4th SUNDAY OF LENT (B)

Just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, so that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life.

Jn 3:14-21

The book of Numbers contain the story about Moses lifting up the serpent in the desert (Numbers 21:1-9):

But with their patience worn out by the journey, the people complained against God and Moses, "Why have you brought us up from Egypt to die in this desert, where there is no food or water? We are disgusted with this wretched food!"

In punishment the LORD sent among the people saraph serpents, which bit the people so that many of them died.

Then the people came to Moses and said, "We have sinned in complaining against the LORD and you. Pray the LORD to take the serpents from us." So Moses prayed for the people, and the LORD said to Moses, "Make a saraph and mount it on a pole, and if anyone who has been bitten looks at it, he will recover."

Moses accordingly made a bronze serpent and mounted it on a pole, and whenever anyone who had been bitten by a serpent looked at the bronze serpent, he recovered.

Notice that John’s gospel changes the verb “mounted” (Moses accordingly made a bronze serpent and mounted it on a pole.) to “lifted”. This is because in his gospel, the verb “lifted” refers to the glorification of Jesus through his suffering, death and resurrection.

John wants to bring home the message that Jesus through his glorification brings salvation (eternal life) just as the bronze serpent of the Old Testament brought salvation (recovery) to the Israelites who were bitten by the poisonous snakes.

Moses mounted the bronze serpent on a pole so that it could easily be seen. When an Israelite is bitten by a seraph serpent, he would have no trouble finding the bronze serpent and thus, would escape death.

In the same way, John wants us to keep our gaze fixed on Jesus.

KEEPING OUR EYES ON JESUS

How do we keep Jesus in sight? In other words, how do keep ourselves from forgetting the presence of Jesus in our lives?

We can place the crucifix on the lintel of the door of our homes or above our beds or at the family altar.

We can place the statue of the Sacred Heart on the family altar.

If we have a car, we can place a rosary of the rear-view mirror or a statue of the Sto. Nino or the Sacred Heart or the Divine Mercy on the dashboard.

We can use holy pictures of Jesus (stampitas) as bookmarkers.

Bigger pictures of Jesus may be placed at strategic places in the house.

There is a saying, “Out of sight, out of mind”. By having these pictures, statues and crucifixes, we keep Jesus in sight and therefore, in mind.

There are other ways of keeping Jesus in sight.

Some go for daily Mass. Others go for a quick visit to the Church. There are those who prefer to stay longer with Jesus at the Adoration chapel.

If your devotion is to the Divine Mercy, the 3 o’clock habit gives you an opportunity to stop for a moment and focus on Jesus.

If it is does not bother people too much, setting your watch to chime every hour on the hour can be your signal to stop for a couple of seconds in order to think of Jesus.

There are times in our lives when we need to keep on looking at Jesus.

Do you remember the incident about Peter attempting to walk on the water? It is found on Matthew 14:28-30—

Peter said to him in reply, "Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water." He said, "Come." Peter got out of the boat and began to walk on the water toward Jesus. But when he saw how (strong) the wind was he became frightened; and, beginning to sink, he cried out, "Lord, save me!"

Someone observed that as long as Peter fixed his gaze on Jesus, everything was all right. But when he shifted his gaze from Jesus to the waves, that were when fear took hold of him and thus, sank.

When we are in a fix, when we are faced with a difficult situation, we need to keep on looking at Jesus. We need to keep on praying.

During World War II, a group of sailors whose ship was sunk by kamikaze planes managed to survive long enough to be rescued. What kept their spirits up was prayer. The kept of praying the Our Father and the psalm, “The Lord is my Shepherd, there is nothing I shall want.” Prayer made them feel that they were not alone. God was with them. It also kept their faith alive. They kept on believing that God will not abandon them in the Pacific Ocean.

This is not an isolated incident.

Ingrid Betancourt was a French-Colombian politician who was kidnapped and kept hostage for 6 years by FARC, a Marxist rebel group. She and eleven other hostages were finally freed by government forces.

What kept her hopes high? The Rosary.

In the darkest night, prayer makes me remember that I am not alone, that God is with me and that he will never abandon me.

EXPLANATION OF THE GOSPEL

Jesus said to Nicodemus.

Nicodemus was a Pharisee and a member of the Sanhedrin, who, according to the Gospel of John, was favourable to Jesus. He appears three times in the Gospel: the first is when he visits Jesus one night to listen to his teachings (John 3:1-21); the second is when he states the law concerning the arrest of Jesus during the Feast of Tabernacles (John 7:45-51); and the last follows the Crucifixion, when he assists Joseph of Arimathea in preparing the corpse of Jesus for burial (John 19:39-42).

For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life.

“That he gave his only Son” may have a reference to Isaac who was Abra-ham’s only son. Abraham was willing to give up his son in sacrifice on Mt. Moriah in obedience to God’s command (Gn 22:1-13).

God gave his son to us as a gift in the Incarnation and as an expiatory sacri-fice in the Crucifixion.

For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through him.

We find this universal salvific will of God in 1Tim 2:3-4: “This is good and pleasing to God our savior, who wills everyone to be saved and to come to knowledge of the truth.”

John Calvin, a Protestant reformer, who based himself in Geneva, taught the doctrine of predestination. He said that God predestines some to heaven and most people to hell without considering their behaviour.

Predestination brought St. Francis de Sales to a crisis in his youth. He somehow felt that he was among those predestined to hell. His crisis was resolved when he prayed: “If I am going to be separated from you for all eternity, at least here on earth let me love you.”

On his deathbed, St. Dominic Savio was bothered by the thought that he might not go to heaven. “Can I be certain that I will be saved?” St. John Bosco replied, “Yes, through the mercy of God, which will never be lacking to you, you are certain to be saved.”

In the final analysis, our salvation rests on the mercy of God who wants all his children to go to heaven.

Whoever believes in him will not be condemned, but whoever does not believe has already been condemned, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. And this is the verdict, that the light came into the world, but people preferred darkness to light, because their works were evil.

In the Greek, the word has two meanings: condemnation and judgment.

The coming of Jesus makes judgment inevitable. You either accept or reject Jesus and his message. If you refuse to accept Jesus and his message (turn away from the light), you earn condemnation.

But whoever lives the truth comes to the light, so that his works may be clearly seen as done in God.

There may be a fine line between showing off and witnessing. On the one hand, Jesus condemns those who announce to the world the charity that they do in order to gain applause (Mt 6:2). But on the other hand, Jesus also taught: “Nor do they light a lamp and then put it under a bushel basket; it is set on a lampstand, where it gives light to all in the house. Just so, your light must shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your heavenly Father” (Mt 5:15-16).

St. John Bosco got hold of a booklet that spoke of his work for poor and abandoned youth. After some thinking, he ordered that it be re-printed and distributed. When he was whether it was an appropriate thing to do (because it might appear self-glorification on the part of St. John Bosco), he replied that if people were to come and help them take care of poor and abandoned youth, these people must get to know the work they do. And that particular booklet would serve that purpose.

But ultimately the difference between showing off and witnessing may be found in one’s intention. But then only you and God will know what is exactly going on in your heart.