The readings for this first Sunday of Lent remind us of our fallen human condition and the plight of death as according to what we hear on Ash Wednesday – “Remember that you are dust and to dust you shall return.”
In the First Reading (Gen. 2:7-9; 3:1-7) we read an excerpt from the second creation narrative which is found in the Book of Genesis. God creates the first man from the dust of the ground and breathes life into the man from His own Spirit. God places Adam in the Garden of Eden and we are told: “Out of the ground the LORD God made grow every tree that was delightful to look at and good for food, with the tree of life in the middle of the garden and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil” (Gen. 2:9).
Later in this chapter God creates Eve from Adam’s rib and she is called “woman” for being created from the bone of the man. It is written: “That is why a man leaves his father and mother and clings to his wife, and the two of them become one body. The man and his wife were both naked, yet they felt no shame” (Gen.2:24-25).
The next part of the passage illustrates the way in which sin is introduced into the world as the first humans disobey their only prohibition issued by God – to avoid the fruit of the tree of knowledge (Gen. 3:3). The snake uses a cunning line of questioning to entice Eve into tasting the forbidden fruit, assuring her that she will not die, but rather obtain the knowledge of good and evil, reserved only for God. In their arrogance and pride, the man and woman both consume the fruit and give in to the temptation of the serpent, striving to become equal to God.
This, their first, or original sin, is the abuse of the God-given gift of free will to determine the difference between good and evil according to human standards, as opposed to God’s standards. Their sense of the goodness of creation becomes corrupt as they feel shame for their nakedness and hide from God for their indiscretion. Once discovered by God they are admonished for their actions and expelled from the Garden.
The rest of the narrative reveals that the consequence of their sin leads to enmity between the snake and humans, a constant struggle between good and evil, as well as to pain in childbearing, toil, death, and expulsion from the Garden (Gen. 3:14-24). This choice between following God and giving in to selfish desire is a plight which will continue to plague humankind forevermore.
From the story of Adam and Eve and their expulsion from Eden, we learn that there is something inherent within human nature, a sense of self-centeredness, pride and rebellion, which causes us to choose to act contrary to God’s will. We abuse our God-given freedom in ways counterintuitive to natural, moral and ethical laws as a predicament of our human imperfection. It is this mistrust of God’s omniscient ordering of creation which leads to a lack of intimacy with God and harmony with one another.
But all is not lost. Note that at the end of the story God, in loving mercy for the first humans, provides Adam and Eve with garments to protect them against the adversity they face as they leave the Garden of Eden (Gen. 3:21).
In the Gospel from Matthew for today (Mt. 4:1-11) we encounter Jesus in a situation like Adam and Eve. He is alone with nature and tempted by the devil to rely on his own initiative – to turn the stones into bread – instead of acting according to the will of God. Satan knows that Jesus has the power to avoid the ill fate that awaits him. As the Son of God, he has the power of an earthly king to rule the entire world if only he would give into the same temptation of pride given to Adam and Eve.
The devil even challenges Jesus to demonstrate his own power assuring him that his divinity will garner him the protection of angels. “He made him stand on the parapet of the temple, and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down. For it is written: ‘He will command his angels concerning you’ and ‘with their hands they will support you, lest you dash your foot against a stone’” (Mt. 4:5-6).
Jesus, however, cannot be swayed by this temptation. He steadfastly rebukes the devil: “Get away, Satan! {For] it is written: ‘The Lord, your God, shall you worship and him alone shall you serve’” (Mt. 4:10). With this verse Jesus demonstrates what is written about him by the author of the Letter to the Hebrews: “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who has similarly been tested in every way, yet without sin” (Heb. 4:15).
Jesus is tested to act contrary to God’s commands, just like Adam and Eve and just like us. But he lacks the self-centeredness and pride of original sin as other humans, instead acting perfectly aligned to the will of God. This is why his death on the cross, the offer of his life for others, is the perfect sacrifice to take away our sins.
Like the protection given to Adam and Eve by God as they are expelled from the garden so too are Christians, living in a world of sin, offered the protection of sanctifying grace from the sacraments, particularly the Eucharist, given to us by the Lord himself as a participation in his sacrifice, to strengthen us against the culpability of our human condition.
Ashes to ashes and dust to dust are no more. Rather what awaits is the fullness of God’s kingdom. For just as through one person, Adam, sin entered the world (Rom. 5:12), by the grace of God, redemption, salvation, and ever-lasting life become available to all people by the gift of one man, Jesus Christ (Rom. 5:15).
