Temptation

           

Each week during Lent, this space will be given to a summary of what the members of my study group from church concluded in our meeting on Sunday afternoon. We’ll be concerning ourselves with the Lectionary readings from each Sunday.

Even the tiniest child knows the story of Adam and Eve. Why are we so keen to tell our kids about this? What does it have to do with Christian belief? Are we simply handing them a warning about disobedience, maybe hoping they’ll take it to heart and go to bed on time?

The Old Testament reading for the first Sunday in Lent (Genesis 2:25-3:17) is paired neatly with the story of Jesus’ temptation in the desert (Matthew 4:1-11) in much the way a Cabernet is paired with a hearty beef stew. They complement each other. They reveal each other.

In the desert story, Jesus is in a bare and desolate place and is fasting for 40 days and nights. The Satan wants Jesus to prove himself by changing stones into bread, prove God’s faithfulness by jumping off the pinnacle of the Temple, and, finally, take command of the world by worshiping him. The Satan’s clear intention is to derail Jesus’ purpose. Well, it would be, wouldn't it? If Jesus succeeds, the Satan’s rule is over. If the Satan succeeds we aren't redeemed.

Jesus, as we know, doesn't bite. He dismisses the tempter with a quote from scripture (Deuteronomy)  each time. When it’s over, angels come to minister to him.

Contrast this with the scene in the Garden. Adam and Eve are in a lush setting, with everything they could possibly want. They are engaged in work, caring for God’s creation. But it is when Eve is alone that the serpent approaches her.

The Satan’s lure is oddly similar to his effort with Jesus; he promises a way to be like God. Eve attempts to repeat God’s directive about the forbidden fruit, but she gets it wrong. She misquotes God. Is this a big deal? I think it is.

In an oral society where histories and laws are memorized, quoting things exactly has more weight than it does today. We paraphrase all the time; not then. I believe that the first people to hear this story would have been shaking their heads at Eve as soon as she failed to repeat God’s directive exactly. Adam and Eve’s fates were sealed at that moment. The writing was on the wall.

The serpent tells Eve that the fruit will make her like God. Of course, in the desert, The Satan is basically goading Jesus to prove and demonstrate his godliness. What Eve did not grasp was that she and Adam were ALREADY like God. They bore his image. Jesus is, obviously, not fooled into thinking he can be more like God. He knew who he was. Sadly Adam and Eve did not.

In the end the angels ministered to Jesus, but for Adam and Eve, the angels stood at the gates of the Garden with flaming swords.

I was surprised to learn that the story of Adam and Eve, such a mainstay in our church and catechetical life, was barely mentioned throughout the Old Testament. If ever there were a people who repeated their history, it is the Jews. There is a slight reference to Adam in the Book of Job; after that, nothing. The stories the Jews told each other began with Abraham and God’s promise. (More about that next week)

It was Paul who revived this early story and he had his reasons. Paul saw Jesus as the reverse of Adam and Eve. Whereas they had a life of ease and joy, Jesus had a life of pain and want. Whereas they were unsure of their identities as children of God, he knew exactly whose image he bore. Whereas they were disobedient, he was obedient, all the way to the cross. Whereas they stained God’s creation; Jesus restored it.

“As sin came into the world through one man, and death came through sin, and so death spread to all because all have sinned -- sin was indeed in the world before the law, but sin is not reckoned when there is no law. Yet death exercised dominion from Adam to Moses, even over those whose sins were not like the transgression of Adam, who is a type of the one who was to come.” Romans 5:12-13

It wasn't until I looked at these two temptation stories together that I actually bought into Paul’s premise. Before then, it just seemed like an abstraction, a fanciful construct. Increasingly, I believe that God’s plan for the world is shown in this long, long history.

But what does this mean for us, for our temptations? Are all temptations lures to get us to be what we’re not? Is the big lie that we can be better, grander than we are, when, in fact, we are made in God’s image? Is sin at bottom, simply our refusal to be what we are made to be? Whether it’s pride, lust, dishonesty, greed, meanness, or impatience, is all sin simply this: our refusal to show God to the world and be our true selves?