Homily for March 20, 2018.
“And the
people spoke against God and against Moses, “Why have you brought us up out of
Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no food and no water, and we
loathe this worthless food.” Numbers 21:5.
Every sin
is an act of rebellion. Every act of rebellion begins with dissatisfaction. To
rebel is to challenge authority and demand for certain “privileges” which one
feels deprived of. When Adam and Eve were tempted, Satan made them feel they
were being deprived by God and God was preventing them from enjoying their full
potentials.
Look at
the words of the serpent: “For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will
be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” “So when the woman
saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and
that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and
ate; and she also gave some to her husband, and he ate.” Genesis 3:5-6.
The
dissatisfaction of Adam and Eve is the same dissatisfaction that drives us to
sin against God. For instance, when God says: “thou shall not steal, or bear
false witness or thou shall not commit adultery,” we become dissatisfied with
what rightfully belongs to us and begin to crave for more, we are no longer
happy with telling the truth and we begin to regard bodily purity as worthless
food, just as the Israelites called the manna worthless food.
This is
the root of sin in our lives. We feel cheated, we feel God is so unfair in
restricting us and keeping away pleasures of life from us. We start seeing God’s
commandments as a burden rather than a blessing, a map and a guide to the best
things God has prepared for us. We steal, we covert, we tell lies and so on
just because we are never satisfied.
Dear
friends, just as rebellion led to the death of many in Israel, sin destroys us.
The fiery serpents God sent on the people represents what we incur on ourselves
by being dissatisfied with God and his commandments! Dissatisfaction is a sign
of lack of trust in God and its only reward is sorrow.
But then,
that is not the end of the story. There is Good news. The people came to their
senses and repented. They said to Moses: “We have sinned…!” They cried to God
for mercy and he pitied them by asking Moses to make a bronze serpent as a
SIGN. As powerful as the bronze serpent was, it remained only a sign.
The power
behind that sign was Jesus Christ, the Son of God. As he said in today’s Gospel
passage “When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am
he.” John 8:28.
Each time
you look at the cross of Jesus, don’t just stare. Look with faith, look up and
receive healing. We have so many fiery serpents biting us on every side,
serpents we have brought on ourselves because of our sinfulness. We must look
at the cross for healing, we must keep looking for direction, for wisdom and
for freedom from the spirit of dissatisfaction.
Let us Pray: Lord Jesus, increase my trust in your love and provision
for me. Amen.
Be Happy. Live Positive. Have Faith.
It is well with you. God bless you. (Tuesday of the 5th Week of Lent. Bible Study: Numbers 21:4-9
and John 8:21-30).
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