Look upon Your Sin and upon Him Whom You Have Pierced by the Evil You Have Done

Today’s first reading, Numbers 21: 4-9, recounts the story of the bronze serpent which Moses made. When the people gazed upon the  serpent, the very animal which caused the death of so many of them, it  had no more power over them even though they had been bitten and its poison was in their bodies.   There is a great lesson here for all of us.  We, too, have been bitten by Satan. Sin dwells within us. To rid ourselves of the power of sin, we also need to gaze upon it, recognize its presence in our lives, and acknowledge that we have been “bitten,” that is we have sinned. Naming the sin, being honest with ourselves and others of how we have gone astray, takes away the power of that sin to possess us, blind us, or deafen us to the Spirit’s presence, power, and influence in our lives.  To turn from evil and do good we need to acknowledge the evil that we either did or contemplate doing.   Through that confession, we are open to our dependence upon grace, upon being open and honest in our dealings with others and with the Lord. Then, we can go with Jesus into the Promised Land of mercy, goodness, and love now and forever.  We are then imitating Jesus who says, in today’s Gospel, John 8: 21-30, “I always do what is pleasing to him [the Father].” And just as Jesus was about to return to the Father, from whom He came to save the world, so, too, we will be able to return to our Father, to the God of truth and justice both here and hereafter..