needed a glimmer of light in the darkness to remind them that they were never alone.

We also need a reminder when we are caught in the midst of trouble. We forget that our worldly problems are temporary, and we sink into despair. Like those prisoners who return to crime when they are released, we often get more self-centered when we face difficulties. We don’t understand why God won’t just take it away and set us free. God can do it; He could make life nothing but roses and cake for us, but what kind of life would that be? God has given us the freedom to live as we wish in this world, but our desires often get us in trouble. So, He also gives us a reminder of His presence and love in our lives. He lifted Jesus on a pole, just as Moses lifted the snake on a pole. We need only look toward Him to find healing and peace. He calls us to this life of thanksgiving, looking toward the One who is the Light of the world.

Today’s story takes place well after Mt. Sinai, but the grumbling began just days or weeks after they crossed the Red Sea. They grumbled constantly during their journey which was meant to teach them how to trust. It was a hard earned but shortly held lesson. God’s people fell to unfaithfulness over and over again. When they did, God used the world to help them to look to Him again. Whether it was war, exile or oppression, the suffering they faced was given as a gift to bring about repentance and faith.

Today’s Old Testament lesson is the aftermath of one of those moments. Numbers 21:1-3 tells the story of their first battle as a new community under God’s grace. The king of Arad attacked the wandering nation as they passed near to his land and captured some of them. Israel vowed a vow to God: “If you will indeed deliver this people into my hand, then I will utterly destroy their cities.” It wasn’t enough for their people to be set free; they wanted to destroy those who had harmed them. God gave the Canaanites over to the Israelites and they completely destroyed them. God made it happen, but we get caught up in our successes. They believed they had the power to defeat a great enemy.

Moses next led them a roundabout way to avoid Edom. The people were upset by this route; they were impatient and thought it was a waste of their time. Why shouldn’t they go into Edom and use their new found strength to take what they needed? They could find fresh food and water; they could eat something besides manna and quail. The Israelites exaggerated their needs. “Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no bread, and there is no water; and our soul loathes this light bread.” They were sure they were going to die. I didn’t think I was going to die, but I must confess that during that storm, I exaggerated my complaints to God about my suffering.

The Promised Land was not right around the corner but they weren’t going to die from starvation. God provided for them: the manna and quail filled them, and they had enough to survive. They didn’t want to just survive and their desires turned them away from God. The Israelites wanted control; they spoke against God and Moses. They complained the way we complain when we can’t find something we want to eat in the pantry or refrigerator. Manna was not food to these people even though it filled their bellies. They imagined that back in Egypt they would be eating comfort foods like chocolate and fine wine.

The people exaggerated the dangers they faced in the desert, especially since they had the God of creation, the God of their forefathers, protecting and leading them. All they could see was what they had left behind. Sure, they had been slaves, but they had food other than manna and quail. God had to remind them that they were not in control.

This story of snakes is hard for us to accept. It doesn’t fit with our expectation of God. Why would He do such a thing? Why would He send dangerous snakes into the camp? Why would He allow so many to die? The poisonous snakes were a way of getting their attention before they did more harm to themselves by rebelling and returning to Egypt. Would Pharaoh welcome the slaves back with open arms and a huge barbeque? No, they would go back to their own deaths, and they would be alone, without God. If they turned back to Egypt, they turned their back on their Savior. Returning to Egypt would have been worse than poisonous snakes because it would have led to the annihilation of God’s people.

Thankfully, God gives us something to look at, to remind us of His grace. When we look to Jesus, we see the Light that reminds us that all God’s promises and covenants are real.

We truly see the God of mercy on the cross. Could God have removed the serpents from the camp of the Israelites? Of course He could have, but He didn’t. Instead He gave them a way to be healed. Could God forgive without the cross? Why didn’t He find another way to save us from our troubles? I don’t have the answer to that question, for I do not know the mind of God. I do know that when I need to know God’s presence, I can look to the cross and Jesus will draw me back by His grace. It is there I can most clearly see God’s love. In the cross I see my sin and my sinful nature and I see His mercy and His grace. Any freedom I have, or peace, or joy, or hope, or even faith has nothing to do with me. Everything is a gift from God, given not because I’ve done anything right, but out of His deep love for me. As a matter of fact, I was dead, and He died so that I might live.

We continue to do things our way, to rely on ourselves and put our trust in the things of this world that will perish. Yet, we need not fall into despair when things seem to be falling apart around us. There is hope that has been lifted up above a messed-up world. His name is Jesus. He satisfies and fills the needy soul with everything we need.