Deuteronomy 26: 1-11; Psalm
91: 1–2, 9-16; Romans
10: 8b-13; Luke
4: 1–13
This is a homily by Fr. Gene
Tucker, given at St.
John’s Church in Huntingdon, Pennsylvania on Sunday, February 14, 2016.
“UNDOING EDEN”
(Homily text: Luke 4:
1 – 13)
Whenever we encounter a text from
Holy Scripture, we would do well to remember that the point of each and every
text is to make us aware of something about God’s nature and God’s interaction
with humankind.
Often texts will have a theological
thread running through them which connects them to another theme elsewhere in
the Bible.
Such is the case with today’s Gospel
reading, which recounts to us Jesus’ temptation in the wilderness. (It would be
well for us to remember that this is a text we hear each First Sunday in Lent,
first from Matthew, then Mark, and finally from Luke, in years A, B and C,
respectively). Our Collect for this day also reminds us of the Lord’s time
spent in the wilderness, forty days in all (which is, by the way, the model for
the length of the Lenten season: forty days). As the forty days of Lent get
underway, the structure of the readings appointed for this first Sunday are
especially appropriate, as is the Collect which picks up the theme.
The account of Jesus’ temptation has
a strong theological connection to the temptation of Adam and Eve in the Garden
of Eden. (You can refresh your memory of that first temptation by reading
Genesis 3: 1–13.)
Here is the theological connection
between the temptation in the Garden of Eden and the temptation in the
wilderness: The evil one uses a similar approach in each case, appealing to
some aspect of our basic, human nature. In the first temptation, Adam and Eve
flunk the test. In the second temptation, Jesus reverses the course of human
events that were set in motion by Adam and Eve’s failure.
Let’s look more closely at the
common threads which connect these two occasions of temptation.
An
appeal to our need for food: The
first link is an appeal to our need for food. In the Garden, the serpent comes
and suggests to Eve that she might want to eat of the fruit of the forbidden
tree. Having heard this suggestion, she looks and sees that the fruit is,
indeed, desirable food. In Jesus’ temptation, the devil suggests that, because
Jesus is hungry, He might turn a stone into a loaf of bread.
Distortion
and misuse of God’s word: In the
Genesis account, we hear the serpent say to Eve, “Did God say…?” In Jesus’
temptation, the devil uses a quotation from Psalm 91: 11–12 (which we read
this morning), suggesting that Jesus throw Himself down from the pinnacle of
the temple, because it is written that the Lord’s angels will bear him up.
Appealing
to our need to be in control: At the heart of the temptation of Eve and
then Adam in the Garden is an appeal to “be like God, knowing good and evil”.
To be “like God” is to have total and complete control of one’s future. It is
to be assured of safety. Notice that the devil makes the same appeal in
different terms by suggesting that Jesus worship him, in order that control of
the kingdoms of the world would be subject to the Lord. Likewise, the
suggestion that Jesus throw Himself down from the temple is an appeal to a
basic human need for safety.
As we compare these two passages, we
can see the following commonalities:
- Testing God: Adam and Eve want to be “like God”. In the process, they listen to the voice of the serpent, who suggests that God’s word isn’t trustworthy. In fact, the serpent suggests that God’s word is false. In similar fashion, the devil suggests that Jesus test the truth of God’s word by suggesting that He throw Himself down from the temple.
- Human need becomes the avenue for temptation: All human beings have certain basic needs. Among them are: A need for food, a need for safety, a need to be in control of our immediate surroundings and a desire to be in control of our futures (as much as that is ever possible). We see each of these in the accounts from Genesis and from our gospel reading from Luke this morning. (Of course, it’s important that we remind ourselves that there are many other needs that are basic to the human condition. Each one of them is a potential avenue of approach for temptation to take.)[1]
You and I are made in the “image and likeness of God” (Genesis 1: 27). God has blessed us with memory, reason and skill. We can think through solutions to problems. With our mental capacities, we can imagine and create new things, things which often benefit humankind. We can plot a future course for our lives and for the lives of others.
Of course, it’s true that these capabilities we have can also be used for
evil and destructive purposes, as human history will clearly show: We can
engage in war and destruction. In our quest to be in control (or to seem to be
in control), we can exploit others and even plot to damage or destroy them. We
are capable of falsehood and lies in our attempt to gain the upper hand in our
dealings with others. It is abundantly clear that something about our human
nature is deeply flawed, for all the positive aspects of it.
The problem is that – having listened to the voice of evil once – our
ears are open to hearing that evil voice again and again. We all know how to do
“bad stuff”, and we are accomplished and fully trained sinners. Since the voice
of evil often uses needs which are part of our human nature, part of our
ability to survive, as the avenue of approach, we will always be susceptible to
the voice of evil, so long as we are in this present life. Coupled with our ability
to think, to imagine and to create, the possibility for evil to prosper is very
high.
Are we consigned, then, to being defeated by the voice of evil
suggestion? No!
In Christ, the one who reversed the failure of Adam and Eve in the
garden, we can claim victory over evil. We are able to do this by virtue of our
baptisms, for in baptism, we are claimed by Christ as His very own child. It is
as if the Lord puts a protective barrier around us as we emerge from the waters
of baptism. In baptism, the Holy Spirit is given to the newly baptized. The
Holy Spirit enables us to discern between God’s will and a distorted version of
God’s will, a counterfeit which comes from evil. As the Lord conquered evil,
thereby setting up a string of victories over the forces of evil, we can claim
that same power as we encounter our own time in the wilderness of life.
So what do we do when the evil one comes along, suggesting we doubt the
truth of God’s word, suggesting that we take steps to answer some basic, human
need, or suggesting that we do something that we think might enhance our
safety?
Perhaps our response might be to specifically ask the Lord for His
protection, and for the power of the Holy Spirit to firm up our resolve, that
the Holy Spirit might remind us of past victories in our lives over sin and
evil
And, should we succumb to temptation, as we will do from time-to-time,
being children of Adam and Eve, we can remember that the God whom we love and
who loves us is a loving God who forgives the sins and failures of those who
confess their faults.
So may we approach the throne of God’s grace, asking for His protection
in times of trial and temptation, and relying on His willingness to forgive,
should we fall short of God’s standard of holiness.
AMEN.
[1] The list of the Seven Deadly Sins, also known
as the Cardinal Vices, suggests a possible way for us to consider some of the
other various avenues of temptation to sin. These seven sins are: Pride, Greed, Lust, Envy, Gluttony, Wrath and
Sloth.
