The First Sunday in Lent

My father always told me that there is a time and a place for everything. The season of Lent is observed in many churches. It is a time that is set aside to reflect on our sinful nature: how we have fallen short of God’s expectations of us. Just as Jesus fasted 40 days in the wilderness, we will pursue this subject for 40 days (not including Sundays). Some will also fast.  The purpose is to sharpen one’s spiritual focus, and draw nearer to God.  Let’s begin our Lenten journey.

 

GENESIS 2:15-17, 3:1-7

THE BACKGROUND

We join Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden for the famous event— The Fall. Most preachers and teachers will pick this story apart in fine detail, like eating fried chicken off the bone. They will pick those bones clean. I prefer to stand back and look at the big picture, and ask the question: “What is the main thing that God wants me to learn from this story?”

 

THE DETAIL

  • God puts Adam in the Garden of Eden, and gives them only one rule— don’t eat the fruit of one tree. (vv. 15-17)
  • Time passes. Enter, the beautiful Eve. The “serpent” starts messing with her mind, filling her with notions of wisdom. He convinces her to eat the fruit. (vv. 1-5)
  • She eats the fruit, and gives some to Adam. The serpent was right! Their eyes were opened, and they became aware of their nakedness. They go to the mall and by some clothes. (vv. 6-7)

THE TAKEAWAY

Sorry about the mall comment. Sometimes my sense of humor steps in.

You know the rest of the story. But this is enough of the story for the God Lesson for today. In Genesis 1 we learn that God made us, “and it was good”. This is one of the God Lessons in Genesis 1. We are God’s creation, and we are good.  But here in Genesis 2, we read about a big exception.  We see human weakness in action. For me, the God Lesson here is this: If we were given paradise and only one rule, we would break that rule. Do you doubt me?  If you see a sign that reads “Wet Paint”, and you’re a normal human being, you wonder how old the sign is, and if the paint is still wet. We want to touch it. God created us good, but we’re not perfect. We are created good (Genesis 1), but we are also drawn to do the very thing that we should not do (Genesis 2). Without God’s help, we are a hopeless mess. 

Welcome to the season of Lent!

 

ROMANS 5:12-19

THE BACKGROUND

Paul wrote this letter to the Christian church in Rome. That church consisted of an odd mix of both Christian Gentiles and Christian Jews. The first three chapters paint a broad-brushed perspective of various types of people, pointing out how they have fallen short of God’s expectations (sinned). In chapter 2, Paul turns on his audience, and says “and what about you
?” Do you think you are any better? He drives the point home in 3:23– “
all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”

THE DETAIL

  • Paul reminds the reader of Adam’s fall, which was today’s first lesson. (v. 12)
  • Paul explains that even though the law didn’t come until Moses, mankind’s attraction to sinful behavior was already in place. (vv. 13-14)
  • Paul now contrasts “the free gift” (of salvation through Christ) with “the trespass” (The Fall). The sin of one man (Adam) caused death. But our sins have been justified* through the free gift offered by one man (Jesus).
  • The next three verses repeat one another, contrasting the two in different words. I believe Paul does this to drive an important point home.  He’s saying that Adam gave us death, but faith in Jesus gives us life! (vv. 17-19)

THE TAKEAWAY

While it is very important for us to reflect on our sinfulness.  We should never forget that Jesus is our lifeline.  His free gift to us is forgiveness, reconciliation, and eternal life.

FOOD FOR THOUGHT

How many times does Paul say the “free gift” in this passage?

*This word is best understood like this: If you kill a person in self-defense, you have still killed someone, haven‘t you? But in a court of law, the judge would claim your actions “justified”. You were acting in self-defense. You are set free. Paul is saying that Jesus’ death on the cross has “justified” all our sinful acts. We are forgiven. We are set free.
 

MATTHEW 4:1-11

 

THE BACKGROUND

This is the famous story of Jesus temptation by the devil. He has just been baptized, and is about to begin his Father’s work.  Rather than to pick apart the story in infinite detail, let’s stand back and look for the God Lesson for us.

 

THE DETAIL

  • Jesus has been fasting in the desert for nearly six weeks, and is very hungry. (vv. 1-2)
  • In three very different ways, Jesus is tempted to abuse his divine power. One is to feed his hunger (a), one is to prove his divinity (b), and one is to use his divine power to gain political power (c). In each case, Jesus triumphs over the temptation by recalling his Father’s words. (a) Deut. 8:3, (b) Deut 6:16, (c) Deut 6:13.  Through it all, he remains focused on his divine mission to remain a humble servant to his Father, and do what he was sent to do. (vv. 3-11)

THE TAKEAWAY

I take great comfort in this story. It tells me that Jesus was human. He was tempted to do things that he knew he shouldn’t. I’ll even bet that during his 30+ years on this earth he was tempted more times than just these three times. But with this story, I see that he remained dedicated to his Father’s mission. He will walk in our shoes, liver his life as an example for us to follow, heal us, teach us and love us enough to die on the cross for us.

 

FOOD FOR THOUGHT

When you are tempted to do something that is not according to God’s will, how do you respond?  Do you seek God’s wisdom in Holy Scripture, or do you use “human wisdom”?