Homily for the First Sunday of Lent, Year A

Self-denial is challenging.  Take one woman, for example.  Let’s call her Eve.  She loved cookies.  She told herself she’d only have one cookie. Just one.  She even made a little ceremony of it—plate, napkin, cup of tea.  But then the cookie looked lonely, so she gave it a friend. And the… well, why not a small group of friends?  By the time she realized it, the box of cookies was empty, the tea was cold, and she was Googling “how to make cookies” at midnight.  The moral of the story: temptation doesn’t knock—it bakes a fresh batch.

            Temptation and transgression weave through every reading this weekend like a snake through the grass.  Adam and Eve focused on fruit instead of cookies.  The tree in the center of the garden was full of fruit that delighted the eyes.  It only took one.  Eve was deceived into thinking just one little taste would satisfy.  She bit, not only into the fruit, but into the lie of the evil one.  Adam was right by her side the whole time, doing nothing to stop her.  Instead, he bit too.  God did not tempt them, instead he made the sunlight shine on all of creation, and every fruit tree in the Garden is attractive.  Satan enters the garden and casts a shadow on God’s goodness, setting up temptations to turn away from God.  Those dark shadows persist to this day. We’re all vulnerable to the author of lies, to take one little bite for pleasure, power or pride.

            Paul goes on to highlight how sin entered the world through one man.  Our temptation may be to be unforgiving.  Sin and death entered the world by human failure, of which we all bear some responsibility for that fault.  Instead of turning away from us, God continued to extend mercy through every covenant from Abraham to the New and Eternal Covenant.  At the Easter Vigil, we hear in the Exultet, “O happy fault, O necessary sin of Adam.”  Without Christ, we would not appreciate the power of forgiveness and the restoration of humanity.  We learn valuable lessons from failure, most importantly that we need help overcoming the power of sin.  We can’t do that on our own. 

Yet the first line of the Gospel today can leave us confused.  Jesus was led by the Spirit to be tempted by the devil.  We pray at every Mass, the Lord’s prayer asking not to be led into temptation.  When we understand this to mean “do not let us yield to temptation”, it may be clearer.  The role of the Spirit brings strength to help us recognize the trials that we will face, showing us the difference between being tempted and giving in. Jesus faces the temptation in the desert for our sake, to help us recognize our vulnerability when Satan attacks. 

First comes deprivation.  Jesus is deprived of food and physically weak.  Without food, we instinctually put all our energy into being fed, despite the cost.  Adam and Eve were tricked into thinking they were deprived of the pleasure of what they saw.  Second, the desire for power is tested.  The fruit of the tree promises power equal to God.  The will to excessive power led to ruin in Eden.  Jesus refrains from showing power on demand, restoring restraint and power displayed on God’s terms.  Pride is the third test.  The tree of Good and Evil presents the choice of self-serving or steadfastness.  Unchecked self-promotion led to the fall; Jesus restores self-effecting obedience to God’s will.

            Lent offers us a chance to put our testing to the test.  Where does our desire for pleasure, power, or pride turn us away from God?  Lent gives us three remedies: fast, pray, and give.  Fasting helps us empty ourselves of excess pleasure, making room to be filled with God’s will.  Prayer combats pride, letting God lead, and not us leading God.  Giving focuses us away from possessiveness, restoring our connection to provide for our human family.  Lent serves us a fresh batch of selfless practices, helping yourself and others to more than one.