March 13, 2009
Sunday Scripture
Fourth Sunday of Lent
BY FATHER DONALD DILGER
John begins with a reference to the Book of Numbers 21:9, “As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of man be lifted up . . . .” The Israelites complained to Moses, “Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? No water! And we loathe this worthless food (manna).” The Lord had enough of chronic complaining. He sent fiery, biting serpents among them. Many of the people were bitten and died. There was a quick attitude-adjustment. They begged Moses to intercede with the Lord to remove these animals. The Lord commanded Moses to cast a bronze serpent, and set it up on a pole for all to see. Any of the injured who loooked at it were cured (saved). The bronze serpent had a Hebrew name, “Nehushtan.” It was destroyed about 500 years later by King Hezekiah, (715-686 B.C.), because people were offering sacrifices to it.
Now the rest of the story. The authors of the Book of Wisdom (100-50 B.C.) give a new interpretation (spin) to the story of Nehushtan in Wisdom 16:5-7. The bronze serpent on the pole was a reminder or symbol of the Torah (the teachings of Moses). Those who turned to the Torah (by doing its commandments) were saved “not by what they looked at but by you (the Lord) the universal Savior.” In the beginning of his gospel John depicted Jesus as the ultimate Torah or teaching of God, and will later teach that Jesus is the true “universal Savior.” As the ancient symbol of the Torah (the bronze serpent lifted up on a pole) restored wholeness to the injured Israelites, “so must the Son of man (Jesus, the ultimate Torah) be lifted up (exalted on the cross), that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.” It never ceases to amaze how new Testament authors wove a wondrous theological tapestry by combining Old Testament passages with their own Christian traditions to teach the truths of salvation.
Next John tells us why God gave us this universal Savior exalted on the cross: “God so loved the world that he gave his only Son . . . .” The motive for this Gift was love. Then John repeats what was already stated in slightly different words, “that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” He assures us that God’s intention in sending the Son into the world was not the world’s condemnation, but rather salvation. God’s universale love and will for universal salvation, that is, salvation of all humankind, can certainly be taught from these statements.
John is however well aware of the ample evidence already in the Old Testament, Daniel 12:2, of the condemnation of some. This teaching is also widespread in the gospels and in the rest of the New Testament. How does John handle this problem? “Those who believe in him (Jesus as God’s ultimate Torah or universal Savior) are not condemned, but those who do not believe are already condemned because they have not believed in the name of the only Son of God.” Can the infinite will of God for the salvation of all be frustrated by a human being? Only if God permits it. God has given human beings a freewill, free choice. It is not God who condemns. It is the person who chooses wrongly after sufficient knowledge. “The light has come into the world, but they loved darkness rather than light. Those who do what is true come to the light,” that is, to the love of God offered to us in Jesus, “the true light that enlightens everyone coming into the world.” John 1:9.
The two Old Testament Books of Chronicles, “Greek title: paralipomenon or “leftovers”), are to a major extent a re-writing of the Books of Samuel and Kings. The great concern of the unknown author is the building-complex of the temple and its liturgy. Today’s reading notes the destruction of the temple and the city of Jerusalem by the Babylonians in 587 B.C. God allowed this catastrophe because rulers, priests and people were unfaithful to the covenant. They engaged in idolatry, even polluting the Lord’s temple. They mocked the prophets and their warnings, until God was so angry he brought in the Babylonian king and army. The people were marched into exile in Babylon (Iraq). The author ends on a note of hope. Cyrus, king of Persia, conquered Babylon and permitted the Israelites, 538 B.C., to return to their homes and to build a house (temple) for the Lord. This could not happen “until the land has retrieved its lost Sabbaths.” Might this teach us something about how seriously God takes the observance of Sabbath, and how carelessly Catholic Christians set aside the Lord’s Day for their own pursuits?
This reading picks up from today’s gospel the theme of God’s selfless love, “Even when we were dead in our own sins, he brought us to life with Christ, raised us up with him, and seated us with him in the heavens . . . .” Our human nature united with the divine nature in the person of the Son is a constant appeal to the Father for compassion and love. There are two other notable statements. The first, that we are God’s “handiwork,” and the second, that we have been created for good works. This balances the emphasis on faith in today’s gospel. Not only our faith, but also our good works are due to God’s grace.