You all probably know by this point that I identify as a nerd, but you may not know that this has extended to include writing an essay about today’s Genesis reading in comparison with several Harry Potter characters and thus our understanding of temptation in current society. I have a lot that I could say about the subject, starting with the fact that we often find it really easy to place the blame on the woman and the serpent, yet somehow the man comes away with no criticism despite the fact that he was standing there all along! This isn’t to dismiss the fact that the serpent is a master manipulator, changing word order and causing the woman to question whether what she heard from God was really true or not. But, we also can’t ignore the fact that the humans, both of them, still had a choice in whether or not they ate of the fruit that God said not to. And their actions had consequences.
Most of the time these consequences are described as “The Fall,” when sin breaks in among humanity and separates us from God thus condemning all humans who follow after to the same curse. Yet, I think we get away from the point if we focus too much on just understanding theology related to “the Fall.” Instead, we can see these realities: that sin exists in the world, that sin separates us from God and one another, and that God doesn’t need us to sin in order to be God. Now, I know that’s a lot to think about and I’ll avoid doing a full theology lecture, since I got to do one of those yesterday morning, but theologians throughout history have spent so much time analyzing the events of Genesis that we forget what this means for how we live our lives today. We look at the fallibility of humans with judgement when God offers us forgiveness and grace. We spend so much time blaming Eve and the serpent that we forget how we turn away from God in our own lives too; we can’t just pass all the fault off onto someone else.
That is not a statement of judgment, but a statement of fact. There are things all around us that pull us away from God, whether that is our intention or not. Even Jesus was tempted, as we hear in today’s Gospel reading. Jesus was tempted with similar tricks to Adam and Eve, especially with the Devil’s use of Scripture in the argument, a twisting of God’s words just as we heard happen in the Garden. Instead of comparing the failure in the Garden to Jesus’ ability to avoid temptation, I think today’s Scripture readings are inviting us to understand how difficult it can be and that Jesus is walking with us through that. Jesus understands what it means to be tempted by the things that he desires; if he didn’t, he wouldn’t also be fully human. Jesus was hungry, probably tired, and I’m sure he just wanted the Devil to leave him alone.
When we talk about “the Fall,” I think we also forget to talk about something really important, which is that this is our first introduction to shame and guilt. The humans were walking around without clothes on the entire time until they ate the fruit, realized they were naked, and quickly covered up. Shame and guilt are something that I think we are really familiar with today, especially in the age of the internet where our mistakes can be made public forever. We put so much emphasis on how others view us and how we view ourselves that we forget that we are made good in the image of God.
Now, you probably don’t know this about me yet, but Ash Wednesday and Lent are my favorite Liturgical holiday/ season. A lot of my friends think it’s a little bit morbid, but I absolutely love the reminder that we are God’s created, made from the dust, with life breathed into us. Our creation wasn’t an accident and we also were not created to be God. Lent is one of the few times in the year where I feel like we really get to talk about the difficult reality of what it means to be human, while also remaining centered in the promise of Christ’s crucifixion and resurrection. We are humans, driven by all sorts of motivations at varying times: greed, fear, anxiety, etc. Just like Jesus, we are surrounded by temptations, even if ours don’t appear as direct conversations with the Devil.
I actually really love the temptation story in today’s Gospel, not because it shows us how perfect Jesus was, but because it reminds us that Jesus has gone through these struggles too. The Devil is clever, using Scripture to counter Scripture; nothing about this story is easy. But, it reminds us that in those moments, even when it feels like there is no way out, that we can take a step back and remember the promises of God. That we have been created and formed, that we have been called and named, that we have been redeemed through faith alone. This doesn’t negate the realities of the world around us and it isn’t meant to simplify the problems that we face, for example sometimes we need other tools that God created to help us on our journeys too. But it is also a beautiful reminder that God didn’t create us and then just leave us alone, but God is with us every step of the way.
As I was writing this, I was reminded of an activity we did as a part of the Boundaries training I did in the fall. The activity had us prepare a “toolbox” for when we are stressed, overwhelmed, or feeling burnt out. It was meant to help remind us of places we could go, people we could talk to, scents and textures that brought comfort to us, so that when we are feeling completely overwhelmed we have that list at the ready without having to think about it. Because when we get into those moments, our brain isn’t thinking about what will help calm us down, but it is in survival mode, like it was created to do.
As I think about the temptation stories today too, we are reminded that temptation is all around us. Especially in this day and age, it is so easy to turn away from God and neighbor, and then feel shame about that instead of returning to the open of arms of God’s grace. So if we are thinking about a toolbox, what would be helpful for you to have in yours? Are there hymns that are beloved and return you to the promises of God? How about Scripture readings? Artwork or poems? Meditation? The options feel pretty much unlimited, but I invite you to think about your spiritual practices toolkit this week, the things that you can return to when you need to be reminded of who God is for us. When it feels like there is just simply way too much going on around you. After all, Lent really focuses us on what Jesus did on the cross and what that means for us today; may you dwell in these promises from God.