Genesis 2.15-17, 3.1-7; Romans 5.12-19; Matthew 4.1-11

Genesis 2.15-17, 3.1-7; Romans 5.12-19; Matthew 4.1-11

 

Temptation is real, for us and for Jesus. Today’s gospel is, as Matthew shows us, a real visitation by the power of evil turned toward Jesus, an attempt to turn him away from trust and reliance on God and his God-given mission in the world and to prove himself by other means. Jesus, in his human nature, is not immune to things common to us all: hunger and exhaustion and temptation.

 

As for us? In today’s reading from Genesis, we hear how temptation is as old as creation itself, a part of the human condition from the beginning. Then in the second reading, St Paul picks up on the Genesis story and makes it our story. Sin came into the world through one man and death spread to all.

 

Now whether you believe Adam was the lone, first person of creation isn’t Paul’s point. When Paul talks about Adam, he is not making a scientific point but a theological one. God’s good creation has gone wrong and all of us are affected. “By the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners.” Now when Paul says ‘many’ here, he doesn’t mean ‘most but not all of us’ were made sinners. He means ‘many’ as in ‘a whole lot of people from the beginning of time.’ Very many. This is the story of us all.

 

And temptation is embedded in it. An early Christian named Gregory Nazianzen said, “We must not expect a life of faith to free us from temptation.” He echoes the New Testament letter of James. “When you face temptation.” Not if, but when—because you will. So while I would love to be able to preach a sermon with practical advice on how to avoid temptation, I can’t. I can do practical steps for Lent. But temptation? I haven’t figured it out. Neither have you. “We have all sinned and fall short of the glory of God,” Paul says elsewhere in Romans. God’s grace may be the most powerful truth in life and faith. Yet the power of sin remains at work among us, too.

 

Those of you with an interest in history will remember the story of Alexander Solzhenitsyn. Born in Russia a century ago, he served in the Soviet army during WWII. While he was a soldier, he wrote lots of letters criticizing Soviet leader Joseph Stalin. Now dictators have a long-standing practice of silencing and purging their enemies. And in those days, Solzhenitsyn’s criticism was not welcomed. He was arrested; he spent decades in prisons and labor camps; he was written off by authorities as a non-person. While in prison, however, the world recognized him for his courage, and he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

 

But Solzhenitsyn knew there was more to his life, and within his life, than courage and peace. And it was the ‘more’ of his life that troubled him. In jail he was treated cruelly; he endured real evil. But he also discovered that evil was not found only in the prison guards who mistreated him. Evil had a grip on him. “I was intoxicated by power, felt myself to be infallible, and therefore I was cruel.”

 

Isn’t that the way it is? Moral certainty blinds people to the consequences of their actions; if you are certain of your own righteousness and convinced you cannot be wrong, it allows you to justify cruelty while claiming immunity from criticism; being confident is different than being correct.

 

What Solzhenitsyn saw as he looked back and scrutinized his actions and motives, was that the times he felt most confident in his own goodness, even as a prisoner, were often his “most evil moments.” He said, “Gradually, it was disclosed to me that the line separating good and evil passes not through nations, nor between classes of people, nor between political parties, but right through every human heart, and through all human hearts.” He saw evil not just in oppressive regimes but in his own life. God’s grace is indeed the most powerful truth in life and faith. Yet the power of sin remains at work among us. Temptation is embedded in our lives.

 

This is what Paul means when he says, “We all sin and fall short of the glory of God.” The fracture of Adam’s sin in Genesis runs through the bedrock of human history and makes our lives shaky. This is what the church means by the doctrine of Original Sin. The Historical Documents section of the prayer book defines Original Sin by saying “man is very far gone from original righteousness, and in his own nature inclined to evil.”

 

You might think that sounds overly pessimistic but consider Reinhold Niebuhr. Niebuhr was a pastor in Detroit and wrote and spoke frequently about the intersection of religion, politics, and public policy. Even if you don’t know Niebuhr’s name, you’ve likely felt his influence through a prayer he composed, “God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.”

 

Niebuhr called Original Sin the only doctrine of the church with real-world proof. Of the doctrine of the incarnation—Jesus fully human and fully divine—we need scripture and faith. Of the doctrine of grace, we also need both. But of Original Sin? Look at human history and behavior and you see the evidence: in history through wars, oppression, exploitation; in politics through corruption, nationalism, power struggles; in everyday life through jealousy, dishonesty, and betraying our highest ideals. Science saves lives, yet the same knowledge accelerates lethal warfare. Social media connects people and communities yet amplifies both ego and outrage, often in the same person.

 

God’s good creation is shaken and all of us are affected, far gone from our original righteousness, with real world evidence to back the claim. My favorite definition of Original Sin is from Francis Spufford—simple, clear, direct. Original Sin is the “human propensity to mess things up.” And within this propensity to mess things up, temptation makes a home in each of our lives.

 

Sin’s entry into the world through Adam is sin’s entry into every human life. We are people created in the image and likeness of God and meant to reflect God’s life and love into the world, yet we also have an enormous capacity to fail in that calling. There really are things we cannot change, and there is wisdom in knowing this. There is also wisdom in knowing that we are not left to ourselves.

 

In today’s second reading, Paul compares and contrasts the story of Adam in Genesis with the story of Jesus in the gospel. Adam’s disobedience in temptation is overcome and reversed by Jesus and his obedience in temptation. Yet the story of Jesus’ temptation is about more than just one person doing something that the rest of us will never figure out: avoiding temptation. Jesus’ faithfulness is God’s gift to us all. Speaking of Adam, Paul says, “By one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners.” Many. In contrast, and speaking of Christ, Paul adds, “By the other man’s obedience the many will be made righteous.” Also many. And here again, Paul isn’t limiting ‘many’ to mean ‘most but not all of us’ have our lives set right by the faithfulness of Jesus. That would leave doubt about our place in God’s love and grace; the propensity to mess things up would then be our ultimate defeat. No, when Paul says ‘many made righteous,’ he means many as in ‘a whole lot of people from the beginning of time’ have their lives set right by God in Jesus Christ: you and me included.

 

The power of temptation will never stop testing us, besetting us; it is embedded in our lives. “We must not expect a life of faith to free us from temptation,” says Gregory Nazianzen. “When you face temptation,” says the letter of James. But we are not left to ourselves in temptation. In the same way that Adam’s disobedience is overcome by Christ’s obedience, the tree in Genesis with its fruit of sin and death points us to another tree, the tree of the cross, with its fruit of forgiveness and life. On the cross, Adam’s sin is overcome in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. The Son of God is not only with you in temptation; his faithfulness through it is God’s gift to you—your refuge, strength, and forgiveness.

 

When you are struggling with temptation and sin, when you are hurting and weak, when your own propensity to mess things up is evident, look to Christ for refuge, strength, and forgiveness. You will find his love surrounding you, supporting you, and leading you through it all. For you are among the many people who have a place in the kingdom of God. Because, while the power of temptation and sin is real and strong, the faithfulness of Jesus Christ and the free gift of his grace is always stronger.