March 14, 2021 – Fourth Sunday of Lent
“Snakes. Why’d it have to be snakes?” – Indiana Jones in the Raiders of the Lost Ark and possibly the Israelites in the wilderness.
In a bizarre story occurring in the book of Numbers, the NRSV translates, “Then the Lord sent poisonous serpents among the people, and they bit the people, so that many Israelites died.”
How might this image of an angry, punishing God affect our souls, our image of ourselves, our understanding of our place in this universe, and our sense of responsibility in our public life together?
Is there something we are missing in this passage? And if so, how might that missing puzzle piece change the way we understand our world and our place in it? Listen as Pastor Melanie Vaughn-West explores this passage.