In the Wilderness
October 14, 2012 |
Patrick Preheim | Numbers 21:4-9; John 3:14-17
I like the quote from Origen which was been included in your bulletins. “When the Gospels or the Apostle or the Psalms are read, another person joyfully receives them, gladly embraces them...But if the book of Numbers is read to him...he will judge that there is nothing helpful, nothing as a remedy for his weakness or a benefit for the salvation of his soul. He will constantly spit them out as heavy and burdensome food.” (quoted in Dennis Olson’s, Numbers: A Bible Commentary for Teaching and Preaching (Interpretation Bible Commentary Series), p 1).
Numbers is not quite as tough slogging as Leviticus, and yet I fear Origen’s observations hit many of us on the mark. Origen does go on to describe the spiritual benefits of Numbers, and I completely agree with his assessment that it offers us something very significant. Numbers is set entirely in the wilderness, and the truth of the matter is that if we are not currently enduring the wilderness, soon enough we will. Different stages of life will bring us different wilderness experiences. In our youth we are preoccupied with finding a meaningful vocation and trustworthy companionship. In our middle years we are focused on work, children, and aging parents. In our later years we must come to terms with physical losses and our mortality. Each of these stages has its own wilderness experiences. The only way to the Promised Land, for the young or aged, is to become a person of hope and trust right in the midst of any given wilderness. The stories and structure of this “Fourth Book of Moses” with their New Testament glosses provide us a guide to transformation in the midst of the wilderness. I will say more about that in just a bit. First, however, I share a story of conversion which took place in the wilderness.
The Saturday of the Thanksgiving (Oct 6, 2012) CBC radio’s Definitely Not the Opera ran a show entitled, “When did you love—or hate—your job?” Jennifer, one of the interviewees, described a situation from her past. She had just graduated with a degree in sociology in the midst of a recession with no prospects of finding work in her field. In order to pay the bills she took a job in a “helping profession” which she described as rather ironic because she had always seen herself better suited for one of the “complaining professions”, not a “helping profession”. Desperate enough for employees the Good Samaritan Society hired this young woman who didn’t really want to be there. Not surprisingly her attitude came across to those she was assisting, but even after complaints the Good Samaritans wouldn’t fire her. She was stuck in a wilderness with any sort of Promised Land a long ways away. As time went on she got a new client named Ellen who was in the moderate stages of Alzheimer’s disease. This woman was either un-phased by Jennifer’s apathy or couldn’t remember it from week to week. When Jennifer came to the door she grabbed her arms and greeted her with, “This is the girl!”—perhaps confusing her with a family member. One ill fated week it was time to cut Ellen’s toe nails and Jennifer found herself on the floor of a woman who had forgotten what a vacuum is for gazing at nails that more closely resembled eagle talons than anything a human could grow. This was no pedicure; this was a carpentry project. Ellen must have sensed the gravity of the situation for she started to speak. This was unusual because at this point in her life she was having trouble putting complete sentences together. This is what she said, “Your mother must be very proud of you”. Jennifer’s first thought was, “I really don’t think so”. And then she considered that this was Ellen’s way of affirming the importance of her work even if Jennifer couldn’t see it. It was glass of cold water in the face. It was a shock and a wake-up call for her. In the language of today’s Old Testament story, it was a snake bite. Kneeling there she began to value the work she was doing. Kneeling there with a Good Samaritan tag affixed to her clothes she looked up and realized that a Good Samaritan was tending to her.
This wilderness story fits exceedingly well with several names we have for the book of the bible under study today. I am familiar with three monikers. The Germans would refer to it as the “Fourth Book of Moses”. On account of the censuses which happen in chapters 1 and 26 the Latin and Greek translations give it a name which equates to the English “Numbers”. Hebrew speakers simply call this book “In the Wilderness”. No slight intended to the Germans, but I have found these last two titles quite helpful as I have tried to make sense of Numbers and seek some kind application of it. According to Dennis Olson the two different numberings split the narrative into sections which have distinct themes. He described the first block as the “generation of rebellion” because so many of the stories are ones in which the people complain, disobey, or outright rebel. The chapters following the second census represent the “generation of hope” because the narratives are success stories with visions of entry into the Promised Land (Olson, pp 1-6). The “goal of Numbers is for Israel to leave the wilderness and enter the promised land of Canaan” (Thomas B. Dozeman, “Book of Numbers” in The New Interpreter’s Bible commentary (vl 2), p. 4). To do that they must become a generation of hope which means coming to terms with life in the wilderness.
