{"id":4567,"date":"2021-03-14T13:07:32","date_gmt":"2021-03-14T13:07:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/fumcschenectady.org\/blog\/2021\/03\/14\/lifted-up-i-guess-based-on-numbers-214-9-and\/"},"modified":"2021-03-14T13:07:32","modified_gmt":"2021-03-14T13:07:32","slug":"lifted-up-i-guess-based-on-numbers-214-9-and","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fumcschenectady.org\/blog\/2021\/03\/14\/lifted-up-i-guess-based-on-numbers-214-9-and\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201cLifted Up, I Guess\u201d based on\u00a0 \tNumbers 21:4-9 and John 3:14-21"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/figure>\n

I
\ndon’t like the Numbers story, or how it portrays God. \u00a0I don’t like
\nthat John references it, and adds it to his conception of Jesus. \u00a0I
\ngave serious thought to avoiding both of these scriptures today, but
\nI don’t actually believe in avoiding difficult things. \u00a0(Fine, also I
\ndidn’t have a better idea.)<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Just
\nin case you didn’t listen to the Numbers reading, or don’t naturally
\nobject to scriptures, let me be clear about what I dislike about it.
\nIt says that the people got impatient with God, and God punished them
\nfor their impatience by sending poisonous snakes to kill them, and
\nwhen the people were upset about that Moses intervened and God told
\nMoses to make bronze serpent and put it on a pole for the people to
\nlook at and be healed, and they were. \u00a0So…. I dislike the narrative
\nthat God punishes, and even more so that God punishes impatiences,
\nand even more that God’s punishes by \u00a0killing. \u00a0As a bit of an aside,
\nit also seems distinctly unfair that there was that whole golden calf
\nincident where making a golden calf was BAD, but in this story making
\na bronze snake is the solution. \u00a0But that is relatively unimportant
\nin comparison to the \u201cGod killing people for getting impatient\u201d
\ntheme.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Ok.
\n Thank you for letting me get that off my chest, because now I can
\napproach the story from a different angle. \u00a0The first piece of making
\npeace with this story is acknowledging that people are meaning
\nmakers, and that means that sometimes we make meaning where it
\ndoesn’t exist. \u00a0So, if the people in the wilderness encounter
\npoisonous snakes, it makes plenty of sense that they’d make meaning
\nof out of it and claim that it is God’s punishment. \u00a0People do that.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Having
\nsaid that, I think we can get more out of this story by (hesitantly)
\nentering into the mindset of the story than fighting with it. \u00a0I
\ndon’t actually think God punishes people by sending poisonous snakes
\n\u2013 or having a person lose their job \u2013 or creating hurricanes – or
\ncreating a virus to kill millions. \u00a0However, I think the \u201csolution\u201d
\nin this story is interesting part. \u00a0Also, since people still
\nattribute struggles in their life to Divine punishment, so we don’t
\nhave much space to stand on to judge the ancients.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

From
\nwithin the story, the problem is that poisonous snakes are killing
\npeople, and the people request Divine intervention so they can live.
\nReplace snakes with a virus, and we are right there with them. \u00a0We’ve
\nprayed for God’s help on this. \u00a0(Most of us think the vaccines were
\nGod’s answer, and like many things, God’s answer came through the
\nhard work of people.)<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

The
\nANSWER for \u201cpoisonous snakes are killing us\u201d being \u201cmake a
\nbronze snake and put it on a pole for the people to look at\u201d is
\nREALLY WEIRD. \u00a0As in, if you asked me to brainstorm answers to
\npoisonous snake bites, I don’t think it would come up in my first
\n1000 options. \u00a0(Ready: \u00a0move camp away from the snakes, find
\nsomething to absorb the venom, look for an antidote, find ways to
\npacify the snakes, figure out how to avoid the snakes, find out how
\nto repel the snakes.) \u00a0See… none of that has gotten anywhere close
\nto make a bronze snake and put it on a pole.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

So,
\nfor just a moment, what if we take this story as more parable than
\nhistorical narrative? \u00a0What if the SUPER WEIRD SOLUTION is something
\ndesigned to make us THINK and PONDER and consider, rather than, say,
\nreplicate?<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Then
\nwhere is the metaphor? \u00a0Debie Thomas in \u201cJourney with Jesus\u201d
\nsays, \u201cIn order to be saved, the people have to confront the
\nserpent\u2014 they have to look hard at what harms, poisons, breaks, and
\nkills them.\u201d1<\/sup><\/a>
\n Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh. \u00a0\n<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Avoidance
\ndoesn’t solve problems. \u00a0Systemic change doesn’t come without a deep
\nunderstanding of what is broken and who benefits from the breaking.
\nIn making a replica of our problems, we may just learn how to fix
\nthem. \u00a0There is some GOOD STUFF here once the space is made for it to
\nspeak with its own voice. \u00a0Thank you metaphor and parable
\nperspective.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Interestingly
\nenough, this sort of fits the virus + vaccine issue \u2013 you don’t get
\nto a vaccine without looking at the virus very, very carefully. \u00a0You
\nalso don’t get immunity without some access to CREATED replications
\nof aspects of the virus. \u00a0(Metaphors make life. \u00a0Humans are meaning
\nmakers. \u00a0Did I mention that?)<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

