Sermon: What Matters

Lectionary: Proper 6(B)

Text: 2 Corinthians 5:6-17

"Reconciliation"

Introduction

A criticism that is sometimes leveled against Christians is that “some people are so heavenly minded that they are no earthly good.”[1] And if we take some of the texts found in the New Testament, we could certainly come up with a basis for focusing solely on salvation as a means of exiting this world and getting to heaven. Part of the reading this morning from 2 Corinthians 5 could be interpreted in that way.

I grew up in a theology that strongly emphasized the Second Coming and the saved would be taken up, after which this present world would be destroyed. Then this world would be recreated with the arrival of the New Jerusalem. In one sense then, I grew up with the idea that this world and everything in it was quite temporary and we shouldn’t spend too much effort “down here.”

But on the other hand, the denomination had a strong organizational branch dedicated to education, health and medicine, and disaster relief. It was very much concerned about growing its presence. But these were most always undertaken toward the ultimate goal of evangelism and “getting people saved.”

What I read in Paul’s words found in today’s reading is not either-or, but a both-and. In a nutshell, what Paul seems to be writing to the Corinthians is that what is done in this world matters now to the physical world, and what is done in this world matters in the future when Christ will take into account what was done.

It is on this latter point that Christians raise eyebrows because the idea of a judgment that evaluates works and then offers a payment based on that seems rather foreign and antithetical to the entire message of gospel and grace, especially when it is coming from Paul, the foremost champion of grace over law and works.

What is going on?

The Church at Corinth and Paul

First, it needs to be noted that the idea of a future judgment is not foreign to Paul’s theology. In addition to what we read today, we find Paul writing about a future judgment and associated rewards in Romans and in 1 Corinthians.[2] What is key to note about Paul’s theology of future judgment is that the same God who saves is also the judge. Rather than fearing judgment then, those who belong to Christ should know relief and assurance instead.

Next let us turn to the context of the church in Corinth. Many of you are already likely aware that the church in Corinth seems to have been plagued by one problem, issue, and conflict after another. At least based on the Pauline letters that we have left to us to ponder. There were conflicts of leadership: some preferred Peter, others Apollos, others Paul, and others eschewed any kind of human leadership and went straight to Christ.[3] There was within the church sexual immorality that even the pagan Romans frowned on.[4] Members were taking one another into Roman courts to bring and settle lawsuits.[5] There were conflicts over what one could eat or not eat.[6] There were rivalries over manifestations of spiritual gifts.[7] There were even conflicts involving the Communion meal.[8] Members of the church were judging one another and dividing into factions, each believing themselves to be better than the others.

One of the issues then may be related to an over-realized eschatology that some of the members may have come to believe. These thought that because they had been saved, the full realization of salvation had already come and that what they did in their physical bodies on the physical world no longer mattered.[9]

A second issue was that of authority. It seems that Paul’s authority as an apostle was being questioned. He did not act like teachers and authority figures were expected to behave. He did not demand to be supported, and instead supported himself. The church in Corinth saw this not as a sign of humble Christian behavior, but as a lack of power and authority and preferred others who acted more in line with their expectations.[10]

The Second Letter to the Corinthian Church

The First Epistle to the Corinthians addressed these issues and several others. But apparently the issues didn’t get resolved, because Paul had to write at least one more letter. Chapters 10 through 13 of the Second Epistle to the Corinthians is probably that letter. In these chapters, Paul again has to defend his authority as an apostle and rebuke the church at Corinth for their ongoing conflicts and behaviors unbecoming of Christ-followers.

And that brings us to the first seven chapters of the Second Epistle. (Several modern scholars theorize that the Second Epistle is an amalgamation of three separate letters that are found out of order from their chronologies.)[11] These seven chapters, the last of Paul’s letters that we have written to the church in Corinth, may be seen as a reconciliation letter. The conflict and issues at Corinth seem to have been finally resolved and Paul writes to explain himself and assure the Corinthians that he has not continued to be angry with them. Our reading today was taken from the middle of this material.

