4^th Sunday in Lent at Epiphany on March 22, 2009

Numbers 21:4 They traveled from Mount Hor along the route to the Red Sea, to go around Edom. But the people grew impatient on the way; ⁵ they spoke against God and against Moses, and said, "Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the desert? There is no bread! There is no water! And we detest this miserable food!" ⁶ Then the LORD sent venomous snakes among them; they bit the people and many Israelites died. ⁷ The people came to Moses and said, "We sinned when we spoke against the LORD and against you. Pray that the LORD will take the snakes away from us." So Moses prayed for the people. ⁸ The LORD said to Moses, "Make a snake and put it up on a pole; anyone who is bitten can look at it and live." ⁹ So Moses made a bronze snake and put it up on a pole. Then when anyone was bitten by a snake and looked at the bronze snake, he lived.

A cross for complainers

A monk joined a monastery and took a vow of silence. After the first 10 years his superior called him in and asked, “Do you have anything to say?” The monk replied, “Food bad.” After another 10 years the monk again had opportunity to voice his thoughts. He said, “Bed hard.” Another 10 years went by and again he was called in before his superior. When asked if he had anything to say, he responded, “I quit.” His superior replied, “It doesn't surprise me a bit. You’ve done nothing but complain ever since you got here.”

God created the world in six days. He rested on the seventh. On the eighth day He started to answer complaints. It is human nature to complain. And boy, do we complain. We complain about the food, the water, the commute, the weather, our clothing, our leadership, our church, our school, our spouse, our children and the list goes on.

Sounds pretty familiar, though. The Israelites were great gripers and constant complainers. God rescued them from slavery in Egypt, yet when they were trapped between their Egyptian enemies and the roaring waters of the Red Sea, they complained that they wanted to go back to Egypt. God rescued them by parting the waters. When they didn’t have any food, they grumbled that back in Egypt they had pots of meat and ate all the food they wanted. God rained down manna from heaven for them. They bellyached that they were tired of bread, so God caused quail to fly into the camp. They whined that they were thirsty, so God caused water to flow from a rock. God gave them the Promised Land of Canaan, a land flowing with milk and honey, but they protested that the land was full of giants. God forced the people to wander in the desert for 40 years, but during that time, neither their clothes nor shoes wore out. They probably fussed about that, “These old clothes are so 39 years ago.” Now we hear that they are impatient with the journey, “Aren’t we there, yet?”

Grumbling because they were dissatisfied. Grumbling because they were impatient. Grumbling because they were worried. It seems they were always grumbling!

If you’re a parent, you know you can only take so much grumbling before you’ve had enough. God had reached that point with His chosen children. He had indulged them before, but with this latest outbreak of complaints, He doesn’t send more water or exciting food, but fiery serpents, venomous snakes.

Are you ever like the children of Israel? Do you ever grumble against God? Sure you do! It is our sinful, selfish nature to doubt what God is doing in your life, to worry about what is happening in your life, to be dissatisfied with your lot in life, to be impatient with the speed at which God is working in your life. And so you grumble. Most of the time with your mouths, but the rest of the time with your hearts and minds. Grumbling against God. Wanting different, wanting better, wanting more, wanting to take matters into your own hands. Questioning God and His ways. Demanding answers, looking for someone to blame, looking back and wondering, “What if …” or “If only …”.

So what? So we complain a little. So we aren’t always satisfied. What’s the big deal?

The big deal is that griping and grousing, moaning and murmuring are horrible sins. Complaining is offensive. Grumbling is gruesome. It is pitching a fit in the grocery store. The weeds of whining grow out of the sinful roots of a thankless heart. Our constant complaining condemns us. Our persistent pessimism makes us and everyone around us miserable. But mostly we make God miserable because every gripe, every whine, every complaint is another slap in the face of our gracious God and merciful heavenly Father.

A family was sitting around the dinner table one evening waiting for their dad to come home from work. Finally, he came in late because it had been a rough day. When he came in, he sat down at the table and offered thanks for the food. As soon as he finished his prayer, he began to complain and grumble about how awful things were going at work. The boss was a jerk and the workers were lazy. Then his wife brought in the food. Since he had come in so late, the food that was supposed to be cold was warm and the food that was supposed to be hot was cold. The main dish was overcooked and dried out. The bread was hard. And he made sure and pointed out what was wrong with everything. Finally, after hearing all the complaints, his youngest daughter asked him a question. “Daddy, do you think God heard you when you prayed a few minutes ago?” “Well, yes, sweetheart. Of course He did.” Then she asked, “Do you think He heard everything you said after that?” “Why, yes, sweetheart. God hears everything.” Finally, she asked, “Which one do you think He believed?”

Our pessimistic grumbling cancels out our prayers of thanks. Our incessant whining eliminates our words of gratitude. Our constant complaining belittles God’s gifts of grace.

