“The Son of Man must be lifted up as Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert, so that everyone who believes may have eternal life in him.” (John 3:14-15)
In Sunday’s Gospel, Jesus’ words to Nicodemus would have brought to his mind a scene from the book of Numbers: the Israelites are dying of snake bites as a punishment for their impatience in the desert and, after praying for them, Moses is inspired to make a bronze model of a snake and raise it up so those bitten can be healed by contemplating it (Numbers 21:4-9).
Nicodemus did not fully understand this reference until he saw Jesus lifted up on the cross. As the bronze serpent was an image of what was killing the Israelites, the crucified Jesus is an image of what kills us: sin.
Every wound on his body was caused by our sins and so they are revealed to us on the cross. By contemplating Jesus there, we are healed spiritually since we see not simply our sins but, much more, the love of Jesus for us.
It was by gazing at Jesus on the cross that one of the thieves crucified there was converted from insulting him to faith in him (Matthew 27:44 and Luke 23:40-41). Nicodemus was also moved by seeing Jesus’ death: after his initial doubts he found the faith to publicly show his love for Jesus by lavishly burying him with copious precious spices (John 19:39).
Just as the serpents were not destroyed in the desert but a remedy was given for them, so too Jesus does not take away temptations but he gives us his Cross for our healing.
Perhaps some of the Israelites were bitten several times but they kept looking at the bronze serpent to be saved. We fall again and again into sin, but we can always begin again by raising our eyes to Jesus crucified.
Every sin that has made us fall is written in his blood on his body. Every sin has been dealt with by Jesus, who knew you and me and our sins as he suffered for us. Looking at the cross gives us hope and a fresh start no matter what we have done.
But Jesus has not only suffered for each future sin of ours, he has also prepared each future good deed for us. In the second reading on Sunday, St Paul says that God has “prepared beforehand [our good deeds] so we can walk in them” (my translation of Ephesians 2:10). God has not only dealt with our individual sins in his saving sacrifice, but in it he has pre-prepared each good deed for us to “walk in”.
As the Israelites stumbled in sin as they walked through the desert, we too can fall during our earthly pilgrimage to heaven. But not only has each fall been healed, but every good effort to get up again has been gifted to us personally from the Passion of Christ.
Each pre-prepared good deed is present before us on the altar each time we worship at Holy Mass: the paschal mystery, Jesus’ death and resurrection, is miraculously present. Let’s grasp each grace we need from the Holy Mass!