We Begin Our Lenten Journey

Homily for the First Sunday of Lent

As we begin our Lenten journey, I would like to begin my homily by reminding us all that the readings for the Sundays of Lent are slightly different than the pattern that we are used to on other Sundays. During Lent the Old Testament readings focus upon salvation history as the presupposition of, preparation for, and in some respects a prefiguring of the redemptive act of God.

Thus, in the reading that we proclaim today from the Book of Genesis, we hear a creation story which features three episodes: the creation of the first human, his placement in the garden, and his fall. Humans are formed from the ground as are the trees in the garden, establishing a physical bond between humans and other creatures. However, there is a difference; God breathed the spirit into the human. It is his fall from grace that establishes the need for salvation, a salvation that is one through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

The second reading sets forth our participation in the death and resurrection of Jesus through baptism and through faith.

This week we hear from St. Paul’s letter to the Romans in which he explains that just as sin entered the world through one man the grace of God and the gracious gift of that grace was won by one man. “Just as through one transgression, condemnation came upon all, so through one righteous act, acquittal and life came to all. While Adam disobeyed God’s command, Jesus obeyed God’s will and gave up his life to redeem hours.

The third and Gospel readings in series A of the Lectionary for Sunday Mass, after the accounts of the temptation of Jesus in the desert and the Transfiguration of Jesus on Mount Horeb (which are traditional on the first two Sundays of Lent), take up the great Johannine signs. They are prefigurements both of the saving events of Christ’s death and resurrection and of our participation in those saving events through baptism.

Today we hear the account of Jesus’s temptation in the desert from the Gospel of St. Matthew. Mediterranean culture was deeply rooted in belief in good and evil spirits. They were believed to interfere in the daily life of human beings. When the voice from heaven on the occasion of Jesus’ baptism proclaimed Jesus to be the beloved son, all the spirits would have heard of this great honor. The very next scene in St. Matthew’s Gospel is of Jesus being tested to see if he is worthy of this honor. He is tempted three times by Satan, each of them modeled on the three temptations that the Israelites faced in the desert. First, he asks that Jesus turn the stones into bread. Jesus refuses whereas the Israelites grumbled and complained until God sent them manna in the desert. Next Satan and asked Jesus to abuse his power as the Son of God. Jesus refuses to put God to the test whereas the Israelites tested God at Massah in the desert to bring water from a rock. Finally, Satan ask Jesus to fall down and worship him in order to gain all the kingdoms of the world. Once again, Jesus refuses to adore Satan whereas the Israelites had adored a golden calf while Moses was a top Mount Sinai.

These final two temptations are about the abuse of power and sinning out of abundance and strength. They would’ve had messianic implications. However, the reign of God will be established by one who puts his trust in the Word of God, in the Providence of God, and who will not compromise his fidelity to God no matter what the price. Although we mere human mortals will never be tempted in this way, this Gospel text reminds us to remember that we are creatures, not gods, and should not take unto ourselves those things which are God’s. God has blessed us abundantly in the faith that we have professed in Jesus, our Redeemer.