Tuesday of the Fifth Week of Lent
LOOK UP TO CHRIST
An incontestable truth is that only faith saves. In the history of the Israelites, they showed how they believe in this truth. While they were wandering in the desert, they became rebellious to God. They were punished by God by sending them poisonous snakes. Eventually, they repented and asked God to deliver them. They have shown their faith in God’s power. It is presented here in the form of a bronze serpent staff that whoever see the staff will be cured. The Pharisees have to accept Christ in faith if they want to be saved. We too, must look up to the cross with eyes of faith to become free people and God’s sons and daughters. And we, the Church, must become the sign of salvation raised above the nations.
Reading 1: Numbers 21:4-9
So God sent poisonous snakes among the people; they bit them and many in Israel died. The people came to Moses and said, “We sinned when we spoke out against God and you. Pray to God; ask him to take these snakes from us.”
Moses prayed for the people.
God said to Moses, “Make a snake and put it on a flagpole: Whoever is bitten and looks at it will live.”
So Moses made a snake of fiery copper and put it on top of a flagpole. Anyone bitten by a snake who then looked at the copper snake lived.
Gospel: John 8:21-30
The Jews said, “So, is he going to kill himself? Is that what he means by ‘You can’t come with me’?”
Jesus said, “You’re tied down to the mundane; I’m in touch with what is beyond your horizons. You live in terms of what you see and touch. I’m living on other terms. I told you that you were missing God in all this. You’re at a dead end. If you won’t believe I am who I say I am, you’re at the dead end of sins. You’re missing God in your lives.”
They said to him, “Just who are you anyway?”
Jesus said, “What I’ve said from the start. I have so many things to say that concern you, judgments to make that affect you, but if you don’t accept the trustworthiness of the One who commanded my words and acts, none of it matters. That is who you are questioning—not me but the One who sent me.”
They still didn’t get it, didn’t realize that he was referring to the Father. So Jesus tried again. “When you raise up the Son of Man, then you will know who I am—that I’m not making this up, but speaking only what the Father taught me. The One who sent me stays with me. He doesn’t abandon me. He sees how much joy I take in pleasing him.”
When he put it in these terms, many people decided to believe.
Prayer
Our saving, merciful God,
wandering in our deserts
of injustice and lack of love,
we cry out with fear
or are stunned into silence,
some into doubt or despair.
Give us enough trusting faith
to look up to him,
who took our evil and doubts upon himself,
and suffered them on a cross, and rose from them,
Jesus Christ, our Savior and our Lord.
Reflection:
28 March 2023
John 8: 21-30
Choosing not to believe is suicidal.
The rebellion of Israel in the desert is a constant theme that the Church takes up for the liturgical reflections. The entire story of the Exodus has so much in common with the life of the Church in the modern world.
Israel wanted freedom from slavery. But the path that led to freedom involved risks and troubles. Indeed, liberation is not a bed of roses. Like the people of Israel in the desert, we, the Church today, are heading towards God’s freedom and salvation. But like the Israelites of the Old Testament, we are unwilling to go through pain and suffering. We are tempted to modify the plans of God, and we would prefer to tell God how he should free us, heal us and save us.
Being from this world, being from below, implies we are under the power of sin. For the author of the Gospel, the term “world” referred to the society distorted by the sin in which he lived. We would remain blinded by sin until we can differentiate their illusions and detach ourselves from the powers that divide us.
Is there a way out or a cure for this blindness? The only remedy is to listen to Jesus. We would die in our sins unless we accept Jesus as our God and surrender to him in faith. But instead, when we surrender to him in faith, Jesus promises us eternity in the embrace of God.
The lifting up of the Son of Man referred to Jesus’ being lifted up on the cross. When Jesus tells the Jews, ‘where he is going, they cannot come’, he refers to his return to the Father, a venue to which only the believer will be admitted. He again identifies himself as “I AM,” the personal name God revealed to Moses at the burning bush. In our faith, we believe we have been “lifted up.” and are convinced that Jesus is truly the “I AM.”
To fail to recognize who Jesus is – and refuse to acknowledge him as the Son of God – is to remain in darkness – the darkness of sin, ignorance, and unbelief. But if we turn to Jesus and listen to his Word, we will find lasting peace and joy. Our time in this world is limited and short, but how we live it today has consequences not only for the present moment but also for our eternal destiny.
Indeed, we have opted to believe in Jesus, but the question is, how do we express our faith in him?