"Through the disobedience of one man all were made sinners . . .
So through the obedience of one, the man will be made righteous."
Matthew 4: 1-11
The Word:https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/022623.cfm
Sometimes, in the course of child raising, a parent may imply a method dubbed “reverse psychology.” I’m not sure if that is an actual technique used by counselors for example, but it seems to work at times in parenting.
In other words, you confront your child daring them to go
ahead and do what they claim they will rather than what you are asking them to
not do. “Ok, run away from home. Here’s your hat and coat. In fact, I’ll pack your bags for you.” The defiant child walks out of the house, bag
in hand covered in their coat. Five
minutes later, they walk back in, go to their room, close the door, and sit
there reconsidering their initial choice. It worked! From the very beginning it
seems we always want what may not be good for us, but we choose it anyway. We
stubbornly insist that our way is better.
Now, that brings us to our first reading for this first
Sunday of Lent from Genesis which relates the fall of Adam and Eve and our Gospel.
Present in both is temptation and the source of that temptation is identified
as the devil or Satan. Here the first
humans, who lived in total bliss and harmony with God, who had an abundance of
satisfaction and no need for anything are told by God in the midst of all this
beauty: “You shall not eat it or even touch it, lest you die.” God is
referencing that one tree, of course. Do not eat from this one tree in the
middle of the garden. Like the child, Adam and Eve eat the forbidden fruit
anyway. They follow the words of Satan, the tempter, illustrated as a
slithering, talking snake. Reverse psychology on his part? And the rest is human history – Original sin
enters.
God gave them a self-governing power called free will as
he gives to each of us. So, Adam and Eve represent what we now find in
ourselves. I can freely choose my own way rather than God’s: to obey or to disobey.
But that choice may be disordered due to
sin. And sin has gotten humanity into an impossible situation, one we could not
get ourselves out of.
So, God himself continually steps into human history,
calling to us, making covenants, raising prophets, patiently putting up with
our unfaithfulness, and at last sent the only one who could rescue us – his own
Son, Jesus the Christ. The entire Old Testament is a love story in which the
beloved is determined to build a relationship with the loved.
As Paul puts it in our second reading: “Just as through
one transgression (Adam and Eve) condemnation came upon all, so through one
righteous act (Jesus’ death and resurrection) acquittal and life came to all.” Paul
providers the answer to why God sent his Son, out of love and to break the bond
of death and sin for all eternity, that we may share eternal life with him.
That brings us to a desert. It all began in a garden but now begins again
in a desert where the new Adam will ultimately obey to the end. A far less
attractive location where Jesus, after fasting forty days and nights, is
hungry, weak, and vulnerable. Soon, the same deceiver comes along not as a
snake but as himself. While scholars have debated just how much did the devil
know about the mission of Jesus or fully who he was, the great liar certainly
is determined to pull Jesus away from his purpose.
The temptations begin at the base level of hunger, bodily
satisfaction, but quickly go to the deeper level of pride and power. Jesus is tempted to choose that which seemed
secure and definite. I’m hungry so I
should eat something. It’s only bread
after all and I can have it now. This
was followed by the opportunity to gain praise from those around him as he
would throw himself down and angels would fly to his rescue. So, seek satisfaction, enjoy the praise, and
embrace power. Sound familiar?
Here there is more than temptation which we all experience. Here we find Jesus embracing the human
experience of sin in order to break its force. You cannot win a battle except
by entering the fray and confronting the enemy in order to conquer his power. So,
Jesus does by resisting all three temptations to pleasure, power, glory and
fame.
This is not a war of words with the devil but a test
between deception and truth; between all the other trees and just this one; a
test of wills. A call to obey all that the Father has asked and a place of
confrontation between powers in which God has the final word. Because of Jesus’
own resistance, his obedience to his full mission, the doors of forgiveness and
mercy have been opened. Jesus affirmed
that love for God, his will for us, is the only way to follow the truth we hear
in the Scriptures, and we celebrate in the Sacraments. This new Adam gets it
right and the deadly power of sin as the final word is destroyed. We
remember this each time we gather for the liturgy.
In the holy Eucharist, this bread made for us by Christ
not in a desert but on a cross, we know that the price our Lord paid remains
the model of our living. He gave his
life that we may have life and he feed us with his very presence in order to
provide us all that we need. In this
desert of Lent may we let ourselves be caught by the lover who seeks to heal
what is broken. All of this is what we give thanks for in the Eucharist which Jesus
left us as a memorial – “Do this in memory of me.”
May our Lenten journey lead us to confront the power of
sin in our lives, seek forgiveness in confession, and reorient our life
direction in imitation of the example set by Christ, our new Adam.
by which faith is nourished, hope increased,
and charity strengthened,
we pray, O Lord,
that we may learn to hunger for Christ,
the true and living Bread,
and strive to live by every word
which proceeds from your mouth.
Through Christ our Lord.
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