Living in the Spirit

September 18, 2022

Scripture Reading:

John 3:13-17
No one has ascended into heaven except the one who descended from heaven, the Son of Man. And 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.

‘For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.

‘Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.

As a people, we cannot seem to accept progress without growing greedy. Society appears to follow a pattern from the beginning of recorded history, to move from bad times like war, slavery, or famine, for example, to a short-lived state of Common Good, which transforms gradually into greed leading to war, slavery, or famine. How do we end this pattern? How do we learn to value the Common Good being better than greed while continuing progress?

The reference to Moses dealing with the serpents in the wilderness describes the Israelites being plagued by snakes and Moses’ interceding to solve the problem*.  Moses’ pattern involved a close and communal relationship with God. One in which he understood God as being all-powerful along with being accessible. Later in history, God went the extra mile in demonstrating accessibility by dwelling with humans as fully human while also being fully divine. God proved his love for us by the death of God’s human self, Jesus, being crucified on a cross for the good of all people.

We must, also, practice and build a close and communal relationship with God like Moses knew. A relationship that fosters God’s love overtaking anything that might be tempting about greed.

Prayer: Lord, forgive us when we stray from our relationship with you toward the idol of greed. Take us to the higher ground of love. Amen.

*See Numbers 21

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.