Matthew 4:1-11
Lent 1 / Year A
We
began the season of Epiphany (as we always do) hearing the story of Jesus’
baptism. There, in the cool waters of
the Jordon River, the Holy Spirit descends upon Jesus in the form of a dove and
God’s voice is heard saying, “You are my Son, the beloved. With you I am well pleased.” We are told in today’s reading soon after
this the Spirit leads Jesus into the wilderness where he fasts and prays for
forty days. Then the temper comes.
Notice
how the first two temptations are introduced by questioning Jesus’ identity: “If
you are the Son of God… Prove it to me
and prove it to yourself by making bread out of stones! Prove it to the world by throwing yourself
off the pinnacle of the Temple! When
God’s angels catch you your identity will be confirmed before everyone.” The proposition to bow before Satan in order
to inherit all the kingdoms of the world is a temptation for Jesus get what is
rightfully his but to do it in all the wrong ways. And, it must be said, Jesus is tempted by
each of these or else they would be little more than verbal jousting. The temptations are attacks on Jesus’ God-given
identity as well as an assault on how he is to live into his unique purpose and
mission.
Our
first reading from the Book of Genesis is one of the best known and most
discussed stories in all of Scripture.
Adam and Eve receive a calling, which is to be the foundation of their
identity. God puts them in the garden
“to till it and to keep it.” Who are
they? Custodians of God’s creation. And it is a lush creation teeming with
everything they can possibly need. God
invites Adam to eat freely of every tree in the garden except the tree of the
knowledge of good and evil. Adam then
transmits this instruction to Eve, but their conversation is not contained in
the biblical record.
The
serpent questions Eve: “Did God really say you cannot eat the fruit of any tree
in the garden?” She corrects the
serpent, “We can eat of any tree, only not the one in the middle. We cannot eat it or touch it.” Notice she does not seem to know the tree’s
name, only its location. And notice she
adds “We cannot touch it,” when God made no such declaration. Did Adam not pass along God’s words with
fidelity or did Eve not hear accurately or did she add in these new things on
her own? Or, perhaps all three things
happened. No matter what, the damage is
done. The seeds of doubt take root and
the question of identity and purpose is challenged. “Maybe I can be more than a tiller and a
keeper. Maybe I can be like God. Maybe I can become my own god with the
ability to determine who I am and what I want to do.”
The
bible never describes what the evil one looks like, but the names it gives this
presence tell us much about his work. Tempter means “cause to fall.” Think of all the things in life you trip over
and how they harm your sense of who God has created you to be and what God has
called you to do. Satan means “accuser.” I
have encountered several accusers in my life.
Most are narcissists whose woundedness has rendered them incapable of acknowledging
any personal responsibility for any of the things going wrong in their
life. It is always someone else’s fault
and they have no problem letting you know it.
Devil means “to divide.” Pitting one person against another, one group
against another, one nation against another, one race or religion against
another. The Holy Trinity is the
embodiment of unity and has brought about all creation in order to share in its
relational harmony. The devil/divider
works to bring about the opposite: hatred, alienation, brokenness, strife.
St.
Paul writes about how Adam’s inability to live with fidelity into his God-given
identity and purpose becomes something we all inherit. We share in his fall and failure. And this is not to say God punishes Adam and
then us for being sinners. It means we
suffer the consequences of failing to embrace our God-given identity and don’t
experience the blessings of living into our calling and purpose.
As we
watch Jesus in the wilderness we see him overcome temptation. He does not fall. We see him stand tall and faithful in the
face of accusation. We see him whole,
not divided, in his relationship with the Father. And throughout his life we see him remain
faithful to his personal calling and mission; even to the point of offering himself
to die on the cross for the sins of the whole world.
In today’s
reading from the Letter to the Romans, Paul sums up the impact of Christ’s life
in this way:
Therefore, just as
one man’s trespass led to condemnation for all, so one man’s act of
righteousness leads to justification and life for all. For just as by the one man’s disobedience the
many were made sinners, so by the one man’s obedience the many will be made
righteous.
Through Adam we have inherited a broken sense of self and purpose. We are unsure of who we are, we don’t know whose we are, and we struggle to discern why we are here and what we are supposed to do. In Christ we have discovered anew we are children of God and heirs of God’s eternal kingdom. In Christ we hear again we are called to be caretakers of all creation; partners with God and kindly affectioned to one another, living no longer for self alone.
