If you spend anytime in the woods, you will end up spending time with snakes. Some of those snakes will be poisonous, like copper heads or cane break rattlers. I’ve had my own run-ins.
One time having to share a rock in the sun with a copper head, and another time having to wait for cane break rattler to get out of the way so I could get by, I ended up waiting a long time.
They are unavoidable, the trick is learning to share the wilderness, to give them plenty of room, to keep the eyes open and aware.
Living with snakes.
The Biblical narrative has a thing about serpents, in the garden, in the wilderness.
The serpent who tempts Eve, and humanity falls from grace.
The serpents in the wilderness who bit and poisoned the people of Israel, the only thing that saves them was Moses lifting a bronze serpent up for all to look upon and be healed.
Then Jesus is in the wilderness, tempted, by Satan, though we don’t what he looked like, a serpent perhaps like in the tempting of Eve, or a fallen angel, we are left to wonder.
How do we live with snakes?
To be more specific, to move from the metaphoric to the literal, how do we live with sin?
At the heart of the Christian world view are two deep truths. The first is that the world, all creation is more than good, it is very good. The second is that the world is fallen, things are not as they aught.
Both the occasion of sin and the power of Sin are unavoidable, they are abiding facts that we have to live with.
How do we live with Sin? How do we live with temptation?
Much like living with snakes in the woods, we give it plenty of room, keep the eyes open and aware, and when we are bit we look up to the bronze serpent lifted up by Moses and be healed.
As John’s Gospel speaks, “Just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.”
Or as the Apostle Paul writes this morning, “just as one man’s trespass led to condemnation for all, so one man’s act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all.”
The power and influence of Sin are unavoidable, it is too much for us to handle.
When we try to take on sin by ourselves we always make things worse.
We either turn it into the occasion to cast judgment and gloat at the failings of others, or we turn it into the occasion for self loathing at our own frailty.
The Christian approach to sin does not allow for such clinginess, we may not cling to sin, the sins of others or of our own, we must move on, start over, over and over again.
We are very pragmatic when it comes to sin, it is unavoidable, we all share in it, so much so that comparisons of who is worse or better are meaningless. We look sin clearly in the eyes, set it aside and start over, and pray for the grace to be free of that slavery.
Martin Luther was brilliant in his understanding of Sin.
He said to, “Sin boldly”.
We are to trudge ahead into life, into the wilderness, without hesitance, without fear, without timidity. We are to go forth with boldness, knowing full well that we will step in it, that we will be bitten, that we will fail.
Martin Luther then said something more, he said “Sin boldly, but believe and rejoice in Christ more boldly still.”
We can live without fear, we can live with a spirit of adventure, because God’s Grace is even greater than the devastating power of Sin, much, much greater.
To take sin seriously we have to take God’s grace more seriously still.
I grew up in Greenville. Historically my home town was at the heart of the Primitive Baptist tradition, what many people call the snake handlers.
They are still around, though not as numerous or zealous as they once were. They live out a strictly literal interpretation of the end of Mark’s gospel that identifies the signs that accompany those who believe in Christ, among those signs it says, “they will pick up snakes in their hands and if they drink any deadly thing, it will not hurt them.”
I imagine most of us have stories and rumors about folks dying in Church, being bitten while dancing with poisonous serpents.
It is a crazy picture, dancing with serpents, drinking poison, with great fervor, with great boldness.
I do not subscribe to that literal interpretation.
Handling snakes.
We are to be snake handlers of a different sort.
That describes pretty accurately the boldness with which we are to live, handling snakes, knowing we will sin, but that God’s grace is even greater.
The fear of sin is no excuse to live timidly. God’s grace in the wilderness is greater still, and that grace is waiting for us.
If we spend enough time in the woods we will be spending time with snakes, living with snakes, but God’s grace is there as well, the very ground sparks and trembles with a tremendous hope, eager for us to set out.
Into the wilderness, all sorts of adventures await us.
I invite you to the observance of a holy Lent.