[00:00:05] Hello, my name is Sally Moriarty-Flask. Welcome to: From His Word to Our Hearts, my weekly Bible study podcast. Together we will explore the readings to be proclaimed at the Catholic Mass on Sunday, February 22, 2026, the First Sunday of Lent.
This week's episode is entitled: Sin and Grace, and in these readings, we are reminded that evil is a reality in the world and that each day we are tempted to sin. We are also given the opportunity each day to repent. The season of Lent invites us to examine the choices before us, to repent, and to choose God. When we make that choice, God will give us the grace to overcome sin and thrive as his adopted sons and daughters.
As we journey through the readings this week, consider the following:
Even Jesus experienced temptation and even the devil is able to quote Scripture. So, when we are tempted to listen to the wrong message or do the wrong thing, we can always turn to Jesus our Savior and God our Father and they will help us… if we ask them to!
So, let's begin in prayer:
In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Heavenly Father, we praise you and we thank you for this Lenten season. May the disciplines of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving that we undertake transform us so that we choose obedience over defiance, grace over sin, eternal life with you over everlasting separation from you. We ask this through your Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Now that we've opened our hearts in prayer, let's listen to what God is telling us in the Scriptures.
[00:02:05] Our Gospel this week is from Matthew 4:1-11.
[00:02:11] “[At that time] Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted to by the devil. And he fasted forty days and forty nights, and afterward he was hungry. And the tempter came and said to him, ‘If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.’ But he answered, ‘It is written, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.”’ Then the devil took him to the holy city, and set him on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to him, ‘If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down; for it is written, “He will give his angels charge of you,” and “On their hands they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone.”’ Jesus said to him, ‘Again it is written, “You shall not tempt the Lord your God.” Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain, and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and the glory of them; and he said to [Jesus], ‘All these things I will give you, if you fall down and worship me.’ Then Jesus said to him, ‘Begone, Satan! for it is written, “You shall worship the Lord your God, and him only shall you serve.”’ Then the devil left him, and behold, angels came and ministered to him.”
[00:03:38] On the First Sunday of Lent, we always hear the story of the Temptation of Jesus in the Desert - this year, in Cycle A, we hear Matthew's account. And having just heard from the Sermon on the Mount in Ordinary Time, we actually take a step backward in Matthew's Gospel, going from chapter 5 to chapter 4.
[00:04:03] Matthew's version of the Temptation does focus heavily and intentionally on the humanity of Jesus, while also reflecting the strength, knowledge, and might he possesses by virtue of his divinity. Chronologically, this event takes place immediately after the Baptism of Jesus in the Jordan and before Jesus begins his public ministry in Galilee.
So, let's explore Matthew's account of the Temptation…
“[At that time] Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness”
Matthew and Luke both say that Jesus was led by the Spirit; Mark says the Spirit drove Jesus. And notice the RSV text says wilderness, although we typically think of the temptation as occurring in the desert; probably because the NAB translates that as desert and the NAB, remember, is the translation that is used for the Catholic Lectionary - the Scriptures we hear at Sunday Mass. Wilderness is a more generic term, often meaning only an uninhabited area, but not indicating any particular type of climate.
[00:05:26] The portion of Israel near the Jordan River, however, is a desert climate, so it actually makes more sense to say desert rather than wilderness. And Matthew tells us Jesus went there…
“to be tempted by the devil.”
Mark and Luke simply mention that Jesus was tempted by the devil, Matthew says that Jesus was specifically led by into the wilderness to be tempted… almost suggesting that that was some type of hurdle Jesus had to overcome before he could embark on his public ministry. That wasn't the case, but Matthew almost seems to suggest that.
“And he fasted forty days and forty nights, and afterward he was hungry.”
After fasting for forty days, to say only that Jesus was hungry has always struck me as one of the greatest understate statements of all time. And remember, Matthew was writing to Jewish Christians who would have immediately grasped the significance of the number 40 paired with time in the desert. Because, of course, the Israelites wandered in the desert for 40 years during the Exodus, where they were repeatedly tested and they repeatedly failed. Jesus, however, was tested after 40 days of deprivation in the desert and did not fail any test but resisted every temptation.
