Homily Reflection: Time Out

Feast of the Exaltation of the Cross - Sept 14, 2014

Numbers 21:4b-9; Psalm 78:1bc-2, 34-35, 36-37, 38;  Philippians 2:6-11; Gospel: John 3:13-17

This Sunday is the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross. The first reading involves a rebellion against Moses and God by the Israelites. Moses has two bronze serpents made for the people to look at. My entire life I wondered what that meant. 

In the letter of James, verse 1:23 are these words: "For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks at his own face in a mirror."  After preparing for this Sunday and then reading this verse in James maybe I understand a little bit more.

The Israelite peoples complained against God and Moses. They complained about their food and their living conditions as they wandered in the desert. Because of their complaining and saying they were disgusted by the gifts that God had given them. God punished them by sending the seraph serpents among the people which bit them and many died. 

I think God just stopped protecting them from the things that were in the desert. In the desert, things like snakes, scorpions, and spiders would have had to of been everywhere. But, they didn't have any problems and weren't bitten until they rebelled and started to complain to Moses and to God. 

When I read the verse from James, it dawned on me what this was about. The first rebel in the Bible is the serpent. He complains to Adam and Eve what God is keeping from them. So God sends the serpents as punishment. A reflection of what the people have become.

The Israelites followed Moses and heard the word of the LORD given to Moses. They were provided for and protected in the desert by God: given water and given food. They walked through the Red Sea. They were saved from the Pharaoh’s army. But they weren't happy and did not see any of this as good. They spoke against God just like the serpent in the Garden.

The people saw only for their own gain, only what they wanted, and did not see God’s plan. They didn't see that God was providing and protecting them from the snakes, serpents, spiders, scorpions and all the nasty things of the desert. So, God stopped. The serpents came, just like the serpent in the Garden to take away their life.  Not just the one serpent, but all the serpents that had been held back by God were free to come into camp. The people did sin against God and God punished them.

When I was little and misbehaved, my mother would tell me to sit in a corner and think about what I had done. We say we will not be like our parents, but I am and I did the same thing with my children. I’m sure than many parents corrected their children this way, sending them to "time out."

Maybe the bronze serpents were part of God's "time out" in punishing the rebellious children of Israel. The bronze serpents would have been like a mirror - nice shiny and bright. Think about what you’ve done. Think about what you’ve become. In the bronze serpents the punished children of Israel can see the reflection in what they have done wrong. 

God told Moses to send the children to sit in a quiet spot and think about it. Look at the snakes that bit you, repent, and "you will live." Look at what God protected you from and be thankful.

Then again, more than likely this is not what it means. Just a country boy's thoughts; but, I like this as an explanation of difficult part of the Old Testament.  There are some Jewish and Christian Theologians who have had similar thoughts.

All in all, people are the same now as they were then. We still live in a time were the serpents are real enough. 

People see themselves and their needs. Today, it is poplar for preachers to preach that if you’re happy and successful then God is happy. That's what people want to hear. Greed, avarice, and hubris are often thought of as good traits. Forgotten are the needs of others. Forgotten is the command to bring Christ to others.

In the modern world, the move is to forget Jesus' gospel and his new covenant. Forget the liturgy and bring the people what they want; concerts, coffee bars, and doughnuts instead of the bread of life. In this self centered world, the serpents are out there waiting to bite.

But, we are so lucky. We have Christ Jesus to protect us. Jesus took on all our weaknesses, all our sins, all our failings, and all the serpents that we reflect in ourselves from this world and took them to the cross with him to redeem us.

Instead of being like the Israelites who looked at the reflection of their sin in the bronze serpents, we are asked to look upon a reflection of our salvation.

We need to be like wayward children; reflecting on what we've done wrong and look to the cross. Christ made the cross a symbol of obedience and humility. Christ made the cross the symbol of God's generosity through our justification.  It is the cross that will not let us forget the works of the Lord.

Maybe, we need to look at the cross and open our self to hear God’s word through the ultimate doer of God’s will, Christ Jesus. We shouldn't see our own selves on the cross but the face of so many others who need us. Maybe, we should sit and look at the cross and repent; so, we can saved and have eternal life.

Prayer
Lord Jesus; Keep us from being the world's reflection; but, let us be a living mirror of the love and wisdom that you brought to the world. Amen