Being Lifted Up

“Just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert,
so must the Son of Man be lifted up,
so that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life.”

John 3:14-15

What comes to mind when you hear the phrase “being lifted up?” Perhaps “praise” or “accolades” or being spoken well of. Maybe even the phrase “being put on a pedestal” or being shown off and made a spectacle of. In today’s Gospel we hear Jesus telling Nicodemus that just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert so too will He be lifted up. The background to this is when the Israelites were being bitten by snakes in the desert, God told Moses to mount a serpent onto a pole and whoever looked at it will be saved. In the same way, Jesus is saying that He will also be lifted up and all those who would come to look at Him will also be saved.

Isn’t it ironic that the symbol of a criminal’s death - the most gruesome death, the crucifixion has become that by which we have eternal life? In the desert it was a mounted snake that healed the people, but outside Jerusalem it was God’s only begotten Son who not only healed the people but who also saved the world and gave eternal life. Because the Light came into the world, we no longer need to walk in the darkness. Because the Son of God took on the burden of our sins, we can stand up and run as free men and women. Because the Son of Man was lifted up, we can dare call God Our Father and we His beloved children. This “being lifted up” was no act of showy pride, but rather the greatest expression of humble love. God became man so that He can suffer and be nailed to a cross and lifted up high so that all - even and especially the lowliest and most vulnerable of all may dare look up and be saved.

May we today look up at the Cross, and give thanks for having been so loved.