The Future Hope and Present Realities

In this subsection, Paul seems to be writing excitedly about the hope he and all Christians have in the promised future restoration of all things. Physical bodies might be weak, they wear out, and trouble can hit us at any time. Death is always a possibility. But none of that compares to the life that we already have in Christ and the resurrection that we will experience. What we see is temporal. All the troubles are temporary. What is promised beyond what we can currently see surpasses anything we can truly imagine. The visible, physical world weighs us down. We long for the life to come. We do not belong to this world.

At this point we might expect Paul to go all in on the future, the world and life to come. He does, indeed, long for it and hope for it. But he tells his audience that while this world might be temporary and our permanent home isn’t here, we should nevertheless live in the here and now as if it were our home and Christ was here with us. A precedent for this pattern may be found in Jeremiah 29 where the prophet writes to the exiles in Babylon to live in their land of exile, the land of sojourn, as though they were going to be there a long time. They were commanded to promote the welfare of their temporary home because their future was tied to the future of their temporary home.[12]

Both-And

If we heed Paul’s words in 2 Corinthians chapter 5, we will be better equipped to stay away from a couple ditches that we could find ourselves in. The first ditch is one where because all our hope is in the future, we come to believe that nothing in the present world matters. This is where Paul’s words about judgment and rewards based in what happens in the body are pertinent. How we treat the physical world and how we relate to creation and created beings matters to God and therefore, it should matter to us. The words about judgment is a call to critical self-reflection for individuals and for faith communities. If we claim to be followers of Christ, but ignore Christ’s concerns, are we really following Christ?

The second ditch is one where only the present is of concern. Especially since Christ’s return is so long in coming, and placing faith and hope in an event that could be another two-thousand years off seems esoteric and difficult to comprehend. It is much easier to try to make concrete, tangible efforts in the present and minimize or ignore what might or might not happen in the future as it is inconvenient to try to explain to those outside the church this very delayed hope.

The Ultimate Hope of Reconciliation

We need to go past today’s assigned reading, but when we do we can see that for Paul, ethical works done in the present was a means of bringing reconciliation. Starting with the last couple verses from the reading here is the rest of chapter 5.

¹⁶ So then, from this point on we won’t recognize people by human standards. Even though we used to know Christ by human standards, that isn’t how we know him now. ¹⁷ So then, if anyone is in Christ, that person is part of the new creation. The old things have gone away, and look, new things have arrived!

¹⁸ All of these new things are from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and who gave us the ministry of reconciliation. ¹⁹ In other words, God was reconciling the world to himself through Christ, by not counting people’s sins against them. He has trusted us with this message of reconciliation.

²⁰ So we are ambassadors who represent Christ. God is negotiating with you through us. We beg you as Christ’s representatives, “Be reconciled to God!” ²¹ God caused the one who didn’t know sin to be sin for our sake so that through him we could become the righteousness of God. (2 Corinthians 5:16-21 CEB)

Anyone can devote their lives to doing ethical work in this world and make a positive contribution and possibly a lasting difference. But for Christians, there is an even larger objective. It is the reconciliation of the world back to God. The hope of Christian faith is not simply a better world or eternal life, but a world and life reconciled back to the Creator so that we can all live together in peace and harmony, without fear.

Last week we read Paul’s words, “We also have faith, and so we also speak.” We heard about the importance of speaking about our faith. Today is a continuation of that conversation.

Paul’s theology is both-and. We must love this world, relate to it, and treat it as God does. We must begin to plant the seeds of God’s new creation within the world around us. We must tend to the sprouts and growth as they appear. But we must also point toward and speak about the hope that is found in the final reconciliation of the world to God. Our faith is not just in a glorified future, but in the power of God that is already recreating and restoring, who is working through our efforts to be Christ’s representatives in this world.

References

Dunn, J. D., & Rogerson, J. W. (2003). Eerdmans Commentary on the Bible. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.

 

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[1] Attributed to Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr.

[2] Romans 2:16; 14:10-11; 1 Corinthians 3:10-15.

[3] 1 Corinthians 1:10-12.

[4] 1 Corinthians 5.

[5] 1 Corinthians 6:1-8.

[6] 1 Corinthians 8.

[7] 1 Corinthians 12-14.

[8] 1 Corinthians 11:17-34.

[9] Paul’s discussion of the resurrection in 1 Cor. 15 seems to be related to this.

