Genesis 2: 15–17; 3: 1–7 / Psalm 32 / Romans
5: 12–19 / Matthew 4: 1–11
This
is the homily given at St. John’s, Huntingdon, Pennsylvania, by Fr. Gene Tucker
on Sunday, March 1, 2020.
“FAILURE AND SUCCESS”
(Homily
texts: Genesis 2: 15–17; 3: 1–7 & Matthew 4: 1-11)
The First Sunday in Lent always places before us
the account of our Lord’s temptation in the wilderness. This event, which marks
the end of the preparation of the Lord for His earthly ministry, is recorded
for us by all three of the Synoptic Gospel writers, Matthew, Mark and Luke.[1]
The season of Lent itself is modeled on the Lord’s
temptation, for this season is forty days long (minus the Sundays in the
season), just as the Lord’s temptation was of the same duration.
The three lectionary readings appointed for this
day are remarkably well suited to the theme of this season, for the Genesis
account records Adam and Eve’s failure when confronted with temptation in the
Garden of Eden, while St. Paul explains the significance of Adam and Eve’s
failure, informing us that, through their failure, sin entered into the world.
But then Paul goes on to tell us that, though Adam and Eve failed, Jesus
successfully met the temptations that were put before Him.
Since we’ve raised the matter of failure and
success, let’s look at the Genesis account, and then at the account of Jesus’
temptation as Matthew relates it to us..
We’ll begin with Adam and Eve in the Garden.
This passage serves as a “Primer on Sin and
Temptation”. Whatever the actual events are that lie behind this account, the
passage’s existence in Holy Scripture seeks to inform us about the ways of the
Tempter (Satan), and about the ways in which temptation is placed before us. We
can draw the following conclusions from the account itself:
Questioning
God’s instructions: In
Genesis 3: 1, we read that the Tempter said to Eve. “Did God actually say, ‘You
shall not eat of any tree in the garden?’” Temptation often begins with an appeal to
distrust or question what God has made known.
Remembering
what God said: Notices
Eve’s response to the serpent’s question about what God had told her and her
husband, Adam. A careful look discloses that she can’t remember accurately what
the exact instructions were about which tree was off-limits. Here is the
text: God’s instructions: “You may
surely eat of every tree of the garden, but of
the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, you shall not eat…” (Genesis 2: 16b). Eve’s recollection differs from
God’s instruction: She said to the serpent, “We may eat of any tree in the
garden, but God said, ‘You shall not eat of
the fruit of the tree that is in the middle of the garden…’” (Genesis 3: 2b – 3) Notice that Eve doesn’t remember exactly which
tree it was that God said was off-limits. (I’ve highlighted the difference in
italics.) Her response is the opening that the serpent needs to question God’s
instructions, as he makes an appeal to Eve, urging her to disregard what God
had said about the consequences of disobeying God’s commands.
An
appeal to naturally-arising needs: Notice
that the Tempter’s entry into the encounter with Eve centers around an appeal
to naturally-arising needs. In this case, it’s the appeal to food, first of all.
The serpent suggests that Eve eat of the fruit of the tree, and she notices
that the fruit is desirable. But the Tempter’s appeal is also to another
important, naturally-arising need: The
need for security. Genesis 3: 6 puts it this way: “When the woman saw that the
tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the
tree was to be desired to
make one wise, she took of
its fruit and ate….” (Once again, I’ve highlighted the point by using italics
that, in being able to be wise, one can be more in control of one’s wellbeing
and safety.)
Separation:
An important aspect of the
account of the Fall (which is what this incident is usually called) which is
often overlooked is the fact that Adam is standing right next to Eve. But the
serpent’s approach isn’t to both of them together, it’s to Eve alone. Adam
remains silent and passive throughout the encounter. Here, too, we can glean an
important point about the ways that temptation works: Oftentimes, we – like Eve
– are at our most vulnerable when we are alone and are separated from others.
But where Adam and Eve failed, our Lord succeeds.
Notice the similarities between the encounter with
temptation that confronted Eve, and the temptations that Jesus encountered.
Here are some of them:
Misuse
of God’s word: Satan’s
second temptation attempts to misuse God’s word, He says, “If you are the Son
of God, throw yourself down (from the pinnacle of the temple), for it is
written, ‘He will command his angels concerning you,’ and ‘On their hands they
will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone.’”
Remembering what God had said: Where Eve
fails to remember God’s word, Jesus remembers accurately, and makes use of that
word to counter Satan’s suggestions.
An
appeal to naturally-arising needs: The
Tempter’s first temptation centers around the need for food. Jesus is
vulnerable because He is hungry. Notice the parallel to Eve’s temptation…both
begin with an appeal to food. But another of Satan’s suggestions has to do with
the need for security, in much the same way that Eve was tempted. That’s what
the suggestion that Jesus fall down and worship him amounts to. It’s a
temptation to have security in the form of having control over the kingdoms of the
world.
Separation: Jesus is
alone in the wilderness with the Tempter. As we noticed in the Genesis account,
so too, here, is the reality that Jesus was at His most vulnerable because he
is alone with the Tempter in a hostile environment.
Knowing how evil works, and by what avenues
temptation might come our way, is essential if we are to faithfully follow
God’s will for our lives. Just as a good soldier will know about an adversary’s
abilities and ways, so, too, must we be aware of the abilities and ways of our
adversary, the devil.
But we can claim the same victory that Jesus
accomplished by appealing to His power and presence in our lives. Along with
that power, we can be reminded of the ways in which evil comes to attempt to
separate us from God and from one another. After all, that’s the outcome of
Adam and Eve’s failure. They were separated from one another and from God, as
well. Jesus came to reunite us with God.
Where Adam and Eve failed, Jesus succeeded. Indeed,
one way to regard all of Jesus’ life, teaching, ministry, death and
resurrection is to see it as a rebuke against all the things that would destroy
human life and which would attempt to separate us from God. Essentially, Jesus
rolls back the effects of sin, claiming one victory after another, and offering
to us that same ability and power.
[1] Mark’s account is very brief, mentioning
only that the temptation took place in the wilderness, and recording that it lasted
forty days.
