Word to the Wise
Tuesday, April 9, 2019 - 5th Week of Lent - Tues
[Num 21:4-9 and John 8:21-30]"When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will realize that I AM, and that I do nothing on my own, but I say only what the Father taught me. The one who sent me is with me." [John]
Earlier in the Gospel According to John, in the encounter with Nicodemus, Jesus says, "And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, so that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life." [John 3:14-15]. Our first scripture for today is from the Book of Numbers and it is the story of Moses "lifting up the serpent in the desert." Jesus challenges the Pharisees to faith. They would invoke Moses and Abraham as their authorities for their faith. Jesus is telling them that he will replace both of them.
Today's gospel scripture contains many of the features of this dialogue. Jesus makes a statement, his listeners misunderstand, Jesus then takes the dialogue to a different level. The bigger picture of Jesus mission as the one sent by God from "above" to the world which is "below" is at work. Part of that mission will be Jesus being "lifted up" on the cross. The crucial thing for all of us is to believe in him. He says to the Pharisees (and to us), "For if you do not believe that I AM, you will die in your sins."
All of these statements and features seem at times in the Gospel According to John to swirl around and spiral, but if we pay close attention and keep the big picture before us, we can be swept into the drama of Holy Week and enter into the mission of Jesus as the one whom God has sent and who calls us to believe in him. AMEN