Just as through one transgression
condemnation came upon all
so, through one righteous act,
acquittal and life came to all. - Romans 5:19
This is the First Sunday of Lent. The readings discuss temptation, sin and redemption. These come at a time where I need to hear them most. But “sins run deep, grace all the more abounds.” Without a priest to minister to me, I reflect and pray for God to speak to me about these readings and share with me his wisdom.
Temptation is inescapable for me and I suspect that it is also inescapable for all men. I cannot walk into our latrines without encountering obscenities drawn on the walls. Overcoming temptation lies only as far as I have strength to resist. I have found great truth in that I have a willing spirit but my flesh is so very weak.
But there is no shortage of hope. God has called many men to resist temptation and to live holy lives answering his call to priesthood. There are those priests who courageously answer this call to serve my brother and sister soldiers as chaplains. They bring the sacraments, their counsel and their mere presence to inspire us to live faithfully.
The readings give source to this hope. The first reading tells the story of how God created man and also how sin came into the world. In the garden, the Lord placed the first parents and provided them with all they needed. They were charged to care for the garden. In the midst of this, the serpent, the deceiver, crept in and engaged Eve in discussion about the garden. In the first lie told, he led her to believe that God had some selfish reason to deny the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and bad. In buying into this lie, Eve makes a grave error in adding to the word of God. They eat the fruit which God wanted to protect them from and took upon themselves the responsibility for their words and actions.
I have heard many debates on who sinned first, but I will defer to the Apostle Paul. He tells us that sin came into the world through one man. With this, I will adopt the notion that Adam sinned first in allowing the serpent into the garden. But Saint Paul gives us great insight into sin. Saint Paul tells us that all hope was not lost in the sin of one man, and the subsequent sins of the many. He tells us that through the gift of Jesus Christ, in his passion and death that our sin was acquitted and we have been given life. The letter to the Romans repeats this message many times so that we may hear many times that we are forgiven and free. The Apostle gives us great hope with his message.
The first reading tells us that sin is real and came to and exists in the world. Saint Paul tells us in the second reading that though there is sin, there is redemption in the great gift of Jesus Christ. And the gospel message for this Sunday gives us a very real lesson in spiritual battle. Jesus went into the desert knowing that he would be tempted. So there it happened. Satan came to him and suggested that he turn stones into bread, then dared him to jump and have angels save him, and finally offered him the kingdoms of the world in exchange for his worship. Though he had fasted for forty days and forty nights, he resisted this temptation. This is a lesson for us. It was only after he was tempted that he commanded the devil to leave him. Jesus could have commanded the devil to leave him upon his arrival but then we would be devoid of this holy example of conquering temptation. Thus it is fulfilled that he was like us in everything but sin.
God gives us his grace to resist temptation. And yet, inspired by his confidence that we can live holy lives, he still gives us his Sacraments to further strengthen our resolve. The Church has been entrusted with salvation of souls. For when we fail to live as we should and love as God has loved us, God gives us the Sacrament of Confession so that we can repent of our sins and under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, give us the counsel and wisdom to continue to overcome our sinful nature.
In uniting ourselves with the universal Church, God also calls us to the Lord’s banquet. We offer ourselves and our humble gifts in union with the gift of the Lord’s body and blood transubstantiated from bread and wine. The only offering acceptable to the Lord becomes our strength and hope for salvation. Our participation in this gift of the Lord leads to our gift of self.
This Lenten season calls us to prayer, fasting and almsgiving. These three are all demonstrated in the Lord told to us in the gospel today. He prayed and fasted and gave us inspiration to conquer temptation and sin. He fulfills what we cannot. He became sin so that we could become righteous. We are bound by our baptism, strengthened by grace, and fulfilled by the Lord to answer his call to holiness.
Temptation will come and continue to come us and yet, by the grace of God we can choose to resist, we can still be forgiven, free and holy.
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