What happened to those grumblin’, mumblin’, stumblin’ Israelites? “For God so loved His people that He sent them fiery serpents, that whoever would turn to Him should not perish but have life. For God did not send the serpents to His people to condemn them, but in order that they might be saved through them.” That’s John 3:16 with an Old Testament twist. God chastens in order to heal. He tests in order to strengthen. He gives the Law in order to drive us to the Gospel.

While God did send venomous snakes among His grumbling people as divine punishment, He also could not hold back His mercy. Just as God had mercifully provided freedom, water, food, and guidance for His people in the wilderness, now He provides an opportunity for repentance and forgiveness. The people come to Moses begging, “We sinned when we spoke against the LORD and against you. Pray that the LORD will take the snakes away from us.” So Moses prayed for the people. The LORD said to Moses, “Make a snake and put it up on a pole; anyone who is bitten can look at it and live.”

God attaches His healing to the least likely object of all – the very object that had inflicted the people! Make a snake and put it on a pole. The curse became the cure. The snake became the savior. The pole was the promise.

In His discussion with Nicodemus, Jesus connected the story of the saving serpent on the pole to Himself, “Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life.”

The Bible says, “Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree.” (Gal 3:13) Yet, the curse has become the cure. Instead of an instrument of shame, we love that old, rugged cross. Instead of hiding our eyes from the shame of the cross, we lift high the cross. The cross is the sign of triumph. There is no foliage or blossoms on this tree, but it is the noblest tree of all. The devil overcame the world with a tree, yet it was by a tree that Satan was overcome. It is the pole of the bronze serpent, the crucifix of Christ, the empty cross of Calvary.

Do you become unhappy with circumstances? Do you worry about finances? Do you allow health or death or daily life to ruin your mood? The greatest help and the greatest hope is Jesus Christ. If God sent His Son to die a painful and bloody death on the crucifixion cross, you can be absolutely sure your blessed heavenly Father will also supply you with all your other needs in life. The Bible says, “If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all-- how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?” (Rom 8:31-32) If God has given already forgiven your great debts of sin through Christ, don’t you think He’ll figure out a way to cancel your credit card and house payment debts? If God has already provided you with the riches of love, grace, peace and eternal salvation through His Son, don’t you think He’ll take care of you even when your earthly riches are lost due to job loss or stock market failure? If God is making sure that you are traveling to the Promised Land, don’t you think He’ll take care of you until you get there?

There is no reason to complain. Complaining, bickering, backbiting, mumbling, grumbling, whining are all ways of saying that you aren’t really grateful for all of God’s blessings which are new to you every morning. 

Jesus is the Divine Physician. He is your spiritual doctor. Jesus fervently desires to heal your soul from the serious, but curable, disease of incessant whining and constant complaining. Have you been bitten? Today the doors of Christ’s clinic stand open. “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.” That’s Numbers 21:9 with a New Testament twist! We, who have the venom of sin and death coursing through our veins, may enter Christ’s clinic and receive the antivenin of the blood of Christ.

There are plenty of parallels between the children of Israel and the children of God sitting here today. God’s people were slaves in Egypt. We were born slaves to sin. God rescued His people and washed away their captors through the waters of the Red Sea. God rescued us and washed away our previous master through the waters of Holy Baptism. God provided His people with bread from heaven and water from a rock during their wilderness wandering. God provides us with the true food and drink from heaven – His Son’s true body and blood for us as we travel through the dark valley of death. God led His people to the Promised Land of Canaan. He is leading us to the Promised Land of Heaven.

Though we gripe and grumble, though we are weak in faith, though we are filled with doubts and worries, still God is merciful to us. Just as He sent a savior from the fiery serpents, so He has sent a Savior from the fires of hell. God knows how hard it is for us living in this wilderness. He knows because He was there. Jesus was alone out there in the wilderness being attacked by that fiery and venomous serpent named Satan. Look at the puncture wounds in His hands, in His feet, in His side. He took the bites of Satan, for that is why He came. “For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son.” He gave to take our place. To take those fangs of Satan into His flesh, to take that venom into His blood, to take our punishment in our place.

Jesus has provided the antivenin to Satan’s poison for us. The cure for the venom of unhappiness is the satisfaction received from eating Christ’s body and blood. The cure for the poison of dissatisfaction is the resurrection to a new life contained in your baptismal waters. The cure for the toxin of ingratitude is forgiveness and eternal life. The antivenin for complainers is Christ’s cross, for there the bite of the serpent has been rendered harmless and we are safe and secure.

The next time you feel like complaining about your government raising taxes while raising the national debt, look to the Leader who was raised on a cross to bail out your debt of sin. The next time you feel like moaning that you lost your job or your 401K, thank God that your real treasures are stored up for you in heaven. The next time you feel like crying out that your cross is too heavy to bear, look to the cross that your Savior was crucified upon. It is the cross for complainers. Amen.