First Sunday of Lent February 13, 2005

Genesis 2: 7-9; 3:1-7 Romans 5: 12-19 Matthew 4: 1-11

Anyone who insists that we listen to the story of the temptation and fall of Adam and Eve that we heard today and understand it in a literal sense does us a great disservice. It is a simple story with simple elements. At the same time, however, this simple story is filled with profound wisdom and understanding. This story seeks to convey an understanding of humanity, it condition, and the choices that are made. It attempts to offer an understanding of each of us, even though it was developed and recorded so many centuries, millennia ago. It is a story that is as current as this weekend. It is present in any discussion or, perhaps, argument between parent and child which has taken place or will take place during these days.

The story of the temptation and fall of Adam and Eve tells about a relationship which has been hurt or harmed. It relates how the trust which should be present in this loving relationship has been cast aside, has been broken.

We are reminded that humanity, all of us, has come into existence as a genuine act of love. We have been carefully formed and molded, like clay from the earth, and given qualities and abilities which are a reflection, an image, of the Creator. These qualities are the ability to know and to love. Not only were we given life itself as a gift, but all the magnificence of the world around us has been given to us to possess, to use, to enjoy. It is a gift which enables us to enhance ourselves, build ourselves up, grow in knowledge and love. Every effort around us is directed to our benefit as creatures, images of our loving God.

But then this relationship is challenged. The question is posed. If there is any limit or restriction placed, does this God really love you - love us? Is a limitation or restriction a sign of love? God appears to be protecting us. Is this to be believed, trusted?

It sounds all too familiar. It is a reminder of the dialogue between a parent and a child: who are your friends? Where are you going? When will you be home? Be careful in what you are doing, where you are going. The motive behind such questions and statements - in thought if not in word - is: I love you; I have given you life; I have given you all that I have; I provide for you as best I can; I love you, trust me. The response can often be - in thought if not in word - you are too demanding, you ask too many questions, you don’t know how it is nowadays. Choices are then made, often hurt follows, and trust is broken.

In a simple story, the reality of humanity is told. The relationship between God who so loves humanity is broken because humanity refuses to believe that it is so loved. We refuse to believe that we are so loved.

The broken relationship needs to be restored. It needs to be healed. In the simple illustration offered to us by Saint Paul, we are reminded that as the action of one person fundamentally broke this relationship so the action of one person will restore it. We are able to participate in that restoration through our faith in and our following of Jesus Christ.

This time of Lent, this period of preparation for Easter, challenges us to look at our relationship to God and seek to heal and restore it. It begins with a gospel account of the temptations which Jesus experienced at the beginning of his ministry. This event is presented to us as a way of examining our own trust in God. It suggests to us that a genuine faith and trust in God chooses to go beyond the superficial and immediate in order to appreciate the full dimension of the potential that is ours to reflect God. This is what I am, this is what I can be.

A parent knows how painful it is when a child makes a choice which is contrary to what love and trust and wisdom has sought to instill. The desire is great to protect a child from any harm or injury that may come to the child by the choices that are made. But a parent also realizes that a child must learn and grow, pick itself up from how it has been hurt and move on.

In our relationship with God we must also learn, often through failure, the depth of God’s love for us and how well placed is the trust we put in God. We must learn how necessary it is for us, for our growth and development, to seek reconciliation and a renewal of the relationship we can have with our loving God.