This weekend we celebrate the First Sunday of Lent which begins on Ash Wednesday and runs almost until Easter. Actually Lent ends on Holy Thursday evening. Lent has a two fold character. It serves as a time for the immediate preparation of the catechumens and candidates who will enter the church at the Easter Vigil when they will celebrate the sacraments of initiation (Baptism, Confirmation, and Holy Eucharist). In addition, it serves as a time for the rest of us to prepare ourselves, by penance, to celebrate the Paschal Mystery and the renewal of our own baptismal promises at Easter. This double character actually speaks of two ways to describe the same journey. All of us, whether new catechumen or long time believer, are constantly being called to more complete conversion. God always calls us to approach Him more closely. During this time, the church invites us to spend time with Jesus, John the Baptist and the ancient prophets of Israel in the wilderness, listening to this call from God and reflecting on the mystery of redemption through the cross and resurrection of Jesus and on what it means for us today.

First Reading: Genesis 2: 7-9; 3:1-7

2:7 The LORD God formed man out of the clay of the ground and blew into his nostrils the breath of life, and so man became a living being.

8 Then the LORD God planted a garden in Eden, in the east, and he placed there the man whom he had formed. 9 Out of the ground the LORD God made various trees grow that were delightful to look at and good for food, with the tree of life in the middle of the garden and the tree of the knowledge of good and bad.

3:1 Now the serpent was the most cunning of all the animals that the LORD God had made. The serpent asked the woman, “Did God really tell you not to eat from any of the trees in the garden?” 2 The woman answered the serpent: “We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden; 3 it is only about the fruit of the tree in the middle of the garden that God said, ‘You shall not eat it or even touch it, lest you die.'” 4 But the serpent said to the woman: “You certainly will not die! 5 No, God knows well that the moment you eat of it your eyes will be opened and you will be like gods who know what is good and what is bad.” 6 The woman saw that the tree was good for food, pleasing to the eyes, and desirable for gaining wisdom. So she took some of its fruit and ate it; and she also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. 7 Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized that they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made loincloths for themselves.

NOTES on First Reading:

Catholic scholars generally do not look at the creation stories and the story of the fall in Genesis as literal descriptions of how the world was created or of how evil entered into it. This does not mean that the stories are not true because they do contain crucial truths about our origin and our relationship with God. The truths that they contain, however, are religious and moral truths not scientific or historical ones.

* 2:7 God is portrayed as a potter Who molds man’s body out of clay. There is a play on words in Hebrew between Adam (“man”) and adama (“ground” or “earth”). Some scholars translate it as earth creature. The word translated as “being” in this text, literally means “soul” but it was not meant in the sense that we understand that word today with all its theological implications. The image of God, the Divine workman forming man from the earth is often used in later scriptures. See Tobit 8:6, Job 34:15; Ps 103:14; 104:29; Eccl 3:20;12:7;Wis 7:1; Sir 33:10;1 Cor 15:45.

* 2:8 The name Eden which is used here as the name of a region in southern Mesopotamia is derived from the Sumerian word eden, which means “fertile plain.” A similar-sounding Hebrew word means “delight” prompting some to interpret the garden in Eden as the “garden of delight,” so that, after passing through the Greek version, the place is now known also as “paradise,” literally, a “pleasure park.”

* 2:9 There are two trees in the middle of the garden. At the fall, the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil was eaten by Adam and Eve. When they are cast out of the garden at the end of the story the tree of life is placed beyond their reach in verse 3:22. The expression used for the designation of the tree, “good and evil” is called a merism. It is a literary figure by which totality is expressed by the first and last in a series or by opposites. Psalm 139:2 is another example. “To know” in Hebrew is experiential and relational not intellectual. Eating the fruit imparts mastery of life and an autonomy that is inappropriate for a creature of earth that is created from dust.

