September 14, 2017
(Exaltation of the Cross)
In reference to the first sin: Then the LORD God said to the snake: Because you have done this, cursed are you among all the animals, tame or wild; On your belly you shall crawl, and dust you shall eat all the days of your life. Gn 3:14
Thus, the snake or serpent inherited the symbolism of all that is bad and sinful in this world.
Thousands of years later, in the desert of their exodus from Egyptian slavery, the Israelites continued in their sin. In punishment the LORD sent among the people saraph serpents, which bit the people so that many of them died. Then the people came to Moses and said, “We have sinned in complaining against the LORD and you. Pray the LORD to take the serpents from us.” So Moses prayed for the people, and the LORD said to Moses, “Make a saraph and mount it on a pole, and if any who have been bitten look at it, they will live.” Nm_21:4b-9
Has that serpent bitten or tormented us too, beloved? Are we hounded and riddled with feelings and actions that we just know we shouldn’t be having or doing? That’s that old serpent again acting his part. But there is hope. God always provides an escape route, a protection, a healing . . .
Jesus said, “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.” Jn_3:13-17
We no longer need to fear the condemnation of eternal damnation because of our sins, because we have a Savior, a Redeemer in Jesus. That serpent was nailed to a cross and our God was revealed to us in the Resurrection. Jesus IS our eternal life. Look to Him, beloved, and live!
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Whispers to the Wind 