Break Open the Word

The Fifth Sunday in Lent, 22 March 2015 Jeremiah 31:31-34 Psalm 51:1-13 or Psalm 119:9-16 Hebrews 5:5-10 St. John 12:20-33                                                                                                                 Background: Looking Ahead In a recent conversation about the upcoming ceremonies and observances of Holy Week and the Triduum, I found my worship committee strangely spooked by the Passion side of the Passion Sunday/Palm Sunday liturgy.   ...

The Forth Sunday in Lent, 15 March 2015 Numbers 21:4-9 Psalm 107:1-3, 17-22 Ephesians 2:1-10 St. John 3:14-21 Background: Serpents The serpent makes several appearances in both the Hebrew and in the Christian Scriptures.   The primary image is that of the serpent who tempts Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden in his playing with the notions of wisdom and knowledge.   Moses uses a staff that is changed into a snake. This is not the only instance in which Moses is associated with a serpent.   In the desert, as the Children of Israel wander from Egypt to Canaan, Moses puts up a copper serpent, wrapped around a pole as a sign of healing and salvation. Later, it is King Hezekiah who removes the serpent of Moses from the Temple and destroys it. Finally, in the Gospel of John, we meet Moses’ serpent again, where Jesus refers to it and compares himself to it in his conversation with Nicodemus. The serpent, in the ancient near east often was a symbol of f...