Reflection Notes for St Matthew’s Service Oct 20th, 2026
Most people are afraid of snakes.
Ø Firstly, for Jews and Christians, they represent the devil who tempted Adam and Eve with disastrous results.
Ø Secondly, we avoid snakes because of their ability to kill with their venomous bites.
So, it might come as a surprise to discover that in the ancient world, snakes were associated with healing.
For example, the ancient Greeks believed in Asclepius, the god of medicine, whose image was associated with a snake on a rod. One reason for this was the fact that snakes shed their skin, which was a symbol of rejuvenation and rebirth. The rod of Asclepius with a snake curled around it is still the symbol used in modern medicine. It might come as a surprise to know that one reason for this is the fact that some snake venoms can also be turned into life-saving medications.
In the Old Testament, the snake was also a symbol of healing. The Bible tells us that following their escape from Egypt, many people in the wilderness were bitten by snakes and died. The Jewish people appealed to Moses for help. We are told in Num 21:8-9 that, “The Lord told Moses to make a metal snake and put it on a pole, so that anyone who was bitten could look at it and be healed. So, Moses made a bronze snake and put it on a pole. Anyone who had been bitten would look at the bronze snake and be healed.”
I mention all this because in Jn 3:14, as we heard in our scripture reading, how Jesus referred to this Old Testament passage about looking at a serpent on a pole in order to experience healing when he said, “As Moses lifted up the bronze snake on a pole in the desert, in the same way the Son of Man must be lifted up, so that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life.” In other words, if you are seeking healing, look to Jesus hanging on the cross. As Is 53:2-5 says,
“He had no dignity or beauty to make us take notice of him. There was nothing attractive about him . . . because of our sins he was wounded, beaten because of the evil we did. We are healed by the punishment he suffered, made whole by the blows he received.”
St Peter made the same point when he said,
“He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed" (1 Pt 2:24).
You will remember that when the Good Samaritan encountered the poor man who had been mugged and left for dead on the roadside, the Samaritan man had compassion on him and poured wine and oil into his wounds in order to disinfect and heal them. When Jesus was hanging on the cross, he was our Good Samaritan. Instead of pouring oil and wine into our wounds, he poured out blood and water from his wounded heart. They drip into our wounds from his wounded side. I invite you to imagine that the drops of blood and water oozing from Christ’s wounded side are falling into your wounds, both physical and mental in a way that is bringing healing and peace.
Many years ago, I gave a homily, in St Paul’s Church, Lurgan, about the healing power of the blood and water that flowed from the wounded heart of Christ. When I started to pray for people in the congregation, I felt that a woman two-thirds of the way down the left-hand side of the church was suffering from a very painful back problem. I can also remember describing how she was dressed. When the Mass ended, I went into the sacristy. Then a doctor I knew came in with a woman who happened to be one of her patients. She explained that the woman had suffered from a back problem for a number of years. Then the woman herself said that when I prayed for a female with such a painful problem, she instantly felt that power flowed from the heart of Christ into her spine. As a result, all her pain disappeared and she could move her back freely, a point that her doctor confirmed