“And the tempter came”
The NAB translates that as the devil… but it can also be translated as Satan or the adversary. Regardless of how that's translated, it is a representation of evil. So, the tempter, the evil one, came…
“and said to [Jesus], ‘If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.’”
[00:07:28] Notice how the devil frames this test - actually, every test - using the word IF. The devil is challenging Jesus' identity as the Son of God, the very same identity that the Father had just openly declared at Jesus' baptism in the Jordan. And the devil is saying that if Jesus is really God's Beloved Son, then he can make bread out of anything to satisfy his human hunger. That should also remind us of the Israelites in the desert - of the manna, the bread from heaven - given to the Israelites to ease their hunger. The devil is saying to Jesus, don't worry about anyone else… you're hungry so it's okay to be selfish - just as the Israelites were selfish and tried to collect more than their daily share of manna, despite instructions to the contrary.
“But [Jesus] answered, ‘It is written, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.”’”
That quote is from Deuteronomy 8, where Moses reminded the Israelites that God allowed their hunger to grow before giving them manna, in order to teach them the importance of being humble and relying on God.
“Then the devil took [Jesus] to the holy city, and set him on the pinnacle of the temple,”
The holy city, of course, is Jerusalem and the site of the next test is at the very top of the Temple. But why there? There were certainly more impressive heights available, but the devil chose that specific location because the Temple is where God chose to dwell among his people.
“and [the tempter] said to [Jesus], ‘If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down;’”
There's that challenge to Jesus’ identity again… “IF you are the Son of God.”
“for it is written, ‘He will give his angels charge of you,’ and ‘On their hands they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone.’”
Remember I said that even the devil quotes Scripture? We finally hear that in these two quotes from Psalm 91. And we have to ask ourselves, why is the devil doing that? What is the purpose of those particular quotes? Please excuse the pun, but his purpose is devilishly simple. The devil is now challenging God's PROMISES… are they real? Can they be trusted? Understand, the devil thinks he is being clever by quoting these lines, but he really doesn't understand Scripture and so he perverts its meaning.
[00:10:31] Psalm 91 is meant to encourage faith and trust in God, not to advocate that man put God to the test.
[00:10:40] “Jesus said to him, ‘Again it is written, “You shall not tempt the Lord your God.”’”
That is from Deuteronomy 6. Jesus does understand the Scriptures and uses this quote to scold the devil for his temerity. The NAB translation is a bit different - it says: “You shall not put the Lord, your God, to the test” which refers specifically to the Israelites testing God at Merribah and Massah in Exodus 17.
[00:11:15] Jesus knows, however, that his chosen text applies equally well to both situations.
“Again, the devil took [Jesus] to a very high mountain,”
We're not told the location of that mountain, just that it was very high.
“and showed [Jesus] all the kingdoms of the world and the glory of them; and [the tempter] said to [Jesus], ‘All these I will give you, if you fall down and worship me.’”
The devil really overplayed his hand here. First of all, the devil does not possess the power to give Jesus anything… that's nothing but an empty promise. Unfortunately, that's often how he tempts us as well - with empty promises. And worship, as Jesus well knows, is reserved for God alone. So, what is the devil really offering? With what is he trying to snare Jesus? In truth, nothing more than a shortcut… an allegedly direct route to greatness, fame, fortune, power, influence, riches… the same types of temptations that the devil presents to us - just as relentlessly, although never so overtly.
In one of my favorite movies - a movie called “Labyrinth” - a very young Jennifer Connelly comes to the realization that the Goblin King, played by David Bowie, has no real power over her… which causes every carefully crafted illusion with which the Goblin King has tried to snare her to simply fall apart. It is the same with us… the devil only possesses power over us if we give it to him. But if we refuse to fall for his ploys, he is powerless over us.
[00:13:23] “Then Jesus said to him, ‘Begone, Satan! for it is written, “You shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve.”’”
[00:13:35] That is also from Deuteronomy 6. Moses spoke those words to the Israelites to remind them that God delivered them from bondage in Egypt, therefore they owe God - and only God - reverence and worship.
