PAST SERMON 2009 #6
by Reverend Pat Blythe, delivered on Sunday March 22, 2009,
at the Church of the Holy Spirit. (Lent 4 Year B)
By Grace We Are Saved Through Faith
In some parts of Mexico hot springs and cold springs are found side by side — and because of the convenience of this natural phenomenon the women bring their laundry and boil their clothes in the hot springs and then rinse them in the cold ones.
A tourist, who was watching this procedure, commented to his Mexican friend and guide: “I imagine that they think old Mother Nature is pretty generous to supply such ample, clean hot and cold water here for their free use.” The guide replied, “No senor, there is much grumbling because she supplies no soap.” (Illustrations’ Unlimited)
This same type of complaining encompassed the people of Israel on their journey to the Promised Land. Perhaps the people were discouraged because they had to travel on a rough and uneven route instead of passing through Edomite country,.
Though they had just obtained a glorious victory over the Canaanites, and were going on conquering, still they spoke very discontentedly of what God had done for them. They complained that they should never have been freed from slavery in Egypt. Out in the wilderness there was no food or drink and they even complained bitterly about the Manna God had graciously granted them.
Some people are just never happy and find something to complain about no matter what the circumstance. You’ve met them — perhaps you even are one or have been from time to time. Such a person always sees the glass half empty and never half full.
The wilderness through which they were passing was full of poisonous snakes and yet God had always protected them. But, because of their complaining, God stopped protecting them and many died after being bitten by the snakes. In their pride they had set themselves up against God and Moses, so God humbled them by making these despicable animals a plague to them.
Once they realized their sin and recognized their own unworthiness before God, they repented and asked Moses to pray for them. Isn’t it interesting that they had just quarrelled with Moses and thought him their worst enemy, but when the tides turned, they acted as if he were their best friend and asked him to be their advocate with God?
God ordered Moses to make a serpent of brass, and set it up on a very long pole, so that it might be seen from all parts of the camp. (Hold up staff) Every one who was stung with a poisonous snake was healed by looking up to this serpent of brass. Today, the bronzed serpent on a pole remains a symbol of healing for the medical profession. This one came from Jerusalem and is not bronze, nor is it tall — but I had to get it in my suitcase.
The people prayed that God would take away the serpents from them, but God saw fit not to do this. He does heal, but not always in the way we want.
It was not the sight of the bronze snake that cured them, but, in looking up to it they looked up to God as the Lord, and it was God who healed them. I found this interesting because the way we rid ourselves of our fears is to face them, with the help of God. Through this action we find we are healed.
In the Gospel of John, Jesus said, “just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so the Son of man must be lifted up, that whoever believes in him should have eternal life. This life is spiritual rather than merely physical. It begins here and now, in this world; but it is also eternal, extending to life with God beyond death. Perhaps the best known passage in scripture is this one: ‘For 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.
As the scripture says, “God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.” But, just as the Israelites complained about God and Moses, so too did people complain about Jesus — calling him a blasphemer, a sinner, a law-breaker. We also know that he was crucified — a most cruel death — because he was a threat to the authorities and because people just didn’t get it!
Jesus Christ came to save us by healing us. Just as the children of Israel who were bitten by poisonous snakes were cured and lived by looking up at the serpent, so are we healed by looking up to the Cross, (hold up cross) and the Holy One who died there and who reigns from that Cross forever. The greatest gift the world has ever been given is Jesus Christ — crucified, dead, and risen! Because he died, we live!
We don’t ask how much a gift cost when we are given it. But in the case of Christ’s gift — we know the cost — the life of the very Son of God. Eternal life is a free gift from God and one we cannot earn. By grace we are saved through faith — not our faith only but the faith of the whole Church.
It cannot be bought; it is pure gift! As gift, it need only be accepted — albeit, with all the thanks we can muster. And, yes, sometimes a leap of faith is required. Sometimes putting a toe in the water isn't enough. Sometimes we just have to jump in, and believe that Jesus will be there to catch us. If the Israelites had been willing to trust their faith and their God, they would have “jumped into the water” so to speak — they would have trusted Moses and not bitten the hand that fed them — and many would not have died. But, they chose to learn the hard way.
If we Christians were willing to trust our faith and our Christ, we too could take that leap of faith and jump into the water of love and peace and healing that Christ came to bring. If only we could learn to listen, to open our eyes, and not bite the hand that saves us, then just maybe this world would be a better place, just maybe it would look more like the kingdom Christ died to bring.
If, instead of complaining that there was no soap provided by God, those Mexican women could have set an example to others of thankfulness for what they had been given and for how blessed they were. If, instead of complaining about the manna and the conditions of travelling in the desert, the Israelites could have set the bar high by an attitude of gratitude, and lived the faith they had been taught by Moses, the end of that story might have been quite different. If we Christians could see the glass half full and could live in a spirit of thankfulness, this world would be changed! After all, we have Jesus’ promise to be with us always and that we will have eternal life with him, beginning this very day.
And now to God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit, be all might, majesty, dominion and praise, now and forever.
AMEN.