Podcast: Play in new window
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Preparation
O Lord, open our lips
and our mouth shall proclaim your praise.
In your resurrection, O Christ,
let heaven and earth rejoice. Alleluia.
Blessed are you, Lord God of our salvation,
to you be praise and glory for ever.
As once you ransomed your people from Egypt
and led them to freedom in the promised land,
so now you have delivered us from the dominion of darkness
and brought us into the kingdom of your risen Son.
May we, the first fruits of your new creation,
rejoice in this new day you have made,
and praise you for your mighty acts.
Blessed be God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
Blessed be God for ever.
John 3.7-15
Jesus said to Nicodemus: ‘Do not be astonished that I said to you, “You must be born from above.” The wind blows where it chooses, and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.’
Nicodemus said to him, ‘How can these things be?’ Jesus answered him, ‘Are you a teacher of Israel, and yet you do not understand these things?
‘Very truly, I tell you, we speak of what we know and testify to what we have seen; yet you do not receive our testimony. If I have told you about earthly things and you do not believe, how can you believe if I tell you about heavenly things? No one has ascended into heaven except the one who descended from heaven, the Son of Man. And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.’
Reflection
Just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.
In today’s reading Jesus refers to words from the Old Testament book of Numbers. In those ancient writings we read: The Lord said to Moses, ‘Make a poisonous serpent and set it on a pole; and everyone who is bitten shall look at it and live’. These words describe the way in which God will heal those rebellious Israelites who proved to be true in their faith. Jesus is drawing a direct parallel between Moses’ divinely ordained actions during the journey to the Promised Land and his own actions in the Gospel narrative. The moment would come when Jesus would be lifted up in order that true believers might come to know the joy of eternal life. But, as we know, Jesus being lifted up would mean his being crucified.
So many of us are poisoned by the words and actions of others. Our daily lives are often dominated by the pain, the anger and the despair that is inflicted upon us, and that we inflict upon ourselves. We create a perfect, but imaginary, world in which anyone who contradicts our utopian notions is seen as deserving our vengeance. The problem is, of course, that everyone’s ‘perfection’ is unique and cannot possibly coexist with others’. As we struggle with that existential reality the poison courses through our minds and we find ourselves increasingly distanced from God.
There are many ‘fake’ cures available to those whose well-being, both physical and mental, has been undermined. These ‘cures’ are often given the label: faith healing. But … before we spend large amounts of money on that which will only reinforce our paranoia and sense that only we are right … we need to consider the only true healing that is available to us … the healing that is based in true faith.
In the Old Testament, the troubled Israelites were healed by gazing on the serpent endued with the divine power to heal. Today we are offered a similarly certain source of healing … we are invited to gaze upon, and put our trust in, Jesus, the Son of God who was raised before our eyes on a cross, but who then conquered death for our salvation.
Let us pray for the strength to set the quack remedies to one side, in order that we might remain focused on the only one who can heal our damaged lives: Jesus Christ, our risen Lord and Saviour.
Prayers
To Christ, the Lamb who was slain,
and who now lives in the glory of the Father,
let us lift our voices in praise, saying:
risen Lord, we bless you, alleluia.
Lord Jesus, you are the Amen, the faithful witness,
the firstborn of the dead:
Risen Lord, we bless you, alleluia.
You are Alpha and Omega,
the one who is, and was, and who is to come:
Risen Lord, we bless you, alleluia.
You search into the thoughts and affections of all people:
Risen Lord, we bless you, alleluia.
You reprove and chasten those whom you love:
Risen Lord, we bless you, alleluia.
You open the eyes of the blind
and set the prisoners free:
Risen Lord, we bless you, alleluia.
In your paschal victory,
you have proclaimed the coming of the kingdom:
Risen Lord, we bless you, alleluia.
God of glory,
by the raising of your Son
you have broken the chains of death and hell:
fill your Church with faith and hope;
for a new day has dawned
and the way to life stands open
in our Saviour Jesus Christ.
Amen.
Rejoicing in God’s new creation,
let us pray with confidence as our Saviour has taught us
Our Father, who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy name;
thy kingdom come;
thy will be done;
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation;
but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom,
the power and the glory,
for ever and ever.
Amen.
The God of peace,
who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus,
that great shepherd of the sheep,
through the blood of the eternal covenant,
make us perfect in every good work to do his will,
working in us that which is well-pleasing in his sight;
and the blessing of God almighty,
the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit,
be among us and remain with us always.
Amen.