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There’s not a lot of good news in this Sunday’s scripture readings.  At least, not without wrestling first with all the bad news.  Lent started with Ash Wednesday this week and the first Sunday is traditionally about Jesus’ temptation by the devil in the wilderness for 40 days (Matthew 4:1-11).  Paired with that story is the temptation of Adam and Eve by the serpent in the Garden of Eden (Genesis 2:15-17, 3:1-7).  There is a lot of deception in that story.  For instance, the serpent says if they eat the forbidden fruit, “You will be like God,” but Gen. 1:26-27 says that humanity is already like God, made in God’s image.  The serpent tricks them, and it’s been history ever since.  Just look at current events.  The devil tries to trick Jesus with temptations we all fall prey to.  And that’s the bad news.  We all fall prey to deception and temptation. 

            The good news—if you want to call it that—is to repent.  Repent of our hard-heartedness, false belief that “we are God,” repent of our self-righteousness, and the sins that harm others.  The good news is that Jesus Christ didn’t succumb to those sins.  God undid in him what the “Adam and Eve in all of us” does.  God condemned sin in Jesus’ cross and conquered the fruits of sin in his resurrection.  The Good News is that Christ promises forgiveness to a contrite heart and that the peace we have with God is freely offered because of Christ.  We can’t fix all of our mistakes (that doesn’t obviously stop us from trying!), and so, thank God for God’s grace given to us—as a GIFT, freely (Romans 5:12-19). 

Peace,

Pr. Christian