Numbers 21:4-9
A sermon by Meighan Pritchard and the people of
Prospect United Church of Christ
Seattle, WA September 22, 2024
This was the lectionary reading on my very first Sunday here at Prospect, back in March 2012. I thought, “You’ve got to be kidding me.”
Read through a New Testament lens in the Gospel of John, the snake raised on a stick gets compared to Jesus lifted up on a cross. But I want to stick with the Hebrew Scripture story.
First, it’s terrible medical advice. If you get a snake bite that could kill you, you’re not going to be cured by staring into the eyes of a bronze snake on a stick. So understand that this story is operating on the level of metaphor. What kind of loving God hears people whining and besets them with snakes? No, there’s a higher purpose here.
These people feel powerless over their lives. They’ve been slaves, as were their parents and grandparents. That’s a powerless existence. And now they’ve been led out into the desert, where they don’t know where their food or water will come from, and, as we’ve discussed in previous sermons, they want Moses to fix everything for them.
The serpents in their midst put them into a blind panic. In their powerlessness, they think they will just die. They ask Moses to fix it for them with God. What God gives them, by having Moses make the bronze snake on a pole, is a way for the people to have some agency, some power, over the thing that terrifies them. God is trying to show them that they don’t just have to complain about their circumstances all the time; they can actually do something to make things better. But first they have to stare into the face of the very thing that terrifies them. They have to confront it.
What happens when you stop running from a thing and turn around to face it? Many people have been that way about climate change. They pull the covers over their heads, they stop their ears and say, “la la la la, I can’t hear you.” It takes an enormous amount of energy to keep running away from the issue. Only when they turn and face climate change, stare at the reality of it, can they then say, “Okay, so now what?” And “now what?” is a question about agency. What can I or what can we do about this reality?
There are a lot of things happening in our society today about which we may feel powerless. Climate change, as I mentioned. Women’s reproductive rights. Homelessness, immigration, politics, racism, public education, access to health care, and on and on. Turn to the people at your table and choose one topic that comes to mind for you. What would it look like if we as a society looked it squarely in the face and said, “Now what?” And those on Zoom are invited to discuss with each other. You have about 8 minutes….
[People discussed these topics:
Gun violence (3 groups)
Fear of conflict, retribution (these people carry guns!)
Denial—people don’t understand how bad it is
Value of life
Ban assault weapons
Do background checks
Jail the parents of student shooters
Change the laws: talk to representatives, participate in protests, confront
Make the forms and requirements for owning a gun onerous enough that some people won’t get one
Prison reform
Form a prison choir
Provide college education opportunities for prisoners
A little bit of something is better than a whole lot of nothing.
Climate change/green energy/wind farms
Conversation started by talking about using private land for solar farms, and compensation to landowners
Evolved into discussion of windmills and bird safety
Don’t just treat the symptoms, discern the root problems
Concerned people need to speak up
Pay attention to nuances and complexities of a problem]
Let’s hear what the topics were that each group discussed. What happened when you said, “Now what?” How does that feel to come up with answers?
We are not powerless people wandering aimlessly in the desert. We have agency to make the world better. God gives us resources—a snake on a stick to give us courage, food and water to fuel the work, a heart and soul, hands and feet. We don’t get to wait for Moses to fix it all. May we dare to look that snake in the eyes and join Moses to be about the building of God’s realm on earth. Amen.