Sermon on Looking Up

Rev. J. Hugh Odhner 
November 22, 2009

“No one has ascended to heaven but He who came down from heaven, that is, the Son of Man who is in heaven. And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:13-15)

“No one has ascended to heaven but He who came down from heaven, that is, the Son of Man who is in heaven.

The “Son of Man who is in heaven” means Lord as to the Divine Truth. As the Lord descended into the world and then ascended again, so also His Truth, which is present in the heavens, comes down from heaven into us and also ascends again from us. (AC 9807).

In the next verse the Lord compares himself to the bronze serpent which Moses set on a standard and lifted up in the wilderness of Sinai. He said, And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.” We may ask, “why would the Lord compare himself to a bronze serpent?” Why would He compare Himself to a metallic snake? The answer lies in knowing that the Word of the Lord is like a parable. The stories and events in the Word have an inner meaning and internal sense. Each word and phrase in the Word has a deeper meaning and this deeper meaning or internal sense is known when we have an understanding of what each word or phrase represents.

In the Gospels the Lord refers to Himself as the Son of Man in several places, such as in Matthew 16 when Jesus asked His disciples, saying, “Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?”, to which Simon Peter replied “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” As we mentioned earlier, the Son of Man means the Lord as to Divine Truth, that is, the Lord as to His Divine Truth which is in the Word.

He compares himself to the bronze serpent in John 3:14 because by the bronze serpent is meant or signified the Lord as to His Divine Natural.
This needs some explanation. When the Lord was born into the world, He was born with a divine soul from the Father, and a natural human from His mother, Mary. He was born into the world with two natures -- one divine and the other a maternal and worldly human. During the Lord's life in the world that natural human from the mother was put off or replaced by a Human that was from the Divine, so that he arose from the tomb as a completely Divine Man. This is why there was nothing of his body left in the tomb -- all that He received from Mary, that is, the natural human, was put off. He left the world having one nature completely Divine and Human which we call the Divine Human. The Natural of the Lord's Divine Human we may compare to the natural or literal sense of the Word.

The bronze serpent made by Moses was set on a standard, a wooden pole that was lifted up so that all the people could see it. As we read in the Scripture, those who looked upon it were then cured from the bite of poisonous serpents and lived. The Lord compared himself to that bronze serpent being lifted up. In one sense he was speaking of his crucifixion in which he was lifted up on a wooden cross and people looked up on Him.

But as the bronze serpent and the Son of Man who were both lifted up represent the Lord as to the Word, so the looking up represents a looking up to the Lord in His Word. Healing was affected by looking up to the serpent on the standard. Likewise, looking up to the Lord in His Word also affects a healing, but in this case from evils arising from falsity. It is by looking up to the Lord that we are healed.

I once heard a once about a young sailor who lived in the days of the tall sailing ships. This young sailor was ordered to climb the mast and trim the sails. As he climbed the mast, the ship was being tossed in the waves, swaying from side to side. The young man looked down and he saw the ship below him swaying from side to side in the ocean, and sometimes at the top of that mast he was above the ocean on one side and as the ship swayed he was above the ocean on the other side. He began to get confused and sick. He began to turn green and lose his grip. Down below on the deck was an old experienced sailor who saw the young man getting sick and starting to lose his grip. And the old sailor yelled up to the young sailor, “ Look up, young man, look up!” The young sailor looked up at the bright steady blue sky -- -- -- he lost his confusion, regained his balance and his grip, and was able to finish his work.

There is a point in the story. When we spend too much of our time, looking down -- looking down at others because of their imperfections in comparison with ourselves -- looking down at the church because it isn't the way we want it to be -- can't we also put ourselves in a state of spiritual sickness and confusion? Aren't we then in danger of losing our spiritual grip?

Like the young sailor, when we look up, we can be healed of our spiritual confusion and sickness. Perhaps we need to spend more time looking up to the Lord and the beautiful things in His creation and less looking down to our own agendas and ambitions.

In the Word it is said that looking up to the bronze serpent, which represented the Lord, meant protection, for healing was affected by looking up at the serpent (AC 8624). When we look up to the Lord in His Word, are we not showing faith in Him and a belief in Him? In fact, looking up to the Lord means believing in Him. And by believing in the Lord we can receive spiritual life. As the Word says, “… whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.”

But what is meant by believing in the Lord? Is believing just a statement of faith which we hold in our mind, a creed in a book which we recite, or some theological principles which we understand and are convinced are true? Let's see what the Word says:

In Apocalypse Explained 815 we read:

"To believe in the Lord" signifies not only to adore and worship Him, but also to live from Him, and one lives from Him when he lives according to the Word which is from Him ….”

And from Arcana Coelestia 10083:

“Because the acknowledgment of the Lord is the first of all things of spiritual life, and the most essential thing of the church, and because without it no one can receive any truth of faith or good of love at from heaven,, therefore the Lord often says that he who believes in Him has eternal life, and he who does not believe in Him does not have it. … At the same time He also teaches that they have faith in Him who live according to His commandments, so that the life which results from doing may enter into their faith. … Acknowledging the Lord and acknowledging that all salvation comes from Him is the beginning of the life from the Divine with a person.”
Our need to look up to the Lord in His Word, to show faith in Him by living according to His Commandments, may be summed up by these words from Matthew 19:17:

“If you wish to enter into life, keep the commandments.”

Amen.

Readings: Numbers 20:22; 21:4-9; John 3:13-15; Apocalypse Revealed 469

Prayer:
O Lord, Look upon us and be merciful to us,
As is your way toward those who love Your name.
Direct our steps by Your word,
And let no iniquity have dominion over us.
Make Your face shine upon us,
And teach us Your statutes.
(Psalm 119:132, 133,135)