Impatience is probably the greatest human failing. It is a mixture of fear, anxiety, and selfishness. Despite what God had done for them, the Israelites were impatient and afraid - they even wanted Moses to take them back to Egypt and slavery. Their own negativity, doubt, and lack of faith created the conditions for the attack of the serpents. It is only by lifting their sights upward and recognizing that they are the source of their suffering that they can be healed. So often our own fear and lack of faith overwhelms us and we want to live in the past or turn back to hateful conditions because they are familiar. Once again, we need to look our fear in the face and move forward with faith and confidence.

Jesus reminds his listeners that they are 'from below' - ordinary humans with all their fears and lack of understanding. They simply do not comprehend what Jesus is trying to teach them. Only Jesus is 'from above' - spiritually perfect and able to understand and teach all things since he has come from God. When we set aside our typical human reactions and responses to things and open ourselves to the Spirit our experience of life will begin to change. Jesus has many things to tell us and share with us but we must be willing to let go of our insistence on doing everything our way. The Spirit will lift us beyond the ordinary so that we too can be 'from above'. Fixing our minds and hearts on the one who was 'lifted up' like the serpent in the desert will heal us from our own wounds and transform us.