* 3:1-7 This section about the fall actually begins with 2:25 because the word, “subtle [serpent],” is a word play on a similar Hebrew root, “naked” in 2:25 and in 3:7 where they find that they are naked. It is likely that the serpent was not originally seen as Satan although later Hebrew tradition so interpreted it (Wis 2:24).

* 3:1-3 Both the snake’s question in verse 1 and the woman’s answer in verses 2 and 3 are inaccurate interpretations of the Divine command in 2:16-17.

* 3:4-6 The serpent directly contradicts God’s command and the woman believes him. She eats and persuades the man to eat the fruit.

* 3:7 The result of their action is a loss of innocence through disobedience and their nakedness which was first mentioned in verse 2:25 is now a cause of shame.

Second Reading: Romans 5: 12-19 or 5: 12, 17-19

12 Therefore, just as through one person sin entered the world, and through sin, death, and thus death came to all, inasmuch as all sinned — 13 for up to the time of the law, sin was in the world, though sin is not accounted when there is no law. 14 But death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those who did not sin after the pattern of the trespass of Adam, who is the type of the one who was to come.

15 But the gift is not like the transgression. For if by that one person’s transgression the many died, how much more did the grace of God and the gracious gift of the one person Jesus Christ overflow for the many. 16 And the gift is not like the result of the one person’s sinning. For after one sin there was the judgment that brought condemnation; but the gift, after many transgressions, brought acquittal. 17 For if, by the transgression of one person, death came to reign through that one, how much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and of the gift of justification come to reign in life through the one person Jesus Christ. 18 In conclusion, just as through one transgression condemnation came upon all, so through one righteous act acquittal and life came to all. 19 For just as through the disobedience of one person the many were made sinners, so through the obedience of one the many will be made righteous.

NOTES on Second Reading:

* 5:12-21 This section presents Paul’s reflection on the sin of Adam (Genesis 3:1-13) in the light of the redemptive mystery of Christ. Use of the singular, “sin,” by Paul, refers to the power that has gripped humanity, which is now in revolt against the Creator and engaged in the exaltation of its own desires and interests. Although he traces this power back to Eden, Paul insists that no one has a right to say, “Adam made me do it,” for all are culpable (Romans 5:12). Gentiles are subject to the demands of the law written in their hearts (Romans 2:14-15), and Jews are subject to the Mosaic covenant. Unlike Wisdom 2:24, Paul does not ascribe the entry of death to the devil.

* 5:13 According to Paul the sinfulness of humanity that was operative from the beginning (Romans 5:13) was made more manifest by the Old Testament Law.

* 5:15-21 This section tells us that God’s act in Christ is in total contrast to the disastrous effects of sin that invaded humanity through Adam’s crime. Through a series of parallelisms using the terms, “one” and “many,” Paul stresses the abundance of grace provided by God in Christ and the surpassing influence of Jesus on humanity compared to the effects caused by Adam.

Gospel Reading: Matthew 4: 1-11

1 Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil. 2 He fasted for forty days and forty nights, and afterwards he was hungry. 3 The tempter approached and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command that these stones become loaves of bread.” 4 He said in reply, “It is written:

‘One does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes forth from the mouth of God.'”

5 Then the devil took him to the holy city, and made him stand on the parapet of the temple, 6 and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down. For it is written:

‘He will command his angels concerning you and ‘with their hands they will support you, lest you dash your foot against a stone.'”

7 Jesus answered him, “Again it is written, ‘You shall not put the Lord, your God, to the test.'” 8 Then the devil took him up to a very high mountain, and showed him all the kingdoms of the world in their magnificence, 9 and he said to him, “All these I shall give to you, if you will prostrate yourself and worship me.” 10 At this, Jesus said to him, “Get away, Satan! It is written:

‘The Lord, your God, shall you worship and him alone shall you serve.'”

