Numbers 21:8
The LORD said to Moses: Make a seraph and mount it on a pole, and everyone who has been bitten will look at it and recover.
The symbol of suffering becomes the means of salvation. Sound familiar?
It doesn't feel good to compare Jesus on the cross to a serpent on a pole, but it's accurate in this context (Jesus even does it in the gospel of John when he's teaching Nicodemus). The people were complaining against God, so God sent the serpents to bite them and many died. So they begged Moses to intercede for them. God gave this instruction about mounting the gold serpent on the staff. In essence, the people were required to look upon the thing that reminded them of their sinful nature in order to be saved.
Fast-forward many years, and Jesus is mounted and raised up and now we look upon him and the cross - the thing that reminds us of our own sinful nature & weakness.
What a perfect message for these last couple of weeks of Lent. Let's not pretend like ignoring our sin and failings will make things better. That's like neglecting your bank account and hoping the bills will pay themselves or that the debt will not build up (I've tried it. It doesn't work like that!).
Run to the Sacrament of Reconciliation. Have an honest conversation with God every night about what you did or failed to do. Look that sin in the eye and allow the one who was raised up on the symbol of death to bring you to eternal life.
