Thursday, March 15, 2012

The Cross, the Snake, and Our Salvation (Reflections on Lent 4)

"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."
                                                                    John 3:14

Now, you may well ask, "What does the crucifixion of Jesus have to do with a snake on a stick?" Just to refresh your memory, take a look at the wilderness story in Numbers21:4-9, the Hebrew Scripture lesson assigned for this Sunday in the Revised Common Lectionary.

The story goes like this: The Hebrew people, after having escaped slavery in Egypt through the Red Sea, have been wandering around in the wilderness seeking the Promised Land. They are, alas, too used to being slaves to risk entering and fighting for the land; therefore, on the verge of entering, they retreat, wander around some more, and whine, bitch, and  moan that they are stuck in the wilderness with little water and "miserable" food. God, who, in the Hebrwew Scriptures seems to be easily offended, retaliates against these crybabies by sending poisonous serpents to bite and kill them.

(Have you noticed how testy the Lord gets in the Old Testament?)

The people immediately repent of their complaining and beg their leader, Moses, to talk to God and smooth things over. Moses does so, and God instructs him to make a bronze effigy of a snake and place it on a pole. Whenever a snakebite victim looks at the bronze snake, the victim's life is spared.

If one were of a literal turn of mind, this snakebite cure may seem mere superstition. I, however see it as very good psychology should we interpret the story a bit more symbolically. It's just plain common sense that we can never address an issue which we don't acknowledge having. By looking at the snake, the people are forced to recognize two things:

First: We're all going to die. This loathsome reptile is a representation of fear and death. Facing this reality should inspire us to live more authentic lives. It should bring us to repentance. (Repentance, by the way, comes to us in English via a torturous linguistic journey from roots meaning "to experience suffering again." It is usually the word we use for the Greek New Testament word metanoia, which means "to change the mind." Just thought you might find that interesting.)

Secondly: The people should look at the snake not only as the instrument of death, but as the embodiment of their own wickedness. After all, what is it the snakes are doing? They are killing with poison from their mouths. In seeing the snake, the people see themselves. In divine irony, God has made the punishment fit the crime. The complaining, whining people are spewing poisonous words, fermenting indignation, destroying unity, and breeding despair. It is only through acknowledging their sin that they can amend their lives and community.

So where is Jesus in all of this? Someone such as the 12th Century theologian Peter Abelard (1079-1142) might see this reference in John's gospel as an example of the "moral influence" theory of atonement. In seeing Christ suffering on the cross we see the most disgustingly brutal example of cruelty human beings have been capable of devising. The cross is a first-rate example of our desire to control through fear and intimidation. The passion story is an illustration of our tendancy towards betrayal, mockery, and lack of compassion. In the suffering Christ is the suffering of all the weak, the poor, the powerless. In beholding what we human beings are capable of doing we confront our own hypocrisy and apathy.

But we also see much more than that. In the cross of Christ we behold a love so powerful that it overwhelms us. Jesus elected to go to the cross for the sake of a suffering people. In Jesus we see the gretest example of love--sacrifice for others.

For me, the cross must always be central. In it I see the intersection of my selfish faults and Jesus' selfless love. And somewhere, in this intersection of both horror and heroic rapture, lies my healing.

May God bless you all during this holy season. Thanks so much for dropping by. Please come again next week!

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