Of course, snakes are not something that people all feel
the same way about. Some people don’t
like mice, or bats, and I try very hard not to over-react when I see a spider,
but snakes are a common creature that many fear. Up north here, garter snakes are not a big
worry, but in the Middle East, they are often poisonous.
Isaiah’s picture of God’s recreated Eden has children
playing with snakes, even babies, is completely unrealistic. I can’t help but remember the two young boys
in New Brunswick three years ago that were killed by a python. Snakes are not like kittens, and this image
of nature so at peace is an incredible picture.
It’s such a peaceful world that our most basic instincts are changed
from competitive and survival to co-existance.
Then there’s the snakes of John the Baptist, the Pharisees
and Sadducees. They were coming to see
what all the fuss was about, and why he was baptising out in the wilderness, a
ritual that belonged in the Temple not out in the bush.
Why was this John, who frankly needed a better wardrobe and
a good nutritional plan if he was going to make it as a preacher, becoming so
popular, and was he a threat to their society?
The Sadducees were the Temple leaders, descendants of Zadoc
the priest around at the time of King Solomon, and they oversaw all the worship
that happened in the Temple. They were
the elites of the day, they had job security and a good pension plan. The Pharisees were also religious leaders
with more ‘middle class’ roots. They had
differing ideas from the Sadducees and both parties probably acted rather like
the Conservatives and Liberals, each group having their devoted followers and
debating in the temple. Neither would
have appreciated being called a snake.
What an insult that was.
Right up there with calling someone a pig. Maybe worse.
Snakes were unclean animals, and seen in scripture as the cause of
humanity losing our place in the Garden of Eden. But despite that verbal
attack, John didn’t bar them completely from being baptised if they wanted, but
he did let them know there would be an accounting. That is something I struggle with. I want that new garden of Eden. I don’t want to change my ways though. I want it to be given to me at no cost to myself, and certainly no
judgement.
I don’t want to have to face my deepest fears and let go of
my need for revenge. We often think that
Peace is built when that other person says they are sorry, or when they agree
with us. But peace is built when
justice, impartial justice says that we all have something we need to let go
of, we all need God’s help to turn us from snakes and lions and wolves and
hypocrites into people who can live with peace with our neighbors, family and
friends.
Indie can’t reach his goal, the Ark of the Covenant, unless
he goes through his snake pit to find it.
We can’t reach our goals unless we are prepared to face our own demons
either.
Indie did it by remembering his true mission, his passion
for sharing the past with people. “It
belongs in a museum”, he angrily retorts to the thieves, and so down he goes
into the pit of snakes.
John the Baptist knows his goal is to prepare his people
for justice, and so he calls out the big shots of his day to repent, to let go
of what keeps them from the true goals of the Kingdom of Heaven, to make sure
their faith is more than the fancy clothes they wear or the complicated rituals
they enact or even the political debates they have. So John has the courage to dress them down in
public despite the fact that they can pass judgement on him and have him executed.
What is our goal?
Our congregation says that we are an inclusive Christian community
enabling spiritual growth through meaningful outreach and dynamic worship.
An inclusive faith community, we continue to discover and
learn how to walk in the footsteps of the living Christ, to love and serve
others. We try to do this by accepting
and celebrating God's unconditional love, welcoming the stranger, recognizing
Christ in all life and seeking spiritual wholeness.
So this advent time, let us all continue to walk in the
footsteps of John and Isaiah, learning to face our snakes and open ourselves up
to God’s transformative, redeeming power.
May it be so for us all.
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