1^st Sunday of Lent

The temptations of the Lord, described for us in the gospel reading of this First Sunday of Lent, bring before us the reality of temptation and sin. The Lord was tempted, but did not sin. Rejecting Satan’s advances, he tells the evil one: “You must worship the Lord your God, and serve Him alone.” Jesus is our example and our strength as we try to resist the temptations of the devil, whom the Bible pictures as the cunning serpent.

 “The serpent” says the Book of Genesis in today’s first reading, “was the most subtle of all the wild beasts that the Lord God had made.” Indeed sad experience teaches us that evil and sin are deceptive. Sin comes to us always in the guise of something good. It will never present itself with the introduction, “Do this, it’s bad for you.” No, it says, “Do this, it will bring you happiness, joy, pleasure, advantage, power.”

And so we do it, and if sin and evil get a grip, then before long we find ourselves hiding from God, the way Adam and Eve eventually did as their paradise was turned into a vale of tears. Before long, we start to hurt other people, even the people we love – we lie to them, turn away from them and mistreat them. Before long we do not know who we are, and people say, “He or she is changed.” “Not sure what’s wrong with him or her more.” “Used to be such an open and relaxed person, but not anymore.” Sin has a way of getting into our very bones, and, before long, we can’t look God in the face, we stop loving others, and we can’t even stand the sight of ourselves.

Sin in our life may not be as dramatic as that. I hope not. But I think we can recognise the story. During Lent, we try to face the sin in our life. We look at temptation for what it is. Through prayer, fasting and almsgiving, we try to reduce the distance between God and ourselves, between ourselves and others, and between the way I am and the way I should be. And during this time of Lent, through the sacrament of penance and reconciliation, we will want to confess our sins and receive God’s forgiveness.

My dear brothers and sisters, conversion and grace represents the storyline of Lent. St. Paul tells us, “If it is certain that through one man’s fall so many died, it is even more certain that divine grace, coming through the one man, Jesus Christ, came to so many as an abundant free gift.” In today’s second reading, St. Paul is at his most enthusiastic as he tells us, persuades us, convinces us that, yes, we need to acknowledge the pernicious power of sin to enslave, distort and bring death, but much more do we need to put our faith in the sacrifice of Jesus Christ who came to bring grace, freedom and life. And that is why Lent is the favourable time; that is why Lent is the day of salvation; that is why Lent is the season of conversion and grace, the time to acknowledge our sin and be reconciled with God, with each other and with ourselves.

St. Paul’s, Foxbar, Paisley

10^th February 2008