Hair of the Dog

Numbers 21:4-9
John 3:1-17

Something does not add up. When the Lord calls Moses up to receive the Law, the first recorded commandments involve a rejection of “other gods” which would include the so-called “graven images” lest our focus be diverted from the Holy One who delivered a people and created for Himself a nation.

Yet in Numbers 21:4-9, a graven image is prescribed by the Lord in order for this same nation to be saved from their judgment. All they need to do is look upon this bronze serpent, and they will survive the serpent’s bite – the “judgment”. Sort of like the “hair of the dog that bit you”.

In John 3:14, Nicodemus is reminded by Jesus: “Just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.”

The parallel that Jesus makes between the serpent and surely what is about to happen to Him is not hard to spot, and He is speaking to a Pharisee who would have known the Numbers passage well. The oxymoron lies in the Israelites’ ability to look upon a serpent, actually an image of a serpent, in order to be spared their judgment. Jesus specifically refers to this image in trying to make His point with Nicodemus.

It is not as if something sinister is going on, yet there is a marker somewhere in this parallel or in the incident in the wilderness with the serpents that requires our attention.

Jesus’ life was filled with purpose, so such a discussion would not have been a matter of idle chit-chat. Nicodemus came to Jesus, maybe on behalf of the Sanhedrin but maybe more for himself, to determine what Jesus was really trying to accomplish by His ministry. There is a point that Jesus is making with the reference to the bronze serpent.

But does the reference take into consideration that King Hezekiah ordered this bronze serpent to be destroyed (2 Kings 18) because the people were burning incense to this bronze serpent and worshiping it, having forgotten of its origin and reason for existence? Or maybe it is that they remembered all too well that this serpent was at one time the focus of their judgment as well as of their deliverance from that same judgment. If this bronze serpent was at one time the commanded focus of attention – and this seems to be the case - it would be an easy mistake to make.

Moses was their point-man with the Lord, and he brought this bronze serpent to them and told them what to do in the name of the Lord. Yet a righteous king ordered its destruction because the people of the Lord were giving this bronze serpent too much attention.

Could it be possible that there is such a thing as “too much” focus on the Son of Man, that one day our focus could somehow become distorted? After all, Jesus specifically states, “Just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness (the bronze serpent that was ordered destroyed), so must the Son of Man be lifted up …”

In a time when there are scores of Christian denominations that cannot seem to agree on much of anything and in a world seemingly gone mad, the one thing we can surely agree on is that there can be no such thing as “too much” Jesus. If anything, there is not enough of Him in our hearts even though there is plenty of Him to go around. Yet I cannot help but to be confused with the parallel.

In the Revelation, John wrote of his vision of the Lord in chapter one: “I turned to see the voice that spoke with me. And having turned I saw seven golden lamp stands and in the midst of the seven lamp stands, One like the Son of Man, clothed with a garment down to the feet and girded about the chest with a golden band. His head and hair were white like wool, white as snow, and His eyes like the flame of fire. His feet were like fine brass, as if refined in a furnace, and His voice as the sound of many waters. He had in His right hand seven stars, out of his mouth went a sharp TWO-EDGED sword…”

It has been traditionally understood that not only was a two-edged sword the typical design of the contemporary weapon but that having a cutting edge on each side served an imagery purpose as well as a practical one: it can cut BOTH WAYS. That is to say, what is coming from the mouth of the Lord is that which can DELIVER US or CONDEMN us depending entirely upon how we choose to receive His Word and respond to it. Either way, we can be sure that what comes from the mouth of the Lord is true and just.

According to the account in Numbers, Moses fashioned this bronze serpent and mounted it on a pole by command of the Lord God himself; it was not Moses’ idea but, rather, the result of Moses’ prayer to the Lord on behalf of the Israelites. So even as the serpents were sent by the Lord as punishment, or judgment, for their transgressions, the ordered image was also from the same Mouth from which is spoken words of hope and forgiveness – STILL IN THE IMAGE OF A SERPENT! The same image that King Hezekiah ordered destroyed because it was being worshiped by the people. So what?

What is our focus at worship time? What do we intend to accomplish when we gather together? How is our state of mind and soul when we arrive? And when we do arrive, is our focus where it should be? Are we “burning incense” to the bronze serpent, or are we lifting our hearts to the Lord God? Are we focused on the music or the “entertainment” that may be provided, or are we focused on the Holy Spirit who can speak to our troubled souls?

I’ve often wondered about the point of worship when we become so focused on “recruiting” folks to come join us rather than focus on the presence and power of the Lord and allow that to be our primary focus. There are no easy answers but there is one thing we can be sure of: the Lord is present among people of faith. And this may sound callous and hard-hearted but if this Almighty Presence is not good enough for other seekers, then there may not be much more that we can do.

As Christians, we should be so filled with this GOOD NEWS that we cannot wait to share it with someone. Yet I fear that we become complacent because our faith has become a lifeless religion and has become nothing more than a part of a weekly ritual to which we have become accustomed and that maybe our focus is already distorted.

United Methodists are, in my humble opinion, falling behind by failing to celebrate the Holy Eucharist each time we are gathered. There is no reason why we should not celebrate and commemorate this time together in union with Christ and with one another as often as we possibly can. Yet we fail to do this for one reason or another. Surely we do not think it to be too much of a bother or "too Catholic" or too mundane. Surely we can have no fear that we will get too caught up in the "ritual" and not enough into the blessing. It is a time of worship, and I can think of nothing on this earth that we should be more mindful of as our focus of worship.

Everything we do in worship will be a genuine reflection of what is truly in our hearts and in our minds and in our souls. Let us begin anew in the Lord’s Eternal Covenant who is Christ, His Holy Son.

Amen.