In a biblical survey the wilderness is fraught with danger as well as potential. In the wilderness:
- The wandering Hebrews face hunger, thirst, and the devastating effects of nostalgia
- Jesus runs into Satan after his baptism
- Sheep get lost (Lk 15.4)
Now if these were the only characterizations of the wilderness we might say it is a terrible place. The vast majority of Biblical stories that reference the wilderness, however, describe it as a place one finds refuge and renewal.
- Hagar was twice cast from Abraham’s camp finding herself in the wilderness. In that seemingly harsh place she meets God and gets a new lease on life (Gen 16.7; 21.14).
- After killing a man Moses fled to the wilderness for protection, met his wife, found a burning bush, and received a divine commission (Ex 3).
- In the wilderness God gave the Hebrews good things: the Torah at Mt. Horeb, manna, quail, water from a work, clothes which did not wear out (Jeremiah 2).
- In the wilderness David found cover to allude Saul & Absalom (1st Sam 23.15;2nd Sam 15.23).
- Isaiah 40 describes the wilderness as the place where a voice cries out to prepare the way of the Lord.
- John baptized people in the wilderness.
- A woman in Revelation 12 took refuge in the wilderness from a ferocious beast.
These stories highlight the upside to wilderness living: divine protection is found there, the grace of God is present there, the call of God can be heard there.
Another wilderness story... As a congregation we have been considering how we might follow up to the important work of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of this past summer. Given the difficult history between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal it has been hard to know the best way to develop connections between our communities. We feel the sting of past injustices; we sense the venom of racial tensions; we see how the snake bite affects our attitude. What is the way forward? Lifting our eyes, I would suggest, is the way forward.
While we have been fretting about the serpents in the camp God has been busy. Ten days ago I was working away in my office and a picked up a phone call from Jared. This was not the Jared we know who plays the banjo and teaches environmental ecology at Aiden Bowman. No, this Jared is a student at Oskayak, the First Nations school on Broadway Ave. This Jared was calling to see if we had need for students to do some voluntary service around the church. Imagine! I was unprepared for this. In hindsight I know what I should have said him: absolutely we need you and as many friends as you can bring with you; when can you be here? Instead, I told him I needed to check with a few people about tasks they could help us with; could he call back after noon? Jared found another place to serve, but I will be ready next time.
Also in the last weeks we received a call from the Ministries Commission of Mennonite Church Saskatchewan. Might Nutana Park Mennonite consider hosting an evening for a Metis folksinger making her way out west? Given all our conversation about follow up to the TRC how could we say no. We will publicize the event in places like the “Indian and Metis Friendship Centre”, the Good Food Junction, maybe even Botoche. The evening of Friday, October 26, will be another chance for us look up and be healed. It will be a time to take in stories that we have not often heard and possibly a time to make some new acquaintances. I would encourage everyone who is available to participate in this event.
These two real life illustrations point to some very good news. God provides the antidote to our illnesses even before we recognize we are sick; all we need to do is believe and pay attention. This bit of good news takes me a final remarks on our biblical stories for today.
Two themes...emerge from the paradoxical role of the snakes. First, actions by Israel determine whether the seraphim are agents of death or life. Trivial and self-indulgent complaints lead to death. Faith in the power of the bronze serpent heals. This is also the message of Jesus to Nicodemus, when he refers to the story of the bronze snake...that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.
Belief in something beyond ourselves is necessary for our healing. It is necessary to become a generation of hope. It is necessary for eternal life. John’s gospel names this divine otherness the Son of Man, Jesus Christ. As we behold him and believe in him and follow after him we will be healed. A second theological point.
[E]ven in their most trivial moment of pointless haranguing, God devises medicine to heal Israel. The message is that Israel cannot become so terminally ill that [the Lord] is unable to heal them. [the Lord] made this promise in the first wilderness story (Ex 15.22-26)... (Numbers 21:4-9) illustrates its truth. The same message returns in the discourse of Jesus to Nicodemus. The love of God has no boundaries, “for God so loved the world that he gave his only son”. (Dozeman, 167)
Jesus, the one raised up for us, is there to bring healing to the world and all those languishing in the wilderness. He came that we might live in hope and not rebellious complaining. Jesus is there for the parent concerned about her child. He is there for the retiree who is beginning to not only search for words, but for meaning in an ebbing life. He is there for those whose mission is to put bread on the table regardless of the work. He is there for those young people seeking their vocation. He is the healing serpent raised up for us in the wilderness.
God give us awareness of those stings which diminish our living and the strength to ask why. God give us the wisdom to lift our eyes so that we might be healed of the venom. And God give us courage to continue our journey through the wildernesses of life knowing that the Promised Land is now and will be. Amen.
