[stephenkhoo]

YOU WILL DIE IN YOUR SINS
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [NUMBERS 21:4-9; PS 102:2-3,16-21; JOHN 8:21-30 ]

Twice, Jesus warned the Jews that they would die in their sins. Jesus said to them, “I am going away; you will look for me and you will die in your sin. Where I am going, you cannot come.” And He repeated, “I have told you already: You will die in your sins. Yes, if you do not believe that I am He, you will die in your sins.” This warning seems to be the common link with the first reading. In the Book of Numbers, the Israelites rebelled against God and Moses and on account of their sins, “God sent fiery serpents among the people; their bite brought death to many in Israel.”

Indeed, our sins cause us to die not just physically but emotionally and spiritually. In the bible, sin is defined as rebellion against God because of pride and self-will. The Israelites in the desert were physically and emotionally exhausted. They were tired, hungry and thirsty. In their suffering, they looked back to their time in Egypt and began to yearn for the good old days. They lost their patience and accused God and Moses of leading them out of Egypt to die in the wilderness. “For there is neither bread nor water here; we are sick of this unsatisfying food.” They were also living in fear that they might die in the desert because of the harsh conditions. They were resentful and fearful of their future.

By so doing, they forgot what the Lord had done for them. Instead of rejoicing that that they had been liberated from the oppressive slavery of the Egyptians, the hard labor they were put under, they were ungrateful to God for the mighty deeds He performed before their very eyes and delivered them. Instead of trusting in God who would continue to provide for them, they failed to acknowledge His mighty power and omnipotence over their enemies, and His power over nature. They forgot His generosity in providing them manna and also meat. They forgot God’s mercy and refused to submit to God’s sovereignty over them.

Ultimately, sin is more than just rebellion against God but a separation from Him. God is the source of life. When we rebel against God, the consequence is death. In the gospel, Jesus made it clear that failing to recognize Him as the One who has been sent by the Father would cause them to die in their sin. By not recognizing Him, they cannot find the fulness of life. This is because He comes from the Father. All that He said and did came from the Father. Jesus vouched that “the one who sent me is truthful, and what I have learnt from him I declare to the world.” Referring to the Father, Jesus said, “what the Father has taught me is what I preach; he who sent me is with me, and has not left me to myself, for I always do what pleases him.” Only Christ can reveal to us the true heart of God’s love and mercy.

However, God is merciful. In our sins, God does not leave us alone. But that does not mean that we are spared the consequences of our sins. As the letter of Hebrews tells us, “Besides this, we have had earthly fathers to discipline us and we respected them. Shall we not much more be subject to the Father of spirits and live? For they disciplined us for a short time at their pleasure, but he disciplines us for our good, that we may share his holiness. For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant; later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.” (Heb 12:9-11)

This was what happened to the Israelites. God brought them to realization their ingratitude and lack of faith and trust in Him by sending the deadly serpents to bite them to death. Life is such that in the face of greater suffering, the other sufferings are forgotten. The only way to help people come to see life and their suffering in perspective is to see that there are more fundamental issues in life. Otherwise, people tend to pick on petty things and make petty quarrels, simply because they forgot that there are bigger issues in life.

As a consequence, they were awakened and came to realize their sins, their rebellion and ingratitude. No longer did they complain about their food but they simply wanted to get well. Once again, they knew that Moses could intercede on their behalf. “The people came and said to Moses, ‘We have sinned by speaking against the Lord and against you. Intercede for us with the Lord to save us from these serpents.'” In the final analysis, when they needed help, they knew who to turn to, God and Moses. This is often the case. We come to know our sinfulness only when we suffer the consequences of our sins.

But the realization of our sinfulness and the consequences that come from it is just the beginning of restoration and salvation. What really matters is when we turn to God for mercy and forgiveness. In the case of the Israelites, God told Moses, “‘Make a fiery serpent and put it on a standard. If anyone is bitten and looks at it, he shall live.” God uses the very enemy that hurt them to heal them. God will use our sufferings to heal us and restore us. Looking at the serpent reminded them of their sins. Through their contemplation on the serpent, they were brought to repentance. Indeed, we can never overcome our sins unless we make time to reflect on them.

Most of us unfortunately take the grace of God for granted. Some Protestants just parrot the doctrine of justification by faith alone, believing that faith alone and confession of Jesus as Lord is enough to save them without the need for a real interior conversion of heart and a heartfelt confession of faith. Similarly, many Catholics confess their sins during the Sacrament of Reconciliation but they parrot their list of sins every time without making any serious effort to examine the root cause of their sins, the occasions when they fell into sin and the ways they should avoid them again. We think that confession will remove our sins. What is removed is the guilt, for a while, but we are not restored unless we look at the serpent or our sins and come to true contrition of heart.

Today, we are called to contemplate on the lifting up of Jesus on the Cross at His passion, and again at the Resurrection. The lifting up of the serpent on the pole was but a foreshadowing of Jesus being hung on the cross and then raised up by the Father after His death. This is why the Lord said, “When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am He.” The lifting up of our Lord on the Cross reveals to us the passion of His Father for us. The Father is willing to suffer the death of His Son in order to reveal to us His merciful love. As Isaiah prophesied, “Behold, my servant shall prosper, he shall be exalted and lifted up, and shall be very high. As many were astonished at him – his appearance was so marred, beyond human semblance, and his form beyond that of the sons of men – so shall he startle many nations.” (Isa 52:13-15)

As we approach the end of the Lenten Season and enter into Holy Week, our focus must be more and more on the passion of our Lord. This is the rationale for the Church to veil the statues and the crucifixes beginning from the 5th Week of Lent until the Easter Vigil. Our faith in Jesus must be more than just external. It is not enough to look at the crucifix but that crucifix must be impressed on our minds and hearts. Unless we can say with St Paul, “I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me; and the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me”, we have not yet understood the meaning of grace. Justification by grace will remain a doctrine but not an existential experience in our life.

Indeed, by contemplating on the passion of Christ on the cross, we will come to realize, like the Israelites, how undeserving we are of His grace and mercy. God forgave them and forgave us too in spite of our rebellion and rejection of Him, without conditions. When we understand the astonishing grace of God at work in our lives, made available to us all, then we will personally appropriate this grace of God in our lives. Anyone can look at the crucifix, but only those who look with faith can find healing and forgiveness. Truly, it is Christ’s passion that gives us immediate healing power because of His mercy and unconditional forgiveness.