Tuesday of the 5th Week of Lent
First Reading
Numbers 21:4–9
The Israelites left Mount Hor by the road to the Sea of Suph, to skirt the land of Edom.
On the way the people lost patience. They spoke against God and against Moses:
“Why did you bring us out of Egypt to die in this wilderness? For there is neither bread nor water here; we are sick of this unsatisfying food.”
At this God sent fiery serpents among the people; their bite brought death to many in Israel.
The people came and said to Moses, “We have sinned by speaking against the Lord and against you. Intercede for us with the Lord to save us from these serpents.”
Moses interceded for the people, and the Lord answered him:
“Make a fiery serpent and put it on a standard. If anyone is bitten and looks at it, he shall live.”
So Moses fashioned a bronze serpent which he put on a standard, and if anyone was bitten by a serpent, he looked at the bronze serpent and lived.
Responsorial Psalm
Psalm 101(102):2–3,16–21
O Lord, hear my prayer
and let my cry for help reach you.
Do not hide your face from me
in the day of my distress.
The nations shall fear the name of the Lord
and all the kings of the earth your glory,
when the Lord shall build up Zion again
and appear in all his glory.
He will turn to the prayer of the helpless;
he will not despise their prayer.
Psalm Summary:
From distress and weariness, the faithful cry out. The Lord does not ignore the afflicted; he rebuilds what has been broken and listens to the helpless.
Gospel
John 8:21–30
Jesus said to the Pharisees:
“I am going away;
you will look for me
and you will die in your sin.
Where I am going, you cannot come.”
“You are from below; I am from above.
You are of this world; I am not of this world.
If you do not believe that I am He,
you will die in your sins.”
“When you have lifted up the Son of Man,
then you will know that I am He
and that I do nothing of myself:
what the Father has taught me is what I preach.
He who sent me is with me,
and has not left me to myself,
for I always do what pleases him.”
As he was saying this, many came to believe in him.
Reflection
There is something painfully human in the first reading.
The Israelites are not facing luxury or comfort — they are in the wilderness. They are tired. They are hungry. They are frustrated. And frustration slowly becomes accusation.
“Why did you bring us out here?”
What began as deliverance from slavery now feels like abandonment. They remember Egypt with selective memory. They forget the chains and focus only on the discomfort of the present.
The Catechism describes sin as a turning away from trust in God (CCC 1849). In this moment, the people are not simply complaining about food. They are questioning the goodness of the One who saved them.
The serpents that follow are not random cruelty. They reveal what distrust does — it poisons the heart. The bite brings death. Sin always carries consequence.
But notice what happens next.
The people confess: “We have sinned.”
This is the turning point.
God’s remedy is unexpected. He does not remove the wilderness. He does not eliminate all danger. Instead, he gives them a sign — a bronze serpent lifted high.
Those who look at it live.
Healing requires participation. They must lift their eyes. They must choose to look.
Jesus makes the connection unmistakable in the Gospel.
“When you have lifted up the Son of Man…”
He is speaking of the Cross.
The bronze serpent was a sign; the Cross is the fulfilment. The Catechism teaches that Christ’s sacrifice is the definitive act of redemption, reconciling us to the Father (CCC 613–616). On the Cross, sin is not ignored — it is confronted and overcome.
There is something deeply personal here.
We often want relief without repentance. We want healing without looking directly at what wounded us. Yet Scripture shows a different path. The Israelites had to face the symbol of what harmed them. We must face the reality of sin — not to remain in shame, but to allow grace to transform it.
In the Gospel, Jesus also speaks of belief.
“If you do not believe that I am He…”
Faith is not abstract agreement. It is recognition. It is lifting the eyes of the heart toward Christ.
To look at the Cross is to see both the seriousness of sin and the depth of mercy. It is to see a God who does not remain distant but enters suffering fully. Christ is obedient to the Father even unto death (CCC 612). His being “lifted up” is both humiliation and glorification.
And this is where hope emerges.
The wilderness did not have the final word. The serpent did not have the final word. Death did not have the final word.
When the Son of Man is lifted up, life is offered.
Lent gently asks: where have we grown impatient? Where have we allowed frustration to become distrust? Where are we tempted to look downward instead of upward?
Healing begins when we lift our gaze.
One line to carry today:
Lift your eyes to the Crucified — and live.
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