Are you tempted by a desire for control?
In Chapter 2 of the Book of Genesis, God creates man by breathing life into a figure made of mud, animating it, making of it a living being, and then supplying that living being with the ability to choose. God then also creates woman. Both are given instructions about what is and is not permitted in the Garden of Eden. Most importantly, they are not to eat of the tree of knowledge of good and evil. But, tempted by their desire for knowledge, Adam and Eve do what they can to gain control over their existence: they choose, and choose poorly, for they wish, as the serpent says, to be like gods.
The human desire for control over our world is engrained in our very nature; we struggle regularly to make good choices. David learned the depths of his own capacity for sin when, desiring the lovely Bathsheba, David sent her husband Uriah to the front of the battle lines, where Uriah would be killed. Convicted of sin by Nathan, David prays Psalm 51, the Miserere: Have mercy on me, O God, in your goodness, and of my sin cleanse me. As priest-king set to govern God’s people, David’s violation of God’s law to serve his own desire for control is enormous. Yet, importantly, David asks not only for forgiveness, but for transformation: A clean heart create for me, O God, he prays. David prays not to be cast out from God’s presence; he knows God is necessary to his very existence, and seeks transformation, that he might conquer his desire for control in the future.
Like Adam and Eve, the very human Jesus will be tempted with very human temptations, each of which represents a form of control over his existence. But, in Matthew’s Gospel, Jesus the man chooses wisely, in counterpoint to the first man, Adam, who choose poorly. Adam is the one man through whom sin entered the world, the Letter to the Hebrews reminds us. Jesus, for his part, chooses to stay united to his Father, whereas Adam and Eve choose to separate from him, opting for independence over connection. Jesus will not wrest control over his circumstances; his refusal of the devil’s temptations reverses the sin of Adam and Eve: through the obedience of the one, the many will be made righteous. Jesus surrenders completely to the Father’s will: You shall not put the Lord your God to the test, Jesus reminds the devil.
We struggle to make good choices. Our own journey into the desert this Lent is meant to solidify our dedication to God’s will, that we might choose rightly, recognizing our profound need for God in our lives. If we do so, we will know the joy of salvation, that gift Christ brought for all through his death on the cross.
This post is based on Fr. Pat’s Scripture class.
Image source: www.wordclouds.com
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