Snakes and Poison and the Holy Spirit

The seventy-two disciples returned rejoicing and said to Jesus,
"Lord, even the demons are subject to us because of your name."
Jesus said, "I have observed Satan fall like lightning from the sky.
Behold, I have given you the power
'to tread upon serpents' and scorpions
and upon the full force of the enemy
and nothing will harm you.
Nevertheless, do not rejoice because the spirits are subject to you,
but rejoice because your names are written in heaven."

At that very moment, he rejoiced in the Holy Spirit and said,
"I give you praise, Father, Lord of heaven and earth,
for although you have hidden these things
from the wise and the learned
you have revealed them to the childlike.
Yes, Father, such has been your gracious will.
All things have been handed over to me by my Father.
No one knows who the Son is except the Father,
and who the Father is except the Son
and anyone to whom the Son wishes to reveal him."

Turning to the disciples in private he said,
"Blessed are the eyes that see what you see.
For I say to you, many prophets and kings desired to see what you see,
but did not see it, and to hear what you hear, but did not hear it."

Snake handling and poison drinking are two activities that I have a healthy aversion to. In the case of deadly snakes, I have to say that their venom is designed to kill their prey and that they do serve a useful purpose on earth because they eat varmints that quickly would get out of control if they were not there.  It would be kind of like the episode from  Trek (the original version) "Trouble With Tribbles."

Without the services of snakes, we would be awash in not cute and cuddly tribbles but snarling long tooth rats. So I am not against snakes.  I thank the Father that He has provided this method of keeping a species that we find to be a nuisance in check.  I also want to say that I am not saying anything bad about the people who practice snake handling as part of their faith.  I do not agree that it is necessary for salvation to handle a dumb a creature that would inject you with venom in response to its fear of being injured or killed in an effort to attain freedom.  As a matter of fact, I watched a video on YouTube (not the one that is attached at the end of today's reflection) where one preacher said that his father and brother, both preachers in the same church where this man was now the preacher, were bitten and killed by a snake and that he was proud that they had been chosen by God.  I also observed a preacher mix himself a poison cocktail and drink it down and he did keep dancing.  I have to commend these preachers for having such a great faith that they will do such things but think that God must shake His head when he sees them tempting the laws of the natural world. 

What Jesus was telling His disciples was that they need not fear Satan and that they would be protected from the power of the devil and the power of evil men.  He also told them that they would have their name written in the book of life.

Our salvation does not depend on handling snakes or drinking poison. Our salvation is a gift bought with the blood of Jesus.  Our salvation depends on being ambassadors of Christ, sharing what we have and who we are and to be ready to explain to all comers why we have hope in the Ressurection.  Our faith in Christ is what we need to back up our good deeds and our good deeds without Christ being the reason for them are worthless.   We believe but we do not have to prove our belief by handling snakes or drinking poison. We are called to be Christ to all those around us and that at times can be as dangerous as handling a cobra or sipping a cyanide frappe. Think of those Christians that lived under the thumb of ISIS, they did not desert their faith, they allowed the serpent, ISIS to bite them and they were martyred for their love of Jesus.  This is what we are called to be prepared to do, to go to the cross, whatever form it takes, and to remain faithful to Jesus no matter what.  This can be just as tricky as what our snake handling friends do at their services and just as deadly. 

I have included two videos from YouTube, the first one are scenes taken from a snake handlers worship service, it is intense so be warned.  The second video is an old selection called "The Witch's Invitation."  It will speak for itself.  

Snake Handling Christians 

The Witches Invitation