Danger in taking words too literally

May 28, 2006 -- Feast of the Ascension of the Lord

By Fr. Michael Stubbs

	Fr. Mike Stubbs

A rebel paramilitary group operating in northern Uganda during the 1980's told its soldiers that if they anointed their bodies with shea butter oil, bullets fired at them would bounce off harmlessly. It didn't work. Thousands died.

That experience might caution us from taking too literally the words in Sunday's gospel, "They will pick up serpents with their hands, and if they drink any deadly thing, it will not harm them."

Jesus is giving instructions to his disciples, shortly before his ascension into heaven. He is assuring them of his protection. If they believe, then signs will accompany them, including this quasi-magical immunity from venomous snakes.

It then would be easy to turn Jesus' words into a test of faith, as indeed some backwoods, fundamentalist sects in Appalachia have done. If a member handles a rattlesnake and is bitten, it shows that that person does not truly believe. The rebel group in Uganda followed the same line of reasoning. If a soldier did not escape from being hit, even after having anointed his body with shea butter oil, it proved that he lacked true faith and deserved to die.

Then what approach can we take to these difficult words of Jesus?

Some would limit these words of Jesus to the time of the apostles. In its earliest stage, the Christian faith needed miracles to enable it to get started. But now, it has outgrown that need. During the time of the apostles, persecution threatened its survival. But that is no longer the case. The time for this particular instruction has passed.

In support of that theory, we might point to the event described in Acts 28:3-5. "Paul had gathered a bundle of brush wood and was putting it on the fire when a viper, escaping from the heat, fastened on his hand. When the natives saw the snake hanging from his hand, they said to one another, 'This man must certainly be a murderer, though he escaped the sea, Justice has not let him remain alive.' But he shook the snake off into the fire and suffered no harm."

This incident might appear to be a living out of Jesus' words in the gospel reading. It worked for St. Paul. Still, I wouldn't advise it.

Another theory would suggest that Jesus' words in Sunday's gospel assure us of God's love and support in the midst of danger, but do not guarantee protection from physical harm. We might compare Mark 13:12,13, "Brother will hand over brother to death, and the father his child; children will rise up against parents and have them put to death. You will be hated by all because of my name. But the one who perseveres to the end will be saved."

In other words, those who believe in Jesus Christ can attain salvation, even if they are put to death. Jesus Christ offers protection, not from physical harm, but in the midst of it. His words should not lead us to take foolhardy measures, to ignore the physical harm brought by bullets, or poison or venomous snakes. At the same time, the words of Christ encourage us to hold firm, to find strength in God's love.

(Fr. Stubbs, a priest of the Archdiocese of Kansas City, Kansas, has a master's degree in theology from Harvard.)