[10] 1 Corinthians 4.

[11] (Dunn & Rogerson, 2003), Introduction to 2 Corinthians.

[12] Jeremiah 29:4-7.

Sermon: A Portrait of Authentic Christian Ministry

A Portrait of Authentic Christian Ministry

Text: 2 Corinthians 6:3-13; c.f, 5:11-6:2, 7:2-4
Lectionary Year B, Proper 7

Just a Christian "Image Problem"?

What does "Christian" look like?

With increasing frequency, I cringe whenever Christian or Christianity is mentioned in the media. There are “pastors” who invoke divine will in securing a private jet for themselves. Racism and misogyny are found too often among those who self-identify as “Christians.” Domestic violence and sexual assault are being uncovered increasingly among those who for years have proclaimed “family values.” Church and denominations leaders are eager to secure civil powers and seemingly will compromise anything to retain their hold on authority and privilege.

The watching world sees Jesus and his teachings but cannot reconcile the public display of so much of what passes today for Christianity.

I think all of us here today would want to rise in protest, “But that’s not real Christianity!” Yet the reality is that some of the most prominent and vocal presence in modern Christianity only reinforces the notion that there is little to commend it. And all our arguing and protests seem to have little or no effect.

Richard Rohr, a Franciscan priest who is the founder of the Center for Action and Contemplation in New Mexico frequently says, “The best criticism of the bad is the practice of the better.” So, what does “better” look like?

Paul and the Corinthian Church

We can find one possible answer in one of Paul’s letters to the Corinthians. In our Bibles it is found in 2 Corinthians 6:3-10. But first, a brief discussion of the context in which this passage is to be understood.

An ancient Corinthian ruin

The Corinthian church had many issues, among which was that it was divided along ethnic, racial, social, and class lines. They seemed to be drawn to power and privilege and a tendency to marginalize those who the larger society saw as outsiders. There seemed to be factions within the church, each with its favored apostle. Paul was not on any of their lists, apparently.

In the chapter 5 of 2 Corinthians, Paul describes his ministry to them: a ministry of reconciliation.

Paul appeals to the Corinthian church to not look at outward appearances and accomplishments but to the motivations of the heart: “We are giving you an opportunity to be proud of us so that you could answer those who take pride in superficial appearance, and not in what is in the heart.” (5:12b)

Paul writes that Christ died for all – not just some favored few – and adds how Christ followers ought to live: “He died for the sake of all so that those who are alive should live not for themselves but for the one who died for them and was raised.” (5:15)

Paul writes how Christians are to view one another with a brand-new perspective: “So then, from this point on we won’t recognize people by human standards. Even though we used to know Christ by human standards, that isn’t how we know him now. So then, if anyone is in Christ, that person is part of the new creation. The old things have gone away, and look, new things have arrived!” (5:16-17)

Paul begs the Corinthians to set aside their differences and be reconciled in Christ: “We beg you as Christ’s representatives, “Be reconciled to God!” God caused the one who didn’t know sin to be sin for our sake so that through him we could become the righteousness of God.” (5:20b-21)

Paul's Ministry Credentials

It is in this context that Paul writes what we find in the first part of chapter 6. It can be read as a listing of his credentials describing why he should be accepted by the Corinthians as a genuine minister of Christ.

³ We don’t give anyone any reason to be offended about anything so that our ministry won’t be criticized. ⁴ Instead, we commend ourselves as ministers of God in every way. We did this with our great endurance through problems, disasters, and stressful situations. ⁵ We went through beatings, imprisonments, and riots. We experienced hard work, sleepless nights, and hunger. ⁶ We displayed purity, knowledge, patience, and generosity. We served with the Holy Spirit, genuine love, ⁷ telling the truth, and God’s power. We carried the weapons of righteousness in our right hand and our left hand. ⁸ We were treated with honor and dishonor and with verbal abuse and good evaluation. We were seen as both fake and real, ⁹ as unknown and well known, as dying—and look, we are alive! We were seen as punished but not killed, ¹⁰ as going through pain but always happy, as poor but making many rich, and as having nothing but owning everything.

