Illuminations on the Lectionary readings for Feb. 26, 2023 (Lent 1A)

First Reading: Genesis 2:15-17; 3:1-7

Sunday’s Lectionary readings open the Lenten season with scriptural views of temptation and sin.

Our first reading picks up the creation legend just as Eve and Adam submit to temptation and eat the fruit that God had told them not to touch. God had warned them that eating the fruit would make them vulnerable to death. But even that was not enough to turn them away from the crafty serpent’s temptation, the promise that eating the forbidden fruit would give them Godlike knowledge of good and evil. Temptation was powerful; but so was the shame that followed when they realized they had broken their relationship with God.

Psalm: Psalm 32

Psalm 32 exalts the joy, relief and “glad cries of deliverance” that erupt from our souls when we accept God’s sure forgiveness. Indeed, God’s steadfast love surrounds all who trust enough to acknowledge our wrongdoing, the Psalmist sings. Joy comes when we confess our transgressions and accept God’s loving deliverance from the pain and guilt of being separated from God through sin.

Second Reading: Romans 5:12-19

In Paul’s letter to the Romans, which we will visit during much of Lent, Paul offers pastoral guidance to Gentile converts to Christianity and Jewish Christians returning from exile. Paul sketches a direct connection between the sin of Adam (curiously, he doesn’t mention Eve) and the divinity of Jesus Christ, the son of God. If Adam’s yielding to the temptation of the fruit brought death into the world, as Genesis tells us, then the incarnation of Jesus as fully human – one of us – restores justification and life for all through God’s gift of grace.

Gospel: Matthew 4:1-11

At the beginning of Epiphany, we heard Matthew’s account of the baptism of Jesus, when the voice of God declared him God’s beloved Son. Now we turn the page to discover that the Spirit led Jesus directly from the Jordan into the wilderness … to be tempted by the devil! This may seem a very strange thing for the Holy Spirit to do, but the Spirit works in mysterious ways. The devil – in a role something like the Satan, the adversary who tested Job’s faith – tries to test Jesus, too. The tempter tries three times to persuade Jesus to perform miracles to help himself. But Jesus stands strong, and at the end of 40 days of fasting, without giving in to temptation, Jesus orders the devil away.

Thoughts on Sunday’s Lessons for March 1, 2020

First Reading: Genesis 2:15-17; 3:1-7


Sunday’s readings open the penitential season of Lent season with a firm scriptural grounding in the theology of temptation and sin.

The first reading draws from the second creation legend in Genesis. Eve and Adam are tempted, give in, and eat the fruit that God had told them not to touch. Not even God’s warning that the fruit would bring death was strong enough to block the overpowering temptation that came with the crafty serpent’s promise: Godlike knowledge of good and evil? Yes, please! Temptation can be powerful, but so is the shame that comes with realizing that we have distorted our relationship with God and each other, a loss of loving connection that we know as sin.

Psalm: Psalm 32

Profound guilt may indeed come with the recognition that we have done wrong, failed in our trust, and separated ourselves from God through sin. Guilt’s heavy hand weighs on us, the Psalmist sings. Guilt dries us out, withering our bones, leaving us groaning in pain. But then comes the joy, then, the relief and glad cries that burst out when we acknowledge our wrongdoing, confess our transgressions, and receive God’s loving deliverance from the pain of sin.

Second Reading: Romans 5:12-19


In his letter to the Christians in Rome, Paul draws a direct connection between the sin of Adam and the divinity of Jesus Christ, the son of God. This would have been an important image for the members of the church in Rome as they struggled to restore relationships between the church’s pagan converts and its Jewish Christians who were returning from exile. Adam, the first of creation, gave in to the temptation of the fruit and brought death into the world. But now, Paul reminds the Romans, Jesus has been incarnated as one of us. This act of righteousness restores us all with justification and life through God’s free gift of grace.

Gospel: Matthew 4:1-11


These verses come immediately after Jesus’ baptism, when he hears the voice of God declaring him God’s beloved Son. Now, in what seems a startling change of direction, the Holy Spirit leads Jesus into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. This may seem a very strange thing for the Holy Spirit to do, but we know that the Spirit works in mysterious ways. Jesus, famished after 40 days of fasting, encounters the devil – not a scary red horned creature but more like the Adversary who tested Job’s faith in the Old Testament story. The devil tries to test Jesus, tempting him three times to perform miracles to help himself. But Jesus holds steadfast, resisting all the temptations.

