Tag: faith and works

Homily for the 4th Sunday of Lent (B)

Today’s readings are a workout.  The serpent in the desert, God’s love and the refusal of many to accept it, faith and works, the prophets, Israel’s exile in Babylon, and King Cyrus, a Gentile who saves the day.  Getting through today’s readings means not just getting in your spiritual steps for the day—it’s more like earning a medal for the decathlon.

For a bit of mid-Lent spiritual exercise, the first image from today’s Gospel is a good place to start.  At first glance, it might seem a bit obscure.  What was Moses doing lifting up a serpent in the desert?  Jesus is referring to an incident during Israel’s wandering in the desert found in the Book of Numbers.  The Israelites, as seems to be their habit, complain against God and against Moses, saying “There is no food” and “We loathe this worthless food.”  The complaint does raise the question, which is it?  Is there no food or just food the Israelites don’t like?  There seems to be a bit of manipulative use of language in the Israelites’ rebelliousness, perhaps even a bit of self-delusion.  The phenomenon is not unique to the ancient world.  Today our political and social divisions are often made worse because we use exaggerated terms to describe our opponents and their intentions—or to mask uncomfortable facts we do not want to hear—and then we start to believe our own rhetoric.  The result is poisonous.  And, in fact, in the Book of Numbers, God punishes the people of Israel for their rebellion by sending fiery serpents to bite them.

Continue reading “Serpents, Cyrus, and salvation”