Paul writes that “we don’t give anyone any reason be offended about anything so that our ministry won’t be criticized,” yet in the very next sentences he describes how people turned against him. So, what does he mean? Based on what follows, it appears that Paul is saying that he has done nothing to attempt to secure for himself power, privilege, wealth, or attempted self-promotion. He has disavowed any kind of self-aggrandizement.

The examples he follows with shows the very opposite of the kind of “success” that the world expects. There is nothing easy about genuine Christian ministry. Paul doesn’t say that he went seeking problems, disasters, beatings, and imprisonments, but the result of his ministry was that sometimes these things happened. Persecution is not a sign of genuine ministry, but persecution is also not a disqualifier. I think that is an important distinction to point out since I’ve heard from time to time how persecution is either necessary for genuine ministry, or that encountering persecution means a Christian is on the right track. Neither of these is what Paul writes. What he does imply is that ease of life and prosperity is not what the Christian life guarantees. This is in contradiction to perhaps what some of the Corinthians expected and what some Christians today proclaim.

Paul lists four uncompromising characteristics for himself as a Christian and a minister.

First, purity. This should not be confused with doctrinal purity, but a purity of character. Synonyms that could be used include integrity and honesty.

Second, knowledge. For Paul, having accurate knowledge, as far as it was possible, was an important part of Christian ministry. In a time when Christians are sometimes accused of being anti-science or placing theological belief over demonstrable facts, it is important to know where Paul would likely stand on this issue today.

Third, patience. This can be read as not rushing too quickly to judgment, and willing to suffer wrongs without seeking retaliation and revenge. It is a lesson that Christians continually need to learn and practice, including those of us here today. Christians are too often known for their quick condemnation against others rather than their openness to listening and hearing the stories that need to be heard.

Fourth, generosity. Other translations use kindness. The Greek dictionary shows that the word used here is derived from another word that can mean useful. In other words, Christian ministry has practical usefulness. It is not merely theoretical theology, or just waiting to be taken up to heaven. Our Christian ministry must be of benefit to the world in practical ways, or it isn’t good news, the gospel.

The next four items reinforce and amplify what Paul has already described and adds the divine source of power: “We served with the Holy Spirit, genuine love, telling the truth, and God’s power.” Perhaps in reading between the lines, it might be said that if any other source of power is involved in ministry, love and truth end up compromised. Paul’s ministry had no objective to secure any kind of power from civil authorities, from other Christians, or for himself. As important and valuable as denominations and church governance is, they are ultimately secondary to the Holy Spirit and to God. When a denomination or church authority becomes the proxy for God’s authority, they are on a dangerous path. When popularity or size of ministry is seen as a sign of God’s favor, the ministry is treading on dangerous ground. A large, popular ministry is not an indicator of God’s favor. On the other hand, a small church or ministry does not follow that God’s favor isn’t with them.

Paul continues, “We carried the weapons of righteousness in our right hand and our left hand.” The word “righteousness” carries theological connotations often involving personal virtue and possibly sinlessness. A better way of understanding righteousness is to see it as being in proper alignment with God’s priorities. Seen in this way, how we treat one another becomes vitally important, even more so than having correct doctrines or attempting to uphold and even enforce what we believe is correct theology. Remember that all of this is being written in the context of the ministry of reconciliation, of bringing dissenting factions back together in Christ.

Paul ends his C.V. with a list of paradoxes and contradictions: “We were treated with honor and dishonor and with verbal abuse and good evaluation. We were seen as both fake and real, as unknown and well known, as dying—and look, we are alive! We were seen as punished but not killed, as going through pain but always happy, as poor but making many rich, and as having nothing but owning everything.” This is additional evidence that external appearances and response do not signify the genuineness or success of Christian ministry. It is also a warning to expect the complete gamut of responses to our ministry.

Becoming an Authentic Christian

Christian history is littered with the unfortunate results of individuals and groups who become enamored with power: associating with power, acquiring power, and then hanging on to power.

Genuine Christian community seeks to give away power. It seeks to empower the disenfranchised. It seeks to raise up the wounded and welcome the outcast.

