Sunday Gospel Reflection, March 1, 2020: Did God really tell you not to eat from any of the trees in the garden?

Did God really tell you not to eat from any of the trees in the garden?

What guides our choices?

  Human beings are often tempted to sin, but sin draws us out of union with God.  When, in the Book of Genesis, Adam and Eve exercise their free will and yield to their own desire to eat the fruit of the tree of knowledge rather than obeying God’s will, the responsibility is theirs, and they cannot undo what has been done.  Although they had been living in the perfect love of God, their desire for control over their own existence wins out over the will of the Creator.  Once their eyes are opened to the knowledge of good and evil, there is no going back:  sin has entered the world. 

  King David’s experience with sin is similar.  Though he is loath to take responsibility for the death of Bathsheba’s husband Uriah, David must eventually own his sin and he then asks God to blot it out:  in the greatness of your compassion wipe out my offense, he sings in Psalm 51.  In fact, God does not wipe out or erase or remove our sin, because sin, once committed, alters our world indelibly, but God’s mercy can help us to turn our lives around:  in forgiveness, there is transformation.  And that forgiveness is only possible because of the sacrifice of Christ.  When, because of Adam, sin entered the world, Paul tells the Romans, death came to reign, but Jesus, being fully human, transforms humanity through his death; his death and rising show humankind that love can transcend death. 

  Through Jesus’ obedience to the will of his Father, through his one righteous act, the many can be made righteous, enjoying right relationship with God.  In Matthew’s Gospel, Jesus is subjected to temptation in the desert, but he is never tempted to use his power for his own benefit.  Jesus knows not to tempt God; he trusts God, and to test God would be to doubt God.  Satan speaks as if he has the power to give him the kingdoms of the world in their magnificence, but Jesus strips Satan of all his presumed power through his full commitment to the Father and the Father’s love for him.  Our journey is no different:  we must strive always to discover for ourselves the depth of the Father’s love for us, and embrace its ability to guide our choices, keeping us from temptation, firmly rooted in the abundance of grace that is God’s love.

This post is based on Fr. Pat’s Scripture class.

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