Deacon Tom Anthony

First Sunday of Lent
Lectionary: 22

Reading 1 Gn 2:7-9; 3:1-7

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.
Then the LORD God planted a garden in Eden, in the east,
and placed there the man whom he had formed.
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 evil.
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?”
The woman answered the serpent:
“We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden;
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.’”
But the serpent said to the woman:
“You certainly will not die!
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 evil.”
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.
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.

Responsorial Psalm Ps 51:3-4, 5-6, 12-13, 17

R. (cf. 3a) Be merciful, O Lord, for we have sinned.
Have mercy on me, O God, in your goodness;
in the greatness of your compassion wipe out my offense.
Thoroughly wash me from my guilt
and of my sin cleanse me.
R. Be merciful, O Lord, for we have sinned.
For I acknowledge my offense,
and my sin is before me always:
“Against you only have I sinned,
and done what is evil in your sight.”
R. Be merciful, O Lord, for we have sinned.
A clean heart create for me, O God,
and a steadfast spirit renew within me.
Cast me not out from your presence,
and your Holy Spirit take not from me.
R. Be merciful, O Lord, for we have sinned.
Give me back the joy of your salvation,
and a willing spirit sustain in me.
O Lord, open my lips,
and my mouth shall proclaim your praise.
R. Be merciful, O Lord, for we have sinned.

Reading 2 Rom 5:12-19 or 5:12, 17-19

Brothers and sisters:
Through one man sin entered the world,
and through sin, death,
and thus death came to all men, inasmuch as all sinned—
for up to the time of the law, sin was in the world,
though sin is not accounted when there is no law.
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.
But the gift is not like the transgression.
For if by the transgression of the one, the many died,
how much more did the grace of God
and the gracious gift of the one man Jesus Christ
overflow for the many.
And the gift is not like the result of the one who sinned.
For after one sin there was the judgment that brought condemnation;
but the gift, after many transgressions, brought acquittal.
For if, by the transgression of the one,
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 Jesus Christ.
In conclusion, just as through one transgression
condemnation came upon all,
so, through one righteous act,
acquittal and life came to all.
For just as through the disobedience of the one man
the many were made sinners,
so, through the obedience of the one,
the many will be made righteous.
or
Brothers and sisters:
Through one man sin entered the world,
and through sin, death,
and thus death came to all men, inasmuch as all sinned.
For if, by the transgression of the one,
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 Jesus Christ.
In conclusion, just as through one transgression
condemnation came upon all,
so, through one righteous act,
acquittal and life came to all.
For just as through the disobedience of the one man
the many were made sinners,
so, through the obedience of the one,
the many will be made righteous.

Verse Before the GospelMt 4:4b

One does not live on bread alone,
but on every word that comes forth from the mouth of God.

Gospel Mt 4:1-11

At that time Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert
to be tempted by the devil.
He fasted for forty days and forty nights,
and afterwards he was hungry.
The tempter approached and said to him,
“If you are the Son of God,
command that these stones become loaves of bread.”
He said in reply,
“It is written:
One does not live on bread alone,
but on every word that comes forth
from the mouth of God.”
Then the devil took him to the holy city,
and made him stand on the parapet of the temple,
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.”
Jesus answered him,
“Again it is written,
You shall not put the Lord, your God, to the test.”
Then the devil took him up to a very high mountain,
and showed him all the kingdoms of the world in their magnificence,
and he said to him, "All these I shall give to you,
if you will prostrate yourself and worship me.”
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.”
Then the devil left him and, behold,
angels came and ministered to him.

MY BROTHERS AND SISTERS,

 With the beginning of the season of Lent we have entered our own spiritual desert and are encouraged to embrace the suffering that we may encounter there. Forged like gold in the furnace, strengthened like iron in the fire, our faith is made stronger through this process and we are able to encounter a special grace that can only be experienced through it. Jesus was led into the desert to be tempted as an example for us to follow. He did not need to go into the desert. He did not need to suffer. In fact, we should be reminded that whatever Jesus did was voluntary and for our salvation. When we welcome suffering into our lives and make sacrifices during the Season of Lent we unite ourselves to the suffering of Jesus Christ and are able to become closer to Him as a result. As Christians we are required to suffer because Jesus Christ suffered and it is through suffering that we encounter revelation, healing, and love. When a person suffers there is a certain survivability mechanism that is activated. It is through the mechanism that decisions are made and things are prioritized. There are things that are deemed important and others things that are not. As Christians we understand that it is through this process that our relationship with God will naturally be prioritized and made important to us. It can then be explored more deeply leading to an end to the suffering and a submergence into the Love of God.

The Forty Days of Lent mirror the 40 days that Jesus spent in the desert, the forty years of suffering after the Jews left Egypt, and the 40 forty days that it rained while Noah was in the ark. These events are ones that we are encouraged to meditate on during our Lenten journey because we then become a part of these events and the suffering that they represent. Christians throughout history are united through this mutual suffering and a relationship between the past, present, and future is established because God and all that He created are not defined by these restraints. When we meditate on these things we understand them more deeply and thus, as a result, understand ourselves in relation to our relationship with the Suffering Christ. We journey alone in the sea of hopelessness, we wander in the desert, and we are tempted by earthly things. Through these traumatic events hope is then realized. The floodwaters become the waters of our baptism and rebirth through Jesus Christ. The wandering in the desert becomes our life before a relationship with Christ and the Promised Land is realized as a relationship with Jesus. Through the temptations and suffering of this world we emerge all the more stronger and joyous as we choose Christ over everything else. When we experience and witness everything through our relationship with Jesus it becomes better.

The story of The Fall of Man is our story and is one that also plays a central role in the Season of Lent. Our free will is a beautiful gift that was given to us from God. With it comes an opportunity to enter into a beautiful relationship with God. Instead we chose and continue to choose to turn away from God in favor of us being our own master. This causes sin to prevail in our lives. It is through our acceptance of a relationship with Jesus Christ that we begin a journey of renewal and healing from this. Regardless of who we are there is a shared fragility from our brokenness that runs deep inside of us and requires healing. This healing comes from Jesus Christ.

Lent is only forty days but its impact can last for eternity if all that is experienced and learned is applied to our lives. Each moment can become a developmental encounter with Christ if only we allow it to be as such. A season like this allows to the Christian Community to give each other strength and encouragement along the way. We do not have to enter the desert alone as Jesus did but we have the advantage of doing it together. Even though the event will be defined by us alone doesn’t mean that the experience cannot be shared. We start together, we go forward together, and we encourage each other together. We will be alone with Christ but each alone experience culminates in an communion of the spirit. Forty days starts with one day. One day at a time.

Deacon Tom