Genuine Christian ministry “reverses the traditional categories of power and weakness according to the model of Christ” [Feasting on the Word, Year B, Volume 3] whose death, death which traditionally is seen as ultimate defeat, turned out to be God’s ultimate power of victory over death. Christians who follow Christ’s pattern of letting go of their own power to serve others, are showing the ultimate source of power in God through the Holy Spirit.

Genuine Christian ministry has authority precisely because it doesn’t attempt to seek it.

Considering how Paul has evaluated his own ministry and those of his close associates, how would he evaluate Christian ministries today? Using the standards noted this morning, how should we judge ourselves?

Is our ministry one of reconciliation, of bringing together diverse individuals and groups together for a common cause in Christ?

Is our focus on building up our “brand,” or are we most concerned about properly representing God to the world?

What is our relationship with sources of power? Are we placing preservation of our entities over authenticity and truth? Are we tempted to compromise authentic Christianity so that we can grow and maintain an audience?

The Corinthians apparently had difficulty accepting Paul and his Christian ministry because it upended so much of traditional ideas about successful ministry. So, he closes this part of the letter with an appeal:

“Corinthians, we have spoken openly to you, and our hearts are wide open. There are no limits to the affection that we feel for you. You are the ones who placed boundaries on your affection for us. But as a fair trade—I’m talking to you like you are children—open your hearts wide too… Make room in your hearts for us. We didn’t do anything wrong to anyone. We didn’t ruin anyone. We didn’t take advantage of anyone. I’m not saying this to make you feel guilty. I’ve already said that you are in our hearts so that we die and live together with you. I have every confidence in you. I’m terribly proud of you. I’m filled with encouragement. I’m overwhelmed with happiness while in the middle of our problems.” (6:11-13; 7:2-4 [skipping a large portion because it is not seen as part of the original letter])

So much of Christian ministry through history, including today, is consciously or not, based on a “power over” attitude. From missions to church hierarchies, it isn’t difficult to find control over others as a key component. But this easily leads to manipulations and abuses, and is frankly, unchristian.

We rightly should speak out against bad forms of Christianity. But it is more important to be the kind of authentic Christian and Christian community that Paul described in his letter to the Corinthians.

“The best criticism of the bad is the practice of the better.”

May we have the courage to practice a better, more generous, more loving, more inclusive Christianity.

Sermon: Snakes!

The following is the sermon I preached at First Presbyterian Church in Petersburg on March 15, 2014.

• Lectionary: Year B, Lent 4
• Text: Numbers 21:4-9; John 3:(10-) 14-21
• Audio as it was preached (30 minutes)

Introduction

The Bible is full of different kinds of stories. Some are feel-good, others are more challenging. Some are peculiar, and a few are quite bizarre. Today’s story about the snakes attacking the Israelites falls into the bizarre. Not only bizarre, but also quite challenging because the picture of God is not particularly flattering; and it wouldn’t be at all irresponsible to say that the God here resembles a petty, vengeful, and capricious deity of the nations surrounding Israel.

What do we do with this story? It’s in the Bible. Two common ways of dealing with this text are: We can ignore it – that’s an option. Or, we can take it as a factual description of God – that’s another option. Neither is particularly appealing.

Another option is to ignore the details found in Numbers 21 and rather go straight to John 3 where Jesus takes this story and applies it to himself. But that too, on the surface raises some problematic questions. One is that it completely ignores that Numbers speaks of God causing death. Another is that the snake and Jesus appear equated to one another.

Yet another option is to read it strictly as something that happened in the past with no bearing upon our present-day view of God and on our lives. There is value in this method. For example, the Hebrews – the Israelites – were a strict monotheist, where the only heavenly power was YHWH. In a setting where all events, particularly unexplainable ones, were attributable to a deity, the Israelites had no choice other than to attribute both good and evil to YHWH. The other nations and peoples had multiple gods and spirits who could be responsible for a subset of acts, but the Israelites did not. It was only late in Hebrew history, perhaps as late as after the Jewish exile, in which the concept of a devil or Satan first appears in concrete form.

