by
the Rev. Howard Seip
John
3:14-21
As we gather for worship this morning we are in the
midst of a very special season in the church.
One in which we prepare our hearts and minds for the joy of Easter and
seek to grow in our spiritual lives. But
this is also a special day in particular because in times past, when the season
of Lent was a much more serious and somber thing, when it involved much more rigorous
discipline and adversity for even the average church goer, people came to
church on this day in the very midst of Lent to find some spiritual
refreshment.
They came to connect with the sense of joy that
there is in following God that can delight the heart. To seek and find treasures of spiritual
wisdom that would enlighten the heart and inspire the soul. So I invite us all to reflect and meditate
together for just a little while with that journey and pilgrimage of discovery
in mind. And we’ll seek to do this by
using the Bible readings that have been selected for this Sunday.
Now when I began to try to do just this very thing
for myself and also see where I might lead us in our own reflections this
morning, I started with our reading from the Old Testament book of
Numbers. The story that we just heard
about the people of Israel during their journey in the wilderness after their
exodus from Egypt. Perhaps I thought, we
will be inspired and strengthened in our spiritual lives by what we read there. Well, you remember the beginning of that
story, where the people, rather than being a model of trusting faithfulness,
explode in anger and complain against both Moses and even worse, against their
God. In a short account that appears to
have been badly edited in ancient times, they are both enraged because they are
starving because they have no water or food, and at the same time are
infuriated because the food that they have been given tastes horrible.
Well, aside from being reminded that complaining is
a bad thing, I didn’t find the inspiration that I was seeking there, so I
thought that I would keep looking. And
when I did, I found that the very next section was about the people being
bitten by poisonous snakes so that many of them died. Now fruitless wandering in the desert for
years without food or water would have been just about quite enough for
me. But when you add in poisonous snakes
that could kill me, I would have been out of there for sure! So I kept reading.
We all remember that the passage ends with Moses
making a bronze snake and put it on a pole so that the people could gaze upon
it. And when they did, they would be
healed and cured. Now that was
interesting, but still perhaps not completely inspiring, so I decided to look
further and came upon a commentary that suggested that this conclusion to the
story reflected origins in of all things, a primitive Canaanite snake
cult.
A primitive Canaanite snake cult? Well, for better or worse, I’m the kind of
person who would find that interesting, and still seeking spiritual
inspiration, I decided to dig even deeper.
And when I did, and finally found something, I discovered that scholars
think that it had something to do with erotic activities involving a fertility
god. Now once again, I’m just the kind
of person who would find exploring that intriguing, but for a sermon at 10
o’clock on a Sunday morning, not so much.
Still not exactly what I’d call spiritual inspiration. You’re welcome.
But if we remember our gospel lesson, we will recall
that the author of the Gospel of John clearly did find inspiration in the image
of Moses and the people and the raising of the bronze serpent in the desert for
his interpretation of the meaning of the life of Christ. For in it he sees an image or symbol of the
meaning and power of Christ’s cross and crucifixion to heal and bring salvation
to us. So mercifully we will leave
behind our story from Numbers and see if the wisdom and spiritual truth we seek
this morning will be found in our reading from John’s gospel.
Some of you will probably recall that our reading
today is taken from John’s story of Jesus’ conversation with Nicodemus. Nicodemus comes to Jesus seeking wisdom, and
he tells him that no one can see God, or God’s presence or reign without being
born again, or from above, from God’s mysterious and elusive Spirit. It is in this context that John proclaims
that just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness so that the people
could see it and be healed and have new life, so Jesus was lifted up so that
those who have faith in him might have eternal life and come to know God.
And for many of us here today, in the cross we might
find the image or symbol for our spiritual inspiration and growth in
wisdom. We might spend time reflecting
on its power to bring God’s love and salvation and new life to us. Probably at least a few of us are wearing
crosses this very day here in church because the importance of this symbol to
us in our lives with Christ. I myself am
wearing a cross that is made out of nails wrapped together that was put
together by children in a Sunday school class during Lent in a church I was
serving one year and then presented to me by them during worship. Because of that, it has real personal
significance to me.