Thoughts on Today’s Lessons for March 5, 2017

First Reading: Genesis 2:15-17; 3:1-7

Sunday’s readings launch the penitential season of Lent with a firm scriptural grounding in the theology of temptation and sin. We begin with the familiar Creation story, as the crafty serpent tempts Eve and Adam with the fruit that God had told them not to touch. When the serpent persuaded them that the fruit would not kill them at all, in spite of God’s warning, but would in fact give them Godlike knowledge of good and evil, they could not resist. Temptation was powerful; but so was the shame that followed when they realized they had broken their relationship with God.

Psalm 32

Yes, deep guilt may follow the knowledge that we have sinned, failed in our trust and separated ourselves from God through sin. Guilt’s heavy hand weighs on us, the Psalmist sings, drying us out, withering our bones, leaving us groaning in pain. So much more is the joy, then, the relief and “glad cries” that burst out when we acknowledge our wrongdoing, confess our transgressions, and receive God’s loving deliverance from the pain and guilt of sin.

Second Reading: Romans 5:12-19

Paul draws a direct connection between the sin of Adam and the divinity of Jesus Christ, the son of God. This would have been an important image for the members of the church in Rome as they struggled to restore relationships between the church’s pagan converts and its Jewish Christians who were returning from exile. Adam, the first of creation, gave in to the temptation of the fruit and brought death into the world. But now, Paul reminds them, Jesus’ incarnation as one of us restores us all – not only a selected few – with justification and life through God’s free gift of grace.

Gospel: Matthew 4:1-11

At the beginning of Epiphany, we heard Matthew’s account of the baptism of Jesus, when the voice of God declared him God’s beloved Son. Now we learn that the Spirit then led Jesus into the wilderness … to be tempted by the devil? This seems to be a very strange thing for the Holy Spirit to do, but we know that the Spirit works in mysterious ways. The devil – in a role something like the “Adversary” who tested Job’s faith – tries to test Jesus, too, tempting him three times to perform miracles to help himself. But Jesus stands strong, and at the end of 40 days of fasting, he resists temptation and orders the devil away.

Thoughts on Today’s Lessons for Sunday, March 9, 2014

First Reading: Genesis 2:15-17; 3:1-7
This week’s readings open the Lenten season with scriptural views of temptation and sin. In the creation legend, Eve and Adam give in to temptation and eat the fruit that God had told them not to touch. Not even God’s warning that the fruit would bring death was strong enough to block the overpowering temptation that came with the crafty serpent’s promise that they would gain Godlike knowledge of good and evil. Temptation is powerful; and so is the shame that comes with realizing that we have distorted our relationship with God and each other, a loss of loving connection that we know as sin.

Psalm: Psalm 32
Many of the Psalms celebrate the joy of loving God and living in God’s way. This Psalm in particular makes this point with an unusual twist: It exalts the joy, relief and “glad cries of deliverance” that erupt from our souls when we accept God’s sure forgiveness. Indeed God’s steadfast love surrounds all of us who trust enough to acknowledge our wrongdoing, confess our transgressions and accept God’s loving deliverance from the pain and guilt of separating ourselves from God through sin.

Second Reading: Romans 5:12-19
Offering pastoral guidance to the people of the ancient church in Rome in its struggle with human relationships, Paul sketches a direct connection between the sin of Adam (curiously, he doesn’t mention Eve) and the divinity of Jesus Christ, the son of God. If Adam’s yielding to the temptation of the fruit brought death into the world, as the Genesis verses foretell, then Jesus’ incarnation as one of us restores justification and life for all through God’s free gift of grace.

Gospel: Matthew 4:1-11
These verses come immediately after Jesus’ baptism, where he heard the voice of God declaring him God’s beloved Son. Now Jesus goes into the wilderness. To meditate and pray? Wait! What’s this? The Holy Spirit led Jesus into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil? That’s not the way most of us remember this Gospel story! The devil – not a scary red horned creature but something more like the “Adversary” who tested Job’s faith in the Old Testament story – tries to test Jesus, tempting him three times to perform miracles to help himself. But Jesus shows that he is Son of God, standing strong against temptation.