But what about the serpent in Genesis that caused the Fall of Adam and Eve? Good question. In ancient mythologies, serpents were ambiguous creatures. They could be both good and evil, a bringer of life as well as a source of death, they could be wise but also cunning. Even during Jesus’ time, the “good” aspects of serpents were recognized, with him making a statement, “Be wise as serpents and as harmless as doves.” In later times including ours, the symbol of the medical profession is that of a serpent wrapped around a pole. The point here is that the serpent found in Genesis 3, as it would have been seen from the ancients’ eyes, could not be considered unambiguously evil and the connection with Satan certainly was not present. It was only in the Christian era that the connection was finally made as fact.

But I noticed something interesting when I re-read the story of the Fall in conjunction with the story of the attack of the serpents in Numbers. They seem to have a number of characteristics of being parallel accounts. Genesis tells the story from a broad perspective that includes all humankind. The Numbers account reads like a similar story, but told in a context specific to the Israelites.

The Fall, Revisited

In our modernist, individualistic, Western minds, Adam and Eve represent two individuals. But they are actually archetypes, or symbols that represent the beginnings of humankind. They may have been individuals, but that is not the point of the Genesis account. The points of the Genesis account is that humankind is responsible for their own troubles, because they sought to take control of their own destinies. To us it doesn’t seem fair that the decisions of individuals so long ago affect us today. But this wouldn’t have troubled the original tellers and readers of Genesis because all humankind continue to succumb to the desire to be in control of themselves.

Likewise the story of the Israelites complaining in the wilderness is a story about them wanting to wrest control away from God. They were tired of the provisions from God – the manna. Not only tired, but they detested it; they called it worthless. They wanted to return to Egypt, the thing that was forbidden to them. This is similar to Adam and Eve rejecting their God-given food and desiring the one thing that was prohibited to them. Notice too, that both stories revolve around what God has given to the people for their food.

As in the Genesis story, was it literally everyone that complained and asked to return to Egypt? Perhaps, but even if not, in the collectivist, group culture of the ancients, the idea that a select few’s actions negatively impact the entire tribe or nation was not a problematic concept. We see this concept illustrated many times in the Old Testament – e.g., Achan’s sin at Jericho, David’s sin in taking a census. This is similar to the idea that Adam and Eve’s sin infected all humankind for all history.

What happens when the people decide that they no longer want God’s directions and provisions? They encounter serpents. In both cases the results of their encounters are given as death. In the Genesis account, physical death is not immediate, but their ultimate destiny becomes certain. In the Numbers account, physical death comes swiftly for those bitten by the vipers.

In both cases life is forfeited and there is no way back. The curse of death falls and envelops humankind and the Israelites.

God Intervenes

However, God’s love compels him to reverse the curse.

The details are different in each story. In Genesis, it is God who takes the initiative. In Numbers, it is the people who ask Moses to intervene with God on their behalf. But in both cases, it is God who provides the means to break and reverse the curse of death. And in both cases, just as the curse was brought on by a serpent, the curse will be broken through a serpent.

In Genesis, God curses the serpent. Its status will be lower than that of all the other creatures. God also describes how humankind will continue to struggle against sin and its effects, but gives hope by giving them the possibility of defending themselves against the curse of sin and death. This is the most appropriate reading of Genesis 3:14-15. The idea that the serpent represents the devil and the striking of the serpent’s head represents Christ’s defeat over Satan, is a late interpretation; one that is not present in the text of Genesis. In fact, the word “crush” so often seen in translations is not in the text; rather the word is “strike” or “bruise” in both lines of 3:15b – hardly a fatal blow. So at this point, Adam and Eve are not given a prophetic vision into the future destruction of evil, but are given a picture of an ongoing battle between humankind and the curse. They are given enough hope so that they can continue on with their immediate lives.

Likewise in the wilderness, the Israelites receive a hope of reversal of their curse of death. But the curse itself is not removed – the vipers remain to trouble them. God commands Moses to create a bronze serpent, put it on a pole, and raise it up so that anyone bitten by a viper can look upon it and have the curse reversed. This is almost a magical action because people of this time believed that in some cases a representation of their problem could be the cure or solution. It shows how God is willing to accommodate misunderstandings that people have, in order to be merciful.

It is interesting that the word that is often translated as serpent in Number 21:8 is literally, seraph, meaning “fiery” and a word that is found elsewhere (Isaiah 6) in the Old Testament to represent an angelic being. Perhaps it isn’t coincidence that seraph appears in Numbers and cherubim (kerub), which can be translated “winged creatures wielding flaming swords” (CEB) appears in Genesis 3:24.

