Thoughts on Sunday’s Lessons for March 10, 2024 (Lent 4B)

Moses and the Brazen Serpent (1618-1620), oil painting on canvas by Anthony Van Dyck (1599-1641). Museo del Prado, Madrid. (Click image to enlarge.)

First Reading: Numbers 21:4-9

Sunday’s first reading recounts the Book of Numbers’ bewildering account of God sending deadly poisonous snakes to punish an ungrateful people – and a curative bronze serpent that seems suspiciously like an idol. This might strike us as an ancient legend, easily ignored. But then John’s Gospel shows Jesus citing those same verses to set the context for the famous words in John 3:16, which we will hear in Sunday’s Gospel! This makes the serpent story a little more difficult to ignore. Here’s a way to internalize it: When you think you’re surrounded by snakes, look up. Remember that God is with us.

Psalm: Psalm 107:1-3, 17-22

The theme that we hear in this passage from Psalm 107 offers soothing balm after the shock of venomous snakes and bronze serpents in the reading from Numbers. The Psalmist invites us to repent, to turn back, to give thanks for God’s mercy with shouts of joy. Even when we are foolish, when we rebel, when we sin, when we are afraid, these verses offer reassurance: As soon as we cry out for God, God will respond to us as beloved children, granting us healing and salvation.

Second Reading: Ephesians 2:1-10

This letter, likely written to the people of Ephesus and other communities by a later Christian leader writing in Paul’s name, imagines something just about as frightening and potentially deadly as a passel of serpents: A shadowy spirit, a “ruler of the power of the air,” stands ready to lure those who prefer passion and the flesh to a saving life in Christ. Like those healed by gazing at Moses’ bronze serpent, those who follow Christ are saved by God’s mercy and raised up by the gift of grace through Jesus. In words that would inspire some reformers a millennium and a half later, the author of Ephesians declares that we are saved by grace only, not by anything that we do to try to earn salvation.

Gospel: John 3:14-21

“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.” For many Christians, this week’s lessons could start and finish right there with John 3:16. But wait! Did Jesus just begin by comparing himself to Moses’ bronze serpent? This passage picks up in the middle of Jesus’s conversation with the Pharisee Nicodemus, who came to visit him by night. Surely Jesus is teaching from the Torah, with which both he and Nicodemus would have been intimately familiar; Numbers is his text. We cannot take John 3:16 out of its context without reading the verses that come before and after. John makes clear that we all have power to choose between darkness and the light. Just as God provided the Israelites a way to repent and be healed, so a loving God offers healing grace to all.

Thoughts on Sunday’s Lessons for March 14, 2021

First Reading: Numbers 21:4-9

In Sunday’s first reading we hear a strange account of poisonous snakes sent by God to punish an ungrateful people – and a curative bronze serpent that seems suspiciously like an idol.

Moses and the Brass Serpent, (late 16th century), oil painting on oak wood, by the flemish painter Jacob de Backer (c.1555-c.1591). Schorr Collection, United Kingdom. (Click image to enlarge.)

This might just strike us as another of Scripture’s ancient legends, easily ignored. But then we turn to John’s Gospel and find Jesus alluding to this strange passage to set the context for his famous words in John 3:16, “God so loved the world that he gave his only Son”! This connection makes the serpent story a little more difficult to ignore. Perhaps it’s as simple as this: When we feel that we’re surrounded by serpents, look up and remember that God is with us.

Psalm: Psalm 107:1-3, 17-22

Following that startling passage about poisonous snakes and bronze serpent idols in the first reading, the Psalm appointed for this day provides some relief. Give thanks for God’s enduring mercy, the Psalmist tells us. Even when we are foolish; when we rebel and when we sin, and even when we are afraid, once we cry out for God and repent, return, and give thanks for God’s mercy, God hears our prayers and showers us, like children, with healing and salvation.

Second Reading: Ephesians 2:1-10

We find no actual serpents in the Letter to the Ephesians, a document likely written in Paul’s name by a later follower. But it imagines something just about as frightening and potentially deadly: a shadowy spirit, a “ruler of the power of the air.” Those who prefer passion and the flesh to life in Christ can be lured by this spirit, the writer says. But like those healed by gazing at Moses’ bronze serpent, we are saved by God’s mercy and raised up by God’s gift of grace through Jesus; not by anything that we can do to try to earn salvation.

