Sunday, March 14, 2021 St . Joh n ’ s

O n ce u pon a t i me, a man n amed M oses t ol d an Egypt i an Phar aoh, m y God sa ys t o t el l you , l et m y peopl e go. A ch eek y t hi n g t o do, r eal l y. Phar aoh wa s a god. And all around him were statues of the other gods. W ho i s you r god ? Phar aoh asked, pl ayi n g al on g w i t h t hi s f el l ow wh o h ad l on g ago b een a memb er of t h e r oyal h ou seh ol d. M oses’ an sw er w as t o t u r n h i s st af f i n t o a sn ak e, a cool p i ece of magi c. T h e Emp er or n odded t o h i s ow n magi ci an s, wh o kn ew a si mi l ar t r i ck . They did it, too.

A col d war t h en b egan b et w een M oses’ God an d Ph ar aoh . T h e N i l e t u r n ed i n t o b l ood. A p l agu e of f r ogs. Gn at s. Boi l s. L ocu st s devou r i n g t h e cr op s. H ai l st on es ever yw h er e excep t t h e sl ave gh et t o. Phar aoh w as st u bb or n , bu t M oses’ God mor e so. An angel of death swept through Egypt on the last night of slavery, and everyone’s firstborn child was killed. The slaves had prepped for this, painting their doorposts with a bloody sign to the angel to pass over. As day dawned, they headed east.

Thir t y n i n e an d a h al f year s l at er , w i t h h i s b r ot h er an d si st er r ecen t l y b u r i ed an d h i msel f n ear t h e ver y en d, M oses h ad t o l i st en to the slaves complain about the food. The boring manna. The nasty-tasting water. God lost patience with them and sent poisonous sn ak es. O n e M or e t i me, M oses b egged God f or h el p ; an d on e mor e t i me, God gave h i m a b i t of magi c i n vol vi n g a st af f an d a sn ake. I t wor ked.

T h e st or y i s so ol d. T h e p or t r ai t of God i s i mp r essi ve an d, hon est l y, u n at t r act i ve. V er y mal e. V er y p ow er f u l . Fi er ce. Stubborn. Vindictive. But responds to flattery.

A n d h ey: God got u s ou t of sl aver y, says t h e n ext cou p l e of hu n dr ed p ages of scr i p t u r e, so w e’ d b et t er sh ow some r esp ect .

Fi f t een h u n dr ed year s l at er , God has ch an ged a l ot . For on e t h i n g, God i n car n at ed, which to Hindus is quite a normal thing to do; si n ce somet i mes messages an d wh i r l wi n ds ar en ’ t en ou gh . For an ot h er t h i n g, God’ s avat ar w as n ot a h eaven l y w ar r i or goi n g u p agai n st Ph ar aoh , b u t a cr af t sman n amed Jesu s. T h e cl osest Jesu s ever got t o t h e Emperor was when he stood in front of Governor Pontius Pilate for questioning. Nothing like l et m y peopl e go! Just a couple of cryptic sentences about the truth and his kingdom not being of this world.

T h e w ay Joh n t el l s i t , Jesu s k n ew how h i s l i f e w as goi n g t o en d a year or mor e bef or e i t di d. I ’ m goi n g t o be l i f t ed u p , h e sai d, and not like a flag or the Super Bowl trophy. Actually, I’m going to end up on a gallows. But don’t think for a minute that I w i l l b e ash amed. A n d don ’ t b e ash amed you r sel ves wh en it happens. Instead, I want you to think of old in the parched deser t , mak i n g a b r on ze sn ak e an d p u t t i n g i t u p on a p ol e. L i f t i n g i t u p w h er e peop l e cou l d see. M ak i n g t hem l ook u p at t h e sk y, t h e h eaven s, t h e su n , t h e l i gh t . R escu e, n ot sh ame!

Jew i sh r abb i s h ave di scu ssed t h i s myst er i ou s b r on ze ser p en t f r om t i me t o t i me. I t ap p ar en t l y st ood i n t h e T emp l e f or cen t u r i es, a r emi n der t h at God can cu r se w h en w e h ave i t comi n g. T h e sn ak es wer e a cu r se. Bu t God hop es t o save. God promises to heal those who look up, to the bronze symbol and beyond.

In fact, putting divine symbols on top of poles and planting them in the ground was really common then. , one of the most famous goddesses, was so commonly displayed atop a pole for all to see that the Bible si mp l y cal l s t h e p ol es “ A sh er ah s. ” Sh e w as t h e con sor t of t h e Sk y-God Ba’al, who the natives of the land worshipped. ’s competition. In some cultures, Asherah was married to Yahweh, but never in the Bible. If she wasn’t a human figure, she was a lioness, an angel, a dove.

