WHEN I AM LIFTED UP

Reflection for Tuesday of the 5^th Week of Lent

(Num 21:4-9; Jn 821-30)

1.0.      They Lost Patience

In the midst of their hunger and thirst, the Israelites became impatient and lost faith. They turned against God and Moses. Losing patience means they could no longer wait on the Lord to answer them at His own time, and continuing to trust that He would answer them. Their hunger inspired them to desire a God who would be at their disposal, and not vice versa. It is not possible for man to withdraw his heart from God without turning it against God. It is either God is the friend or the enemy; the solution or the problem! Whenever we lose patience and refuse to see God as the Solution, we will accuse Him of the problem... “Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness?”

Since they claimed God brought them out to die, fiery serpents became the answer to their impatience. They saw death and repented of their blasphemy. So God asked Moses to set up a bronze serpent as a sign; “And if a serpent bit any man, he would look at the bronze serpent and live.” Thus, this sign would remind them of how they provoked God, and at the same time draw God’s mercy to them.

2.0.      “Who are You”

The Pharisees continued to interrogate Jesus about His identity since they set themselves to oppose Him. They refused to acknowledge His divine manifestations and teachings, which indicate that He is the Messiah. So Jesus said to them, “I told you that you would die in your sins, for you will die in your sins unless you believe that I am He.” With their closed minds, they continue to ask him, “Who are you?” Then Jesus answered, “When you have lifted up the Son of man, then you will know that I am He...”

“As Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert, so must the Son of man be lifted up so that everyone who believes may have eternal life” (Jn 3:14-15). His life and identity would be explained by His death! Those who refused to believe will see His death and acknowledge Him. “The Centurion, who was standing in front of him, and had seen how he had died, and he said, ‘In truth this man was Son of God’” (Mk 15:39). Lifted up on the Cross, He will remind us of our rebellion against God through sin, and at the same time, draw God’s mercy upon us.

This Lenten season we look upon the Cross of Jesus. Sin bites like the fiery serpent; our impatience takes us to the wrong turn in life. We are solution-oriented people, so we can easily lose faith when the answers are not forthcoming. The sight of Jesus crucified speaks to our conscience and brings healing to our body and soul. Thus, as the Son of man is lifted up, our hearts go with Him, and we are uplifted above the world, its temptations and struggles.

Fr Jude Chinwenwa Nwachukwu, C.Ss.R

Saints Peter & Paul Catholic Church,

Tedi-Muwo, Lagos.