Gospel: John 3:14-21

“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.” For many Christians, this week’s lessons could start and finish right there. But wait! What is that serpent doing there? We might wonder if Jesus is teaching from Torah, with which he and his followers would have been intimately familiar, and Numbers is his text. We cannot yank John 3:16 out of its context without considering the verses that surround it. In his nighttime conversation with the Pharisee Nicodemus, Jesus makes clear that we all have power to choose between darkness and the light. Just as God provided the Israelites a way to repent and be healed, so God offers us healing grace through Jesus.

Thoughts on Sunday’s Lessons for March 11, 2018

Moses and the Brazen Serpent (1640). Oil painting on oak panel by Adriaen van Nieulandt the younger (c,1586–1658). Dayton Art Institute. (Click image to enlarge.)

Our Sunday readings begin with the strange account of poisonous snakes sent by God to punish an ungrateful people, and the bronze serpent that God directs Moses to create to heal the deadly snakebites. We may be tempted to laugh off this ancient legend, but note that the metaphor, and its teaching, continues through the day’s readings, concluding in John’s Gospel where it sets the context for the famous words of Jesus in John 3:16! This makes the serpent story a little more difficult to ignore. Here’s one way to view it: When you think you’re surrounded by snakes, look up. Remember that God is with us.

Psalm: Psalm 107:1-3, 17-22

The message that we hear in Sunday’s Psalm offers soothing balm after the shock of venomous snakes and bronze serpents in the first reading. Now we are invited to repent, to turn, to give thanks for God’s mercy with shouts of joy. Even when we are foolish, when we rebel, when we sin, when we are afraid, as soon as we cry out for God, God will respond to us as beloved children, granting us healing and salvation.

Second Reading: Ephesians 2:1-10

This letter, likely written to the people of Ephesus and other communities by a later Christian leader writing in Paul’s name, does not actually invoke deadly serpents, but it imagines something just about as frightening and potentially deadly: A shadowy spirit, a “ruler of the power of the air,” stands ready to lure in those who prefer passion and the flesh to a saving life in Christ. Like those healed by gazing at Moses’ bronze serpent, those who follow Christ are saved by God’s mercy and raised up by the gift of grace through Jesus. We are saved by grace only, not by anything that we do to try to earn salvation.

Gospel: John 3:14-21

“… 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.” For many Christians, this week’s lessons could start and finish right there. But wait! Did Jesus just begin by comparing himself to Moses’ bronze serpent? This passage is part of Jesus’ conversation with the Pharisee Nicodemus, who came to visit him by night. Surely Jesus is teaching from the Torah, with which they are both intimately familiar; Numbers is his text. We cannot yank John 3:16 out of its context without reading the verses that precede, and those that follow and make clear that we all have power to choose between darkness and the light. Just as God provided the Israelites a way to repent and be healed, so God offers us healing grace through Jesus.

Thoughts on Today’s Lessons for March 15, 2015

Moses and the Brazen Serpent. Anthony Van Dyck, 1620; Museo del Prado, Madrid.

This strange account of poisonous snakes sent by God to punish an ungrateful people – and a curative bronze serpent that seems suspiciously like an idol – might strike us as an ancient legend, easily ignored. But then John’s Gospel shows Jesus citing those very verses to set the context for his famous words in John 3:16! This makes the serpent story a little more difficult to ignore. Perhaps it’s as simple as this: When we feel that we’re surrounded by serpents, look up and remember that God is with us.

Psalm: Psalm 107:1-3, 17-22

In the context of that frightening reading from Numbers, it becomes easy to hear the message that the Psalmist offers us today: Give thanks for God’s mercy. Even when we are foolish, even when we rebel; even when we sin, and even when we are afraid, when we cry out for God, God hears our prayers and showers us, God’s children, with healing and salvation.

Second Reading: Ephesians 2:1-10

We find no actual serpents in Ephesians, a letter likely written by a later follower of Paul. But there’s still plenty to fear in the image of a shadowy spirit, a “ruler of the power of the air,” who lures those who prefer passion and the flesh to life in Christ. Like those healed by gazing at Moses’ bronze serpent, we are saved by God’s mercy and raised up by God’s gift of grace through Jesus; not by anything that we can do to try to earn salvation.

Gospel: John 3:14-21

“… 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.” For many Christians, this week’s lessons could start and finish right there. But wait! What is that serpent doing here? We might consider that Jesus is preaching from the Torah, with which he and his followers would have been intimately familiar, and Numbers is his text. Can we fully comprehend John 3:16 without the context of John 3:14-15? Perhaps we could read it this way: Just as God gave the Israelites a way to repent of their sins and be healed, God gives us healing grace through Jesus.