OK,
\nhaving found some actually useful meaning in the Numbers passage, now
\nwe’re tasked with connecting this with John’s take on Jesus’s death.
\n#buckleup<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

As
\nyou might have noticed, John 3:14-5 says, \u201cAnd just as Moses
\nlifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be
\nlifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.\u201d<\/i>
\n By \u201clifted up\u201d John is talking about crucifixion, but he is
\ndoing so in a very intentional way. \u00a0Clearly, physically speaking,
\ncrucifixion could be understood as being \u201clifted up\u201d but it was
\nDESIGNED as a means of public shame and punishment that was so
\nhorrible as to discourage others from engaging in anti-Empire
\nactivities. \u00a0 This was capital punishment in an extra public and
\ngrotesque form. So, calling crucifixion \u201clifting up\u201d is
\nRECLAIMING it, denying its power to shame, and reframing it from a
\nfaith perspective instead of a worldly one.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

To
\ncall it \u201clifting up\u201d is to claim that they saw God in Jesus, and
\nthe most extreme shame and pain and death the Empire had to offer
\ndidn’t change that. \u00a0In fact, to call it \u201clifting up\u201d inverts it,
\ntaking an experience meant to shame and suggesting it brought honor.
\nCalling it \u201clifting up\u201d refuses the power of the Empire to make
\nmeaning, and claims that power for the community of faith.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

But
\nthe gospel writer doesn’t even stop there! \u00a0Instead John reframes the
\nNumbers story to make meaning out of Jesus. \u00a0As the bronze snake
\nreplica healed the people who had been poisoned and would have died,
\nso the crucified Jesus heals the people and offers them full and
\nabundant life with God. \u00a0Or, as Debie Thomas puts is:<\/p>\n

\n

\nSo why did Jesus die?\u00a0 He
\ndied because he unflinchingly fulfilled the will of God.\u00a0 He
\ndied because he exposed the ungracious sham at the heart of all human
\nkingdoms, holding up a mirror that shocked his contemporaries and
\nstill shocks us at the deepest levels of our\u00a0 imaginations.\u00a0
\nIn other words, he unveiled the poison, he showed us the snake, he
\nrevealed what our human kingdoms, left to themselves, will always
\nbecome unless God in God\u2019s mercy delivers us.\u00a0 In the cross,
\nwe are forced to see what our refusal to love, our indifference to
\nsuffering, our craving for violence, our resistance to change, our
\nhatred of difference, our addiction to judgment, and our fear of the
\nOther must wreak.\u00a0 When the Son of Man is lifted up, we see with
\nchilling and desperate clarity our need for a God who will take our
\nmost horrific instruments of death, and transform them, at great
\ncost, for the purposes of resurrection.2<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

\n<\/p>\n

The
\ndeath that is human violence, fear, and competition is transformed
\nwhen Jesus is \u201clifted up\u201d and shows the power of compassion,
\ngrace, hope, and collaboration. \u00a0The powers that harm are subverted,
\nthe power of love is \u2026. lifted up. \u00a0In THIS is life.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

It
\nis so in our lives as well, may we pay attention. \u00a0Amen<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

1<\/a>https:\/\/www.journeywithjesus.net\/essays\/2944-looking-up<\/a><\/p>\n

2<\/a>Ibid.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Rev. Sara E. Baron
First United Methodist Church of Schenectady
603 State St. Schenectady, NY 12305
Pronouns: she\/her\/hers
http:\/\/fumcschenectady.org\/<\/a>
https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/FUMCSchenectady<\/a><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

March 14, 2021<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I don’t like the Numbers story, or how it portrays God. \u00a0I don’t like that John references it, and adds … Continue reading \u201cLifted Up, I Guess\u201d based on\u00a0 \tNumbers 21:4-9 and John 3:14-21<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[34,38,28,39,33,1668,1562,1834,1484,1837,56,1835,64,1836],"class_list":["post-4567","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-fumc-schenectady","tag-progressive-christianity","tag-rev-sara-e-baron","tag-thinking-church","tag-umc","tag-debie-thomas","tag-journey-with-jesus","tag-lent-2021","tag-pandemic-preaching","tag-reclaimed","tag-schenectady","tag-snakes-on-poles-for-real","tag-sorry-about-the-umc-world","tag-transformed"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/fumcschenectady.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4567","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/fumcschenectady.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/fumcschenectady.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fumcschenectady.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fumcschenectady.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4567"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/fumcschenectady.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4567\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/fumcschenectady.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4567"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fumcschenectady.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4567"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fumcschenectady.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4567"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}