John 3:14-21

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

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.

This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil hates the light and will not come into the light for dear that their deeds will be exposed. But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what they have done has been done in the sight of God.

Let us pray,

May the words of my mouth, and the meditations of all of our hearts, be pleasing and acceptable to you our rock and our redeemer.

Every Sunday. On my drive between Mt. Nebo and Glenshaw Valley. I drive past a Baptist church with a big digital sign. Usually, the sign flashes worship times and advertises for upcoming events. But in the last year I think this church has moved their worship and events online. So now when I drive past their sign it reads:

Covid-19 can’t defeat John 3:16.

I think what the sign is getting at is that nothing we’re going through compares to what Jesus went through on the cross. Jesus suffered on our behalf so that we might receive eternal life. But as I read this sign, I can’t help but wonder if this is an oversimplification of what it means to trust in God. It suggests that if you trust in God nothing bad will ever happen to you. But I think trusting in God means trusting that God is the source of light and goodness in the world. Even and especially when people, and places we love choose darkness.

Our Scripture passage for today begins with this strange image of Jesus being lifted up. The way Moses lifted up the snake in the book of Numbers. In the story in Numbers, God sent poisonous snakes into the Israelite camp as punishment for the people complaining about God. Here the snake is a metaphor both for God’s anger and for God’s mercy. God’s people might be saved by the God of life. If only they would look upon the image of that which would have brought about their death.

Just as the Israelites were required to look upon the very thing that brought death in order to receive life. So we are asked to look upon Jesus’ ‘lifting up,’ his crucifixion, and receive it as part of God’s plan to glorify Jesus and save the world.

Here I think it’s helpful to remember that Jesus’ teaching in this passage happens in the context of a conversation with Nicodemus. You all remember Nicodemus? He was a Pharisee. And Pharisees were experts in the law. He was a short man, so he climbed a tree. In order to see Jesus and hear his teachings.

So this is a story about an encounter with Jesus that left an intelligent and accomplished man scratching his head in bewilderment. As he went back out into the darkness. This is also a story about how any one of us may reject the light of Christ because it reveals the darkness in each one of us. To trust in God is to let our lives be transformed by the Jesus we encounter in this story. Even if it makes us uncomfortable.

Let me give you an example of what this might look like…

Two weeks ago, I was checking in with one of my church members on the phone. Have you been able to get a vaccine appointment yet? I asked her. 

No pastor, I haven’t had any luck yet. But I am not anxious about it. I want people who are more anxious than me to get their shot first. I trust that God will take care of me in the meantime.

What do you mean you haven’t been able to get a vaccine appointment yet? I asked my member. Let’s just say that this particular member absolutely qualifies for a vaccine appointment. How are you going about scheduling an appointment? I asked her.

She said, I call Giant Eagle pharmacy every day and see if they have an appointment for me. Then I call the health department and see if there are any open spots. My children are trying to schedule an appointment for me online, but so far they’ve had no luck. I’m spending two hours a day on the phone, and I still don’t have an appointment!

When I got off the phone with my member I was lit up. There had to be something I could do. So I posted something on Facebook to see if someone in the Pittsburgh area could help me get this poor member a vaccine appointment. One of my friends from the church I was a member of before I became a pastor reached out to me. Her ministry right now is helping seniors and others who qualify for a vaccine in IA schedule vaccine appointments. She’d love to help me schedule my congregant. Then she sent me the info she would need to register her.

The point I’m trying to make with this story is that we live in a world that is filled with both darkness and light. While senior’s inability to access vaccine appointments on their own in Allegheny county is definitely an example of darkness. There are helpers out there, logging on to pharmacy websites at midnight, working to bring peace and light in the midst of incredibly difficult circumstances.

Anytime I preach on John 3:16, I hope people don’t walk away from my sermon thinking that Jesus takes care of everything on the cross. So there is nothing left for me to do because Jesus did it all already. 

No. The point of John 3:16 is that light has come into the world in the man Jesus. But we get to choose if we want to live in the light or we want to live in darkness. Jesus made it possible for us to live in light. But the light of Jesus shines in the world through how we behave towards one another.

This week I encourage you to reflect on who in your life needs to experience the light of Jesus, and how can you experience that light with them? When I was in seminary, I never thought part of my call to pastoral ministry. Would be figuring out how to protect my congregants from a deadly infectious disease. Then helping them register online for vaccine appointments. But this is what my people need right now and I’m happy to do it.

Friends as more and more people are vaccinated, we will have more and more opportunities to share the love of Christ with those who feel like they have gone without it in the last year. There are friends among us who are having panic attacks when they go to the grocery store and they see someone with a mask under their nose. There are parents among us who are up at night worrying that their children are being left behind with virtual school. But are even more worried about keeping their families safe once their kids return to in person learning. There are seniors living in communities that have not allowed visitors in the last year. Whose residents are worried they’ve been forgotten by the people they love.

Friends however you choose to share the love of Christ with others know that you don’t go alone. Jesus has already done all of the hard work. All you have to do is point people to Jesus. To say to people that no matter how tough things get, Jesus is with you always. For God so loved the world.

Thanks be to God,

In Jesus’ name,

Amen.