2 Chr 36:14-16, 19-23 / Ephesians 2:4-10 / John 3:14-21
It is not too far-fetched to say that there are many mysteries in life, and some of these mysteries are really baffling and remained as unsolved mysteries.
So there are stories of amazing coincidences, strange encounters and many other stories that either make us wonder or make us puzzled.
While some stories can be really amusing, there are also other stories that can be rather creepy and disturbing.
However mysterious a story may be, the fact is that while we know some of the details, the rest of it have unanswered questions.
Even in the Bible, there are many mysteries that can be classified as “unsolved cases”.
We may have heard about Noah's Ark in the Bible. It must have been a rather big ship to be able to hold all those animals.
So where did the ark land after the flood? Were there any remains of the ark that are still around? Probably there are no more remains, but there are some people who are still looking for the remains of that Noah's Ark.
From Noah's Ark we go to the Ark of the Covenant that was carried by the Israelites for 40 years in the desert.
In that Ark were the two tablets, the 10 Commandments, that Moses brought down from Mt. Sinai. It was a revered object as it was a sign of God's presence among His people in their journey through the desert.
The question is, where is it now? Was it captured by the enemies and destroyed? Or was it hidden from the enemies and the information of its whereabouts is lost?
Many stories surround its whereabouts and even movies were made about it. But whether it still exist, no one really knows.
Today's Gospel presents yet another mystery. And that is the bronze serpent that Moses put on a standard.
The story was that the people complained against God, and to punish them, God sent fiery serpents to bite them and many died from the serpents’ bites.
The people repented, and God told Moses to make a bronze serpent and put it on a standard, and anyone who was bitten by a fiery serpent just had to look at it, at that bronze serpent, and he would be cured.
Whether that bronze serpent still exists or not, is not so much of the question, as to why is it such a strange thing that God ask Moses to do.
The question is that, why make an object or something that caused pain and death, and then that very object becomes the source of remedy.
It is certainly one of those mysterious ways of God that we are still trying to comprehend.
But that mystery maybe clearer when Jesus said: The Son of Man must be lifted up, as Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert, so that everyone who believes may have eternal life in him.
When Jesus was nailed and lifted up on the cross, everybody thought that it was a tragic end. But with His Resurrection, the Cross became a sign of life and salvation.
When Moses lifted up that bronze serpent, and when the people looked at it, they were reminded of their sins and punishment.
It was only with repentance that they were cured. It was not the bronze serpent that cured them. Rather it was their repentance and God's mercy that cured them.
When we look at the Cross, we are reminded that Jesus died to save us from our sins.
Although it is said that our sins nailed Jesus to the Cross, but it was God's love that lifted Jesus high on the Cross.
It was with Jesus on the Cross that God is proclaiming this: I love you.
As the 2nd reading puts it: God loved us with so much love that He was generous with His mercy. When we were dead through our sins, He brought us to life with Christ, and raised us up with Him and gave us a place with Him in heaven.
So the mystery of the Cross is this: it is a stumbling block, and foolishness for those who do not accept the cross.
But for those who accept the Cross, it is the powerful love of God, a remedy for our sins, and a sign of salvation.
If we want to be saved, let us carry our cross. If we want to love God and our neighbour, let us carry our cross. If we want to understand the mystery of life, let us carry our cross and follow Jesus.