Exaltation of the Holy Cross (“A”)
September 14, 2008

Q. 493: The Old Testament story (Numbers 21:4b-9) hints at a “Harry Potter” kind of world, with special healing powers. Surely there is more than “magic” happening? And how does that relate to me today?

A. 493:
Absolutely correct – there is indeed something deeper than “magic” going on here! In fact, “magic” is the wrong word to describe the event.

Keep in mind the context. Earlier in the desert journey, the Israelites had complained of lack of food and water. The Lord had responded with gifts of quail (Numbers 11:31) and manna (Exodus 16; cf. Numbers 11:6), and with water (Exodus 17; cf. Numbers 20:11). So even though they are supplied by the Lord with the bare necessities, they now begin to complain about the “tastiness” of the food, protesting loudly that they were “disgusted with this wretched food.” There is an old saying, “never bite the hand that feeds you”; and now as a result of their whining behavior (a conclusion they reach in hindsight), they find themselves being bitten and killed by poisonous snakes. They presume that the misfortune was caused by the sin they had committed in complaining about God’s provision for their journey in the wilderness. Notice that they asked Moses to intercede with God to remove the cause of their death. God did not do this; but he did provide a way to be healed of the bites that caused the terminal illness: gaze upon the item raised on the cross, repent of your sinfulness, believe in God, and be healed. It is not “magic”; it is not make-believe; it is faith-based and prophetic.

Jesus saw this story in the Book of Numbers as a “prefiguration” of something that would be accomplished and fulfilled in his own life. He points out this fact in the gospel today (John 3:13-17) when he tells Nicodemus that anyone who looks at Him (the Son of Man) “lifted up,” believes, and repents, will receive a healing that lasts for all eternity!

KNOW YOUR CATECHISM! In the Old Testament, God permitted the making of images, such as the bronze serpent, that pointed symbolically toward salvation by the incarnate Word (CCC #2130). The story of the bronze serpent is a “type” or foreshadowing of the saving act of Jesus Christ on the Cross (CCC #128).

Deacon Paul Rooney
Mary Our Queen Parish, Omaha

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