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This past week, we were fortunate to have Kervin Jones of The 3rd Street Church of God here in town come and speak at our Lenten Lunches. Our theme this year has been Conversations in the Wilderness, focusing on life-changing moments in our faith.
Kervin spoke about his experience with 2011 tornado. While Kervin survived, and a few of his family Bibles were recovered, he lost his house thanks to the tornado. This left him at a crossroads because in losing the house, he wasn't sure he could afford to continue his ministry. But Kervin kept listening to God and pushing forward in his service to God.
Then one day Leslie Manning, the former director of Sawyerville, called him up. She wanted to know if there was anything Kervin needed in the wake of the tornado.
Kervin told us that his pride almost swelled up at that point, but he was able to let go and reply with the truth, "well, I need a house."
Leslie got others together in the Diocese and that's what they did. They worked together with architects and others to build Kervin the dream house he never knew he wanted.
Kervin told us that The Episcopal Church had done this for him out of no merit of Kervin's. He told us that he had not had any intention of joining The Episcopal Church or even talking about joining, and yet The Episcopal Church built this home for him anyway.
Kervin then charged us to go out and support others, even if it was just with a smile, because you never know how your actions will affect and help another person.
Kervin's journey of trusting in God, of letting go of his pride, and of receiving a gift of grace is the message we hear in our Gospel this morning.
"Just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up."
This may seem like a strange statement for Jesus to make. That's why we have the reading from Numbers this morning.
In Numbers, we learn what this serpent Jesus is referring to actually is. Once again we hear that the Israelites are complaining against God. Not only do they not want to follow The Lord, they refuse to let go of their pride and trust in Him.
So God lets them make their own way. And turns out the Israelites do need Him. There are venomous snakes all around them. Many Israelites are bit and die. They finally let go of their pride. They finally ask God for help.
The Israelites didn't deserve God's help. They say as much themselves. And yet God offers them a miracle, a sign to trust in him. God has them build a bronze serpent and stick it on a pole. From now on, if anyone is bit by a venomous snake, they can look up at the serpent and know that they will live. When they look at this serpent, they will know that they will be saved. The Israelites are given a life-saving gift that they earned not on their own merit, but due to the grace of God alone.
"Just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up." Jesus is just like that serpent for us. When we look on Him, lifted up on the cross, we remember that He died for our sins. We remember that He died so that death would no longer have dominion over us.
Just like the bronze serpent, Jesus was lifted up to save us all. It was not something we earned. It merely was a gift from God.
We hear in the Gospel today that "God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him may not perish, but have eternal life."
God came into this world to save us from death. He came to offer us a gift, the gift of Grace. It's something He freely gave to us, not something we earned. All we have to do is swallow our pride, put our trust in Him, and look up. All we have to do to receive God's gift is to say "Yes. Please."
At the end of the Gospel today, Jesus talks of the "deeds done in God." Our call is to share the love we have been given to others, even if it is through something as simple as a smile. We have been given an amazing gift. We are called to share that gift with others too.