Tuesday of the 5th Week of Lent
They traveled from Mount Hor by the way to the Red Sea, to go around the land of Edom. The soul of the people was very discouraged because of the journey. The people spoke against God and against Moses: "Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no bread, there is no water, and our soul loathes this disgusting food!"
The Lord sent venomous snakes among the people, and they bit the people. Many people of Israel died. The people came to Moses, and said, "We have sinned, because we have spoken against the Lord and against you. Pray to the Lord, that he take away the serpents from us." Moses prayed for the people.
The Lord said to Moses, "Make a venomous snake, and set it on a pole. It shall happen that everyone who is bitten, when he sees it, shall live." Moses made a serpent of bronze, and set it on the pole. If a serpent had bitten any man, when he looked at the serpent of bronze, he lived.
Don't hide your face from me in the day of my distress. Turn your ear to me. Answer me quickly in the day when I call. For my days consume away like smoke. My bones are burned as a torch.
For the Lord has built up Zion. He has appeared in his glory. He has responded to the prayer of the destitute, And has not despised their prayer. This will be written for the generation to come. A people which will be created will praise the Lord,
For he has looked down from the height of his sanctuary. From heaven, the Lord saw the earth, To hear the groans of the prisoner, To free those who are condemned to death, That men may declare the Lord's name in Zion, And his praise in Jerusalem,
Jesus said therefore again to them, "I am going away, and you will seek me, and you will die in your sins. Where I go, you can't come."
The Jews therefore said, "Will he kill himself, because he says, 'Where I am going, you can't come'?"
He said to them, "You are from beneath. I am from above. You are of this world. I am not of this world. I said therefore to you that you will die in your sins; for unless you believe that I am he, you will die in your sins."
They said therefore to him, "Who are you?"
Jesus said to them, "Just what I have been saying to you from the beginning. I have many things to speak and to judge concerning you. However, he who sent me is true; and the things which I heard from him, these I say to the world."
They didn't understand that he spoke to them about the Father. Jesus therefore said to them, "When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am he, and I do nothing of myself, but as my Father taught me, I say these things. He who sent me is with me. The Father hasn't left me alone, for I always do the things that are pleasing to him."
As he spoke these things, many believed in him.
The Israelites are tired, hungry, and complaining bitterly about their circumstances. Sound familiar? There's something deeply human about their grumbling - when life gets difficult, our first instinct is often to blame God or others for our situation. Yet notice what happens next: when the consequences of their rebellion become clear, they don't just suffer in silence. They acknowledge their sin and ask for help.
The bronze serpent that Moses creates becomes a powerful symbol of healing through looking upon what once brought death. This ancient image points directly to what Jesus reveals in the Gospel - that he too will be "lifted up" so that those who look upon him might live. The cross, like that bronze serpent, transforms an instrument of death into a source of life.
Jesus speaks with remarkable clarity about his identity and mission, even as his listeners struggle to understand. "You are from beneath. I am from above." This isn't meant to shame us but to illuminate the gap that only divine love can bridge. When we find ourselves confused by God's ways or frustrated with our circumstances, we're in good company with those first listeners.
The movement in both readings is from complaint to recognition, from confusion to faith. Consider how this pattern plays out in our own lives - those moments when our grumbling gives way to genuine prayer, when our questions lead us deeper into mystery rather than away from it.
There's hope woven through these passages: God responds to honest cries for help, and even our confusion can become a pathway to deeper faith. The Father who never leaves Jesus alone is the same Father who hears our groaning and meets us in our wilderness moments.
What complaints might we need to transform into honest prayer today? How does looking upon Christ's cross change our perspective on our current struggles?