In both cases then, the curse falls upon the people but God intervenes to make a way to reverse the curse and bring hope. But will the curse always remain with humankind and with the Israelites?

Jesus becomes the curse to destroy it forever

I think that what I discussed so far is the appropriate context in which to finally understand Jesus’ statement to Nicodemus that is found in John 3:10-15 and Paul’s exposition found in Galatians 3:10-13.

John 3:10 "Jesus answered, "You are a teacher of Israel and you don't know these things? ¹¹ I assure you that we speak about what we know and testify about what we have seen, but you don't receive our testimony. ¹² If I have told you about earthly things and you don't believe, how will you believe if I tell you about heavenly things? ¹³ No one has gone up to heaven except the one who came down from heaven, the Human One. ¹⁴ Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so must the Human One be lifted up ¹⁵ so that everyone who believes in him will have eternal life. (CEB)

Galatians 3:10 All those who rely on the works of the Law are under a curse, because it is written, Everyone is cursed who does not keep on doing all the things that have been written in the Law scroll. [Deut. 27:26] ¹¹ But since no one is made righteous by the Law as far as God is concerned, it is clear that the righteous one will live on the basis of faith. [Hab. 2:4] ¹² The Law isn't based on faith; rather, the one doing these things will live by them. [Lev. 18:5] ¹³ Christ redeemed us from the curse of the Law by becoming a curse for us—because it is written, Everyone who is hung on a tree is cursed. [Deut. 21:23] (CEB)

Just as Adam and Eve are archetypes that represent the entirety of humankind, Jesus is the new archetype that represents all of humankind. It is, in this sense that Jesus Christ is our substitute. Jesus did not go to the cross to satisfy some kind of God’s wrath or to intervene in some supposed penalty imposed by God. Rather, Jesus willingly took upon himself all that the curse of sin and death represents, and destroyed it by becoming the archetypal curse itself and taking it into the realm of death. Through his resurrection, Jesus Christ demonstrated that the power of sin and death would remain in the grave, and that the power of love and sacrifice survives. This power of love is the power to restore and redeem all humankind from the curse that has infected them.

Thus we can see now how it is appropriate that Jesus represents himself as a serpent. The serpent represents the curse, and Jesus becomes the curse. In physics when matter and antimatter collide, both particles are annihilated and great energy is released. When Jesus, the source of life, took upon himself the curse, the very opposite of who he is, could a similar thing have happened? Both the man Jesus and the curse of death, as they were before, are annihilated and no longer exist. In its place a new archetypal man, Jesus Christ, is resurrected with the unlimited energy to restore, heal, and re-create all who come to him and trust him. (The details of the metaphor aren’t perfect, but I hope the illustration suffices.)

Summary: We are Part of the New Creation

I think 2 Corinthians 5:14-21 provides a fitting summary and conclusion.

2 Corinthians 5:14 The love of Christ controls us, because we have concluded this: one died for the sake of all; therefore, all died. ¹⁵ He died for the sake of all so that those who are alive should live not for themselves but for the one who died for them and was raised.

¹⁶ So then, from this point on we won't recognize people by human standards. Even though we used to know Christ by human standards, that isn't how we know him now. ¹⁷ So then, if anyone is in Christ, that person is part of the new creation. The old things have gone away, and look, new things have arrived!

¹⁸ All of these new things are from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and who gave us the ministry of reconciliation. ¹⁹ In other words, God was reconciling the world to himself through Christ, by not counting people's sins against them. He has trusted us with this message of reconciliation.

²⁰ So we are ambassadors who represent Christ. God is negotiating with you through us. We beg you as Christ's representatives, "Be reconciled to God!" ²¹ God caused the one who didn't know sin to be sin for our sake so that through him we could become the righteousness of God. (CEB)

We are no longer captives to the curse of sin and death. We are part of the new creation. We have this message to spread to the world: that God’s love compelled him to take sin and death upon himself so that all humankind could be rescued from it. If God is like that, who or what do we have to fear? What is stopping you from trusting God and being reconciled to him?

Let us pray…