Readings: Genesis 2:7‑9; 3:1‑7 Romans 5:12‑19 Matthew 4:1‑11
As the Church begins its Lenten observance, we are presented with two radically different choices for human fulfillment. In the Eden story, Adam and Eve choose to disobey God's command by eating from the tree of knowledge in an attempt to become "like gods who know what is good and what is bad." In Matthew's temptation story, Jesus refuses to abuse his power for worldly gain and instead embraces God's will in trust, obedience, and adoration. Let us begin Lent by accepting responsibility for our own sin and resolving with the help of God's mercy to begin again to follow the obedient Jesus, as we pray in the words of the responsorial psalm: "Be merciful, O Lord, for we have sinned" (Ps 51).
The Eden account is the story of us all in so far as we are sinners. Like ’adam ("earthling"), we are both "clay of the ground" and yet also inspired with the very "breath" of God. We, like the man and woman in the garden, have been given the task of responsibly cultivating and caring for this beautiful earth within the limits set by God. And yet we, also like Adam and Eve, all too often succumb to the allurement of "having it all" by striving to become "like gods who know what is good and what is bad." We too attempt to play God in our selfish pursuit of unlimited sensual gratification ("the tree was good for food"), aesthetic stimulation ("pleasing to the eyes"), and intellectual pride ("desirable for gaining wisdom"). For Adam and Eve, sin results, not in superhuman knowledge, but in a shameful realization "that they were naked." Later, when confronted with their sin, both will excuse their action by blaming either God or the serpent (see 3:8‑13). We also discover that sin results in shame, fear, alienation and evasion of responsibility before God.
Lest we be overwhelmed with the enormity of sin, Paul in the Romans reading affirms Christ's victory over sin and death. In this section Paul is explicating how Jesus' death and resurrection could bring salvation for all humanity. He uses a typology contrasting Adam, as the old head of the race, with Christ, the new Adam. Just as the disobedient act of the one man unleashed sin and death, like two demonic powers, into the world and brought condemnation in that all fell into sin, so the obedient act of Christ, the new man, has brought the gift of righteousness and grace. “For if by the offense of the one man all died, much more did the grace of God and the gracious gift of the one man, Jesus Christ, abound for all. . . . Just as through one man's disobedience all became sinners, so through one man's obedience all shall become just.”
Matthew's temptation story also presents Jesus in humble obedience to his Father's will as he begins his ministry. Like Adam and Eve in Eden and Israel in the wilderness, Jesus is tested as he is led into the desert by the Spirit. But, in contrast to his ancestors' disobedience, Jesus, as true Son of God and the true Israel, triumphs over the devil's temptations.
The temptations have to do with how Jesus will act as the Son of God, as is clear from the devil's opening words: "If you are the Son of God . . ." In the first temptation the devil suggests that as Son of God Jesus work a miracle for his own physical sustenance. Jesus has fasted for forty days and nights, and now the tempter proposes: "command these stones to turn into bread." Jesus rejects the devil's trick by quoting a passage from Deuteronomy 8:3 which suggests that he, as God's Son, must draw his sustenance from obedient trust of God's word: "Scripture has it: `Not on bread alone does man live but on every utterance that comes from the mouth of God.'" The devil then twists Jesus' trust in God into presumption by suggesting that he throw himself from the parapet of the temple, for, according to Psalm 91, "(God) will bid his angels care for you . . ." Quoting Deuteronomy again (6:16), Jesus retorts that true trust is obedient, not presumptive: "Scripture also has it: `You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.'" Finally, abandoning all subtlety, the devil crassly offers Jesus the kingdoms of the world if he will prostrate himself in homage before him. In his final response Jesus does not simply interpret Scripture (Deut 6:13) but also uses his power as God's obedient Son to drive Satan away. "Away with you Satan! Scripture says, `You shall do homage to the Lord your God; him alone shall you adore.'" At the end of Matthew’s Gospel Jesus will come to cosmic power (see Matt 28:16-20) but only after walking the path of suffering as God's obedient Son.
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