But as fruitful as the cross might be
for our reflection and inspiration, I’d like to turn our attention to another
image or symbol of Christ in our passage, that of Christ as the light. You might remember that it comes in at the
end of the reading where John proclaims that the light (that is, Christ) has
come into the world. And you might also
recall that this is not the first time that John has used the image of light to
describe Christ. For instead of using a
birth story to tell us about how Christ came into the world, he says that in
Christ was life and that life was the light of all people. For that light shines in the night and that
true light, which enlightens everyone, had come into the world.
It’s a great image for Christ, because
light is so important and powerful in our lives. And I think that is especially true in the
season of winter that we have been going through in these past months. How many of us groan in the days of late
December when the days are so short and the light seems to vanish from the sky
so early. Too many of us then leave for
work in the darkness and return home after the sun has already set. But yet how quickly do we rejoice in early
January, when it seems like the sunlight is coming back to us by leaps and
bounds each day.
How wonderful does it feel on a cold winter
morning after several gloomy, cloudy, depressing days in a row, to awake one
morning and open our eyes to see the bright light of the sun returning, peaking
its head over the horizon. And then how
our spirits can soar when later in the midst of a bright winter’s day its
warmth brings us the promise of spring.
I’ll bet we’ve all stood in our yards, eyes closed, faces lifted up, our
arms out stretched, just basking in the flood of warmth that light brings.
Well, during these months when light
has been so important to us, you may have noticed that the stories in our Bible
readings have at incredibly important points also focused on the theme of
light. We have already mentioned that at
Christmas time, when the church has chosen the exact time of increasing light
in our world to celebrate the birth of Christ, we read of Jesus being the light
who is coming into the world. The same
is true at the time of the Epiphany and Christ’s baptism, when this true light
of God is revealed and manifested to the peoples and the world.
Then early in February, there is an
important holy day, which we don’t celebrate on Sunday, called the Feast of the
Presentation, which focuses on the Bible story of Jesus being presented in the
temple after his birth. In it, the prophet
Simeon takes Jesus in his arms and gives thanks that he has seen the savior
sent by God , who is a light to the nations and the glory of Israel. On the
Presentation, the whole theme is that of Christ as the light, symbolized in the
radiant light of candles. Finally, our
church brings the season of the Epiphany to a close with a celebration of
Christ’s transfiguration, when disciples see his clothing and face gleaming
with the light of God’s presence and glory and behold is divine nature.
Then today in the midst of Lent,
Christ is again the true light of God that has come into the world. Can we come today, at the invitation of the
evangelist to join our wonder and delight in the light and warmth of the truly
glorious winter we have experienced this year with the theme of Christ as light
as well? Can we come to have the same
love and thankfulness and awareness of the presence of Christ’s life in our
hearts and in our world as we do for the light of the sun?
I want to close today by returning to
the Bible passages that we’ve seen speak of Christ as light and try to help us
unite these physical and spiritual senses of light by sharing a few reflections
from devotional and spiritual writings from early Christian leaders that might
inspire us.
Speaking of Christ’s baptism, Gregory
Nazianzus says, “Christ is bathed in light; let us also be bathed in light.
Christ is baptized; let us also go down with him, and rise with him. Today let us do honor to Christ’s baptism and
celebrate this feast in holiness. God
wants us to be lights shining in the world.
You are to be radiant lights as you stand beside Christ, the great
light.”
For the Presentation of Christ in the
temple, Sophronious of Jerusalem, says this.
“Let us all hasten to met Christ, and honor the divine mystery we
celebrate today. Let no on refuse to
carry a light. Our bright shining
candles are a sign of the divine splendor of the one who comes to make the
whole universe radiant with the brilliance of his eternal light. We should
carry a light for all to see and reflect the radiance of the true light as we
hasten to meet him. For the light has
come into the world and we carry our lights to show that the light has shown
upon us. So let us all hasten to meet
Christ and sing a hymn of thanksgiving to our God.”
And finally, in honor of the
transfiguration, Anastasius of Sinai says, “Let us run with confidence and joy
to enter into the cloud and be caught up to behold the divine vision and be
transfigured. For it is good for us to
be here, to be with God and live in God’s light. It is good for us to be here, who possess God
in our hearts, where all things shine with divine radiance where there is joy
and gladness and exultation, where there is in our hearts peace and serenity
and stillness where God is seen.”
Pay attention to light as you live
your lives this week. And let it remind
you of Christ. Let us see if we can
bring the joy of the light of the sun and the light of Christ and join them
together in our hearts this day, and leave this place with our spirits bathed
in the radiance of them both. Amen.
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