11 Then the devil left him and, behold, angels came and ministered to him.

NOTES on Gospel Reading:

* 4:1-11 Jesus was proclaimed Son of God (3:17) at his baptism and is now subjected to temptation. Matthew expands on the temptation incident as presented by Mark. In Mark just two verses (Mk 1:12-13) tell us that Jesus was tempted after “the Spirit drove Him out into the desert.” This simple statement may well be an accurate expression of the disciples’ knowledge of the event. They were familiar with the historical truth that Jesus was tempted but because temptation is always intensely personal they would not have known how the temptations were expressed in Jesus’ consciousness. The story as presented by Luke and Matthew is likely to be a narrative interpretation of the event in such a way as to make it pastorally useful for believers as they attempted to understand temptation and resist it. Jesus is tempted by the devil to rebel against God, His Father. In each case, Jesus expressed His refusal in language taken from the Book of Deuteronomy (Deut 8:3; 6:13,16). Matthew has set up a comparison and contrast between the temptations of Jesus and those of Israel during the wandering in the desert and later in Canaan which they resemble. Although the temptations are comparable, the contrast is between the victory of Jesus, and the failure of the ancient and disobedient “son,” the old Israel. In the temptation account Matthew is almost identical with Luke and both seem to have drawn upon the same source. The whole narrative is united by the basic theme of love of God. The three temptations are all based on the early rabbis’ understanding of various ways of sinning against the great commandment to love God “with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might.” In this context, “heart” referred to the two affective impulses or drives, good and evil. “Soul” referred to life including martyrdom. “Might” meant wealth, property and all external possessions.

* 4:2 The number forty is often symbolic in scripture. It typically means as much or as long as was necessary. The same time expression was used for the time that it rained in the story of Noah (Gen 7:12) and that Moses spent on Sinai (Exodus 24:18). It is most likely that the time reference was primarily intended to recall the forty years during which Israel was tempted in the desert (Deut 8:2).

* 4:3 The term, “Son of God,” as used here and in the rest of the story, identifies Jesus as a representative of Israel rather than as the Messiah. Turning the stones into bread would have been a rebellion against the Divine will.

* 4:4 Jesus responds with a quote from Deut 8:3. In the context of Deut 6-8 the word of God is the chief nourishment of His people. Jesus refuses to use his power for his own benefit and accepts whatever God wills. He refuses to base His ministry on simply providing bread.

* 4:5-7 Only the first temptation takes place in the desert. Jesus is translated to the Temple for the second temptation. The devil appeals to the scriptures, Psalm 91:11-12 (in the Greek form). Unlike Israel (Deut 6:16), Jesus refuses to “test” God by demanding an extraordinary show of power from Him. Such an action would have been a mockery of real martyrdom and of His future passion and death. Jesus is rejecting the idea of bailing out on His mission.

* 4:7 Jesus quotes Deut 6:16. One must serve God with all one’s life but not lightly. See also 1 Cor 10:9.

* 4:8 In the scriptures, “Glory” is a word for outer or manifest splendor or wealth or even fullness of being. Here it represents the temptation to prefer power or wealth to love of God understood as fidelity to the covenant with Him.

* 4:9 The temptation to worship Satan is probably intended to recall Israel’s worship of false gods.

* 4:10 Jesus refusal is expressed in the words of Deut 6:13 which is a summary of the great Old Testament message of monotheism. Only God is worthy of worship. This temptation has significance for all of us: Jesus stands for Israel as the beginning of the new people of God and the founder of a new humanity. The basic temptation is to not love God with a unified heart, at the risk of life, at the cost of wealth, possessions etc. Jesus emerges as the perfect lover of God (Heb 4:15)

* 4:11 Having passed the tests in contrast to Israel, Jesus returns from His desert experience to be the kind of Messiah that the Father had sent Him to be.

Scripture text: New American Bible with revised New Testament copyright © 1986,1970, Confraternity of Christian Doctrine.
Commentary Sources:
Vince Del Greco
The New Jerome Biblical Commentary (1990) (Eds. Brown, Fitzmyer & Murphy)