"One does not live on bread alone . . . "
Matthew 4: 1-11
The Word: https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/022226.cfm
Grant, almighty God,
through the yearly observances of holy Lent,
that we may grow in understanding
of the riches hidden in Chreist
and by worthy conduct pursue their effects.
(from the Collect of the Mass)
Sometimes, during child raising, a parent may imply a method dubbed “reverse psychology.” I’m not sure if that is an actual technique used by counsellors 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 do
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. By following our own will,
rather than the wisdom of another, we become the sole determiner of what is
right and wrong.
Now, that brings us
to our first reading from Genesis this first Sunday of Lent. It relates the
fall of Adam and Eve and our Gospel. Here Adam and Eve 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 amid all this beauty: “You shall not
eat it or even touch it, lest you die.” God refers of course to the tree of
good and evil. Yet, like the child, Adam and Eve eat the forbidden fruit
anyway. They give in to the tempters lie and in doing so become “like gods” in
the sense that they chose to determine their own criteria for what is right and
wrong; good and evil. They follow the words of Satan, the tempter, illustrated
as a slithering, talking snake. And the rest is human history – sin enters. In
their act of disobedience our human ancestors choose pride. Rather than follow
the will of God; to recognize good and evil as God determines, they sadly
become the sole challenger of God and determine their own criteria for moral
decision making.
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 provides 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 to break its force. You cannot win a battle except by entering the fray and confronting the enemy 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
feeds us with his very presence in order to provide 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.
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