The Word of God of this first Sunday of Lent speaks to us of the sin of Adam and Eve, and the victory of Our Lord Jesus Christ over Satan during the temptations in the desert.
In the reading from the Book of Genesis, we heard about the disobedience – the Fall – of our first parents, Adam and Eve. Let us spend some time examining the strategy of the Evil One, the Serpent. First of all, as we can see, the Evil One has no problem with mentioning the name of God. He asks, “Did God say, ‘You shall not eat from any tree in the garden?’”. Right from the beginning, right off the bat, the Serpent introduces doubt and mistrust into the conversation. Right from the beginning, the Evil One lies about God’s true commandment: the first parents were able to eat the fruit from the vast majority of the trees in the garden, only one was forbidden. The Evil One craftily draws Eve into a dialogue, while Adam remains silent.
In the Gospel, we heard that Our Lord spent forty days in the desert; in an analogous way, through our observance of Lent, we too “mysteriously participate” in the forty days of Jesus (Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, Homiletic Directory, 2015, #58). In a profound way, the entire Lenten season takes on a sacramental character. When we participate in Lent, and the Lenten practices, we are in fact taking part in Christ’s work of purifying ourselves, our families, and the Church. The sacramental character of Lent is illustrated by the opening prayer (collect) of the Mass for the First Sunday of Lent which uses the words, “per annua quadragesimalis exercitia sacramenti” (Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, Homiletic Directory, 2015, #58). This can be loosely translated as “through our annual sacramental practices of the Forty Days”. So, the whole of Lent takes on a sacramental character.
The Gospel gives us some more insights into the strategy of the Evil One. Not only does he not have a problem with mentioning God’s name, but he also knows how to quote Scripture. The Serpent recites to Our Lord the words of Psalm 91, “He will command his Angels concerning you”. The Evil One also knows how to play upon our innate desire to do good. He says to Jesus, I will give you all these kingdoms, think of all the good things that you can accomplish… All I require is for you to fall down and worship me. Here, where the first Adam failed, the new Adam – Jesus Christ – conquers. The temptations end with Jesus’ words, “Away with you Satan! For it is written ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve only him’”. As the preface says, Jesus overturned “all the snares of the ancient serpent”.
The Ancient Serpent tempted Jesus, and he also will tempt us. He displays a profound knowledge of Scripture and, by extension, of Tradition. He knows that most of us want to accomplish the good, and he knows how to draw us into dialogue. What is key to remember is this: we have been claimed by Christ through baptism. We are on Christ’s “team”, He is our captain, we’re not left on the playing field, waiting for someone to claim us. We are able to resist Satan’s temptations. One of the things that Adam and Eve did not do, is pray: when the Snake came stealthily in, they should have cried aloud to God, called upon Him by name, asking that He come to the rescue. Would that we cry aloud to God, when our mind is clouded, when our spiritual sense is dulled, when we perceive ourselves losing the battle for chastity, humility, faith, and above all, for charity.
During Lent, we ask that we may be given hearts of flesh: in fact, it is the sacraments that turn our “hearts of stone” into “hearts of flesh” (Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, Homiletic Directory, 2015, #63).
In the hour of temptation, let us also remember the great strength and power of Our Lady, who comes with Her maternal protection to all who call upon Her. It is to Her, and to St. Joseph the Just, that we entrust ourselves.
(Fr. Pawel Ratajczak, OMI, March 1, 2020)