For hundreds of years, these Asherah poles could be found in villages and along the roadsides at sacred shrines. People would leave offerings. Say prayers to her. We do not know if people said any prayers to the bronze on his sacred pole.

About seven hundred years later, King H ezekiah ordered the Nehushtan, the bronze on the pole destroyed. It wasn’t a memorial any more. It was an idol, he declared, like all those Asherah poles. The Jews of the ten northern tribes had gone over to the pagan side, put up poles, married nonjews, went to fortune-tellers and swore oaths to fake gods. We’re getting rid of all the idols. They don’t heal us. Don’t save us.

Back to , and end of history lesson.

Scripture is full of prescriptions for our many sicknesses. Instead of aspirin or vaccination or hip replacement, the Good Book tells us ● When the Jewish New Year comes, take ten days to ask forgiveness and repay debts.Then fast for a day and tell God all you have done in the last year that was wrong, and God will forgive you. ● Burn a candle every day for a year, say this certain prayer, and take the time to mourn. You will learn to love the memory of the one who died. ● Hold your child lovingly and bless her at the beginning of every Friday night sabbath, and you will have the grace to bring her up well, walking in God’s ways. ● And then much later, in the New Testament, we read, believe in Jesus as the Christ, and you will be healed. ● Make a habit of serving others. Wash their feet, sometimes literally. ● Forgive others and you will feel forgiveness. ● Share the bread and wine and it will be like God circling back through you.

Just as I am imagining you all are listening to me, even though I am really alone, trying to make eye contact with my cell phone; a large part of healing is imagination. But it’s still true. You are really there, and I “see” you! When we sit with God and imagine her having arms to comfort us or imagine him having arms to stretch out, on a crossbeam, God is really there. Our brain waves during dreams or watching a movie are pretty much the same as when we watch something in real life. That doesn’t mean God is fiction, it just means that our minds form pictures that help us understand things like being healed or saved. Processes that are beyond our five senses. And our bodies change in response.

Science now knows that when the DNA of two people dance inside a cell and recombine, that’s how uniqueness is created. Saying that God breathed into a clay figure and called it Adam is not science. But it’s still a way of telling the truth. Science knows how cells change and become cancerous. Science even sometimes knows why and when. Science knows that what we used to call a broken heart is not a cardiac problem at all. Science knows that paralysis is not caused by secret sins.

Spirituality offers a powerful mindset, and science notices this. The physician and surgeon, the occupational therapist and the dietician all know what will usually work. And our souls know that love heals. Telling the truth with kindness heals. Admitting our addiction and turning to a power greater than our craving; that heals. Our souls know that being deeply loved not just by the people around us but by the universe herself, that heals. L ove an d hope an d f ai t h.

All we are, church, is a community that imagines together. We do all these things, these sacraments, these zoom calls, to help us see and feel the invisible truth we call God.

So Jesu s p oi n t s t o t h e gal l ow s, a year b ef or e h e’ s t ak en t h er e. H e t el l s h i s f ol l ow er s: j u st a s M oses l i f t ed u p t h e br on ze ser pen t , I will be lifted up. D on ’ t j u st see t h e h or r or of execu t i on . L ook U P. See b eyon d t h e p h ysi cal symbol . N ot a sn ak e. N ot j u st my cor p se. See wh at i t mean s: t h er e i s h eal i n g even w h en i t l ook s l i k e deat h . For cen t u r i es, a sn ak e w ou n d ‘ r ou n d a st af f h as b een a medical symbol of healing. For 2,000 years, a f i gu r e n ai l ed t o a cr oss h as b een a symb ol f or “ God l oved t h e w or l d t hi s mu ch .”

W h en w e see t h e oak t r ee i n t h e acor n , t h en w e k n ow. W h en w e see t h e n ew l i f e i n t h e ash es of ou r ol d l i f e, t h en w e k n ow . W h en w e see t h e b eau t i f u l i n t h e u gl y, t h e p ow er i n t h e w eak n ess. W h en w e st op seei n g t h e b r on ze ser p en t , or t h e cr u ci f i ed car p en t er , an d see i n st ead t h e h eal i n g l ove, t h e symp at h y f or u s, t h e u n der st an di n g of ou r p l i gh t , t h en w e kn ow .

W h en w e see t h e good i n Bad Fr i day.

T h at ’ s w h y w e ar e h er e, t o l ear n t h ese st or i es. T o f i n d ou r p l ace i n t h em. Keep looking up, the rabbis say; keep looking up, Jesus says, until all you see is God, and when that happens, you will know.

