Then the LORD God formed man of dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being. And the LORD God planted a garden in Eden, in the east; and there he put the man whom he had formed.  And out of the ground the LORD God made to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food, the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the  tree of the knowledge of good and evil.  Now the serpent was more subtle than any other wild creature that the LORD God had made. He said to the woman, "Did God say, 'You shall not eat of any tree of the garden'?" 2 And the woman said to the serpent, "We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden;  but God said, 'You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.'"  But the serpent said to the woman, "You will not die.  For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil."  So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate; and she also gave some to her husband, and he ate.  Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves aprons.

Today's Song of Praise is taken from Psalm 51:

R. Be merciful, O Lord, for I 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 I 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 I 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 I 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 I have sinned.
 

Today's Epistle is from the Letter of Paul to the Romans, beginning at the 5th Chapter, and the 12th Verse:

        Therefore as sin came into the world through one man and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all men sinned--  sin indeed was in the world before the law was given, but sin is not counted where there is no law.  Yet death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those whose sins were not like the transgression of Adam, who was a type of the one who was to come.  But the free gift is not like the trespass. For if many died through one man's trespass, much more have the grace of God and the free gift in the grace of that one   man Jesus Christ abounded for many.  And the free gift is not like the effect of that one man's sin. For the judgment following one trespass brought condemnation, but the free gift following many   trespasses brings justification.  If, because of one man's trespass, death reigned through that one man, much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of   righteousness reign in life through the one man Jesus Christ.  Then as one man's trespass led to condemnation for all men, so one man's act of righteousness leads to acquittal and life for all men.  For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by one man's obedience many will be made righteous.
     

+ A Reading from the Gospel of Matthew, beginning at the 4th Chapter, and the 1st Verse:

         Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. v And he fasted forty days and forty nights, and afterward he was hungry.  And the tempter came and said to him, "If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread." But he answered, "It is written, 'Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.'" Then the devil took him to the holy city, and set him on the pinnacle of the temple,  and said to him, "If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down; for it is written, 'He will give his angels charge of you,' and 'On their hands they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone.'"  Jesus said to him, "Again it is written, 'You shall not tempt the Lord your God.'" Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain, and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and the glory of them;  and he said to him, "All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me."  Then Jesus said to him, "Begone, Satan! for it is written, 'You shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve.'"  Then the devil left him, and behold, angels came and ministered to him.

        Adam (whos name means "a man") and Eve's sin was not eating  the fruit, nor, despite the line "they knew that they were naked", was it sex.  The sin was in  deciding  to eat the fruit, and the loss of innocence which followed from that decision led them to see that they were naked.  Small children, in their innocence, do not make any distinction between being clothed and naked, and, much to the embarassment of their parents, often streak the neighborhood completely bare.

        In Genesis 1:26, it says:  "Let us make man in our image.."  That image is not of the body, for God, being Spirit, has no body, but the likeness is of the spirit -- inward.  Man was created in the image of God -- perfect and deathless,  with free will. We are free to choose what we will do -- within the limits of our nature.

        The Church's teaching is that, since the Fall, our nature is no longer perfect -- we sin consciously and unconsciously, often whether we will or not.  We are not capable of achieving perfection by will alone.

        Today's Song of Praise makes that point -- we have all sinned -- and asks the Lord for forgiveness, acquittal and absolution:  "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."

        St. Paul, in today's Epistle, uses the slippery word "justification":  "...the free gift following many trespasses brings justification."  The Greek word in the original is 'dikaioma', which means justification or acquittal.

        The free gift (Jesus' sacrifice on the Cross) in grace abounds -- overflows -- for many.  Through the Sacraments of Baptism and Penance, our sins are washed away, forgiven, erased.  We are acquitted of the charge of deliberate sin, we are washed clean, and made more like the original image of man -- i.e. God.

        St. Paul says:  "If, because of one man's trespass, death reigned through that one man [Adam], much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of  righteousness reign in [eternal] life through the one man Jesus Christ."  In todays reading he again and again contrasts Adam's sin with Christ's gift of redemption and justification.  He also contrasts the death of the imperfect body with the eternal reign of the cleansed and renewed body in heaven.

        In today's Gospel, Jesus shows how we should approach temptation -- the desire for things of this world;  the desire for power; the desire for riches and fame.  His answers are classical:

        "It is written, 'Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.'"  We need to pay heed to the will of the Father -- and a large part of this is to be found in the words of the Bible.  We need to study and reflect on what God teaches us in Scripture.

        "Again it is written, 'You shall not tempt the Lord your God.'"   "Tempt" is sometimes written "test", and often we try to make a deal with God -- "Do such-and-such for me, and I will do such-and-such."   Life and the Lord do not work that way -- we need to open ourselves to His will, and accept the bad along with the good -- and strive to do our best with what tools we have.

        "Begone, Satan! for it is written, 'You shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve.'"   Very often, we worship other things than God -- political ideologies, consumerism, our own pleasure -- seeking in them a staisfaction of the restlessness and itch in our souls left by our imperfection and sin.  No earthly pleasure or thing can satisfy that longing, but only union with God.

        Let us pray, therefore, in this Lenten Season, that we can turn our hearts, minds, and spirits toward God, and away from the distractions and temptations of the world and its impermanence.

        In the Name of the Father +
        And of the Son +
        And of the Holy Spirit +
Amen.