The fiery bronze serpent was a representation of the curse God had put upon the H ebrews. Putting it up in the air forced everyone to look up at it, and “up” is where God is. Ditto with Jesus being put up on a tree, and lynching victims, and flags, and advertising billboards. Putting something “up” is publicizing it. Cross on top of St. John’s, the angel atop the Temple in Salt Lake City. The star on your Christmas tree. The processional cross. The flag.

Asherah was Ba’al’s consort. In some places, she was Yahweh’s consort. In your household shrine, she was symbolized by a pole. Maybe a tree. A dove. A female angel. A lioness.

W h en t h e N eh u sh t an st ar t ed b ei n g t r eat ed l i k e an A sh er ah , K i n g H ezek i ah h ad i t r emoved f r om t h e T emp l e. When the Crucifix became, for the Protestants, an object of worship, it was replaced by a much more abstract cross.

Caduceus (two snake medical symbol of healing) (sign of H ermes, patron of thieves, merchants, and messengers) and Rod of Asclepius (one snake on rod) (revered Greek god of healing)

OT Reading Num 21:4-9 {Parshat } From the set out by the way to the Red Sea, to go around t h e l an d of ; b u t t h e p eop l e b ecame i mp at i en t on t h e w ay. T h e p eop l e spok e agai n st God an d agai n st M oses, “ W h y h ave you b r ou gh t u s u p ou t of Egyp t t o di e i n t h e wi l der n ess? For t h er e i s n o f ood an d n o w at er , an d w e det est t h i s mi ser ab l e f ood.” Then the Lord sent poisonous serpents among the people, and they bit the people, so that many Israelit es di ed. T h e p eop l e came t o M oses an d sai d, “ W e h ave si n n ed b y sp eak i n g agai n st t h e L or d an d agai n st you ; p r ay t o t h e L or d t o t ak e aw ay t h e ser p en t s f r om u s.” So M oses p r ayed f or t h e p eop l e. A n d t h e L or d sai d t o M oses, “ M ak e a p oi son ou s ser p en t , an d set i t on a p ol e; an d ever yon e w ho i s b i t t en sh al l l ook at i t an d l i ve.” So M oses made a ser p en t of b r on ze, Nehushtan, H ezek i ah l at er or der ed “ i t ” smashed in his reform. Maybe. and put it upon a pole; and whenever a serpent bit someone, that person would look at t h e ser p en t of b r on ze an d l i ve.

Ep h esi an s 2: 1-10 You wer e dead t h r ou gh t h e t r esp asses an d si n s i n wh i ch you on ce l i ved, f ol l ow i n g t h e cou r se of t h i s w or l d, following the ruler of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work among those who are disobedient. All of us once lived amon g t h em i n t h e p assi on s of ou r f l esh , f ol l owi n g t h e desi r es of f l esh an d sen ses, an d w e w er e by n at u r e ch i l dr en of w r at h , l i k e ever yon e el se. Bu t God, w ho i s r i ch i n mer cy, ou t of t h e gr eat l ove wi t h wh i ch h e l oved u s even wh en w e w er e dead t h r ou gh ou r t r esp asses, mad e u s al i ve t oget h er w i t h C h r i st --b y gr ace you h ave b een saved--and raised us up with him and seat ed u s w i t h hi m i n t h e heaven l y p l aces i n C h r i st Jesu s, so t h at i n t h e ages t o come h e mi gh t show t h e i mmeasu r ab l e r i ch es of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God--n ot t h e r esu l t of w or k s, so t h at n o on e may boast . For w e ar e w h at h e has made u s, cr eat ed in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand to be our way of life.

FIRST then now Made to do good works lived a dead life, sinning, following t h i s wor l d saved , r ai sed , seat ed , gi f t ed T h e r u l er of t h e power of t h e a i r , t h e d i sobed i en t graced, undeserved gift, planned Spirit, we ar e chi l dr en of wr a t h l i k e ev er yon e bef or ehan d f or u s el se

John 3:14-21 Jesu s sai d , “ Ju st as M oses l i f t ed u p t h e ser p en t i n t h e w i l d er n ess, so mu st t h e Son of M an b e l i f t ed u p , t h at w h oever b el i eves i n hi m may h ave et er n al l i f e.

“ 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 et er n al l i f e. “ Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Those who believe in him are not condemned; but those who do not believe are condemned already, because they have not believed in the name of the only Son of God. And this is the judgment, that the light has come into the world, and people loved darkness rather than light because their deeds were evil. For all who do evil hate the light and do not come to the light, so that their deeds may not be exposed. But those who do what is true come to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that their deeds have been done in God.”

The serpent was the symbol of human temptation, and Jesus is the opposite.

Look up, look at the serpent, look at what is raised up, advertisements