“Then the devil left him, and behold, angels came and ministered to [Jesus].”
[00:14:02] That was part of the devil's second temptation, wasn't it? But precisely because Jesus did resist that temptation, because Jesus did resist every temptation, God did give his angels charge of Jesus.
[00:14:23] And Matthew knew that his audience would also recognize in that the echo of
1 Kings 19 when God sent an angel to minister to Elijah in the wilderness. It should be a good reminder to us as well, that when we are at our lowest point, God will help us - often in ways we least expect.
[00:14:52] That takes us to our First Reading, which is from Genesis 2: 7-9; 3: 1-7.
“[T]he LORD God formed man of dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul. And the LORD God planted a garden in Eden, in the east; and there he put the man whom he had formed. And out of the ground the LORD God made to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food, the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Now the serpent was more subtle than any other wild creature that the LORD God had made. He said to the woman, ‘Did God say, “You shall not eat of any tree of the garden?”’ And the woman said to the serpent, ‘We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden; but God said, “You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.”’ But the serpent said to the woman, ‘You will not die. For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.’ So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate; and she also gave some to her husband, and he ate. Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves aprons.”
[00:16:56] This passage begins with the second creation story found in the book of Genesis. The first, of course, describes how God created everything in six days and rested on the seventh, while the second story describes the creation of all living things, culminating in the creation of Adam and Eve. We only hear part of that second creation story in this passage before it jumps to the account of the Fall; the Church, very deliberately, pairs this passage with Matthew's account of the temptation to contrast the sin of Adam with the obedience of Jesus… and we'll hear Paul expound on that in the Letter to the Romans, which is our Second Reading. Remember, Lent is one of those seasons where all of our readings have some thematic connection.
Looking at the beginning of Genesis, we realize that it's all about our origins… the first creation story is a poetic account of the origins of time, space, light, and life - telling us that we were created in God's image, while the second creation story is a more earthy description of the origin of man. Which might prompt us to ask - why are there two different creation stories? While that question is not a bad starting point, Scripture scholars have realized that the more all five books of the Pentateuch (or the Torah) are studied, the more questions there actually are to ask. Now, Jewish tradition has always attributed the authorship of the Torah to Moses.
[00:18:48] Most Christian scholarship rejected that during the 17th century, as the texts were studied in greater detail. One particular theory that gained widespread acceptance, called the Documentary Hypothesis, was proposed by a German biblical scholar named Julius Wellhausen in the 19th century. His model drew from a variety of theories to explain the differences in tone, composition, and terminology found in those five books. What Wellhausen proposed was that there were actually four different types of authors that all contributed material to the Pentateuch; he classified them as Yahwist, Elohist, Priestly, and Deuteronomic authors.
According to Wellhausen's model, the creation stories in Genesis can be attributed to two different authors: the Priestly author was responsible for the more orderly and structured first creation story that ended, remember, with God resting on the Sabbath. And the Yahwist author contributed the more earthy second creation story.
Since its initial publication, Wellhausen's Documentary Hypothesis has been widely studied, hotly debated, accepted, rejected, reassessed, and updated. It also spawned two competing theories called the Fragmentary and Supplementary Models.
[00:20:32] Do I think that Wellhausen's model got it absolutely right? Perhaps, given the level of a scholarship at the time, but a lot has come to light since then.
Do I think it provides a reasonable entry into a critical understanding of the first five books of the Bible? Absolutely! Everyone has to start somewhere - and this model, for all its complexity, is actually pretty accessible to most people. Does a deep dive into Scripture scholarship matter to most Christians? Maybe not, but greater familiarity with these texts can only increase our appreciation of them. Which was actually the point of this shallow dive into Scripture scholarship surrounding the first five books of the Bible.
So, with all that in mind, let's break open the text of Genesis…
[00:21:37] “[T]he LORD God formed man of dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life;”
[00:21:46] This shows us the personal and intimate nature of God's actions that are characteristic of the Yahwist author. God gathered together dust from the earth, shaped it into a human being, and breathed life into his creature. That act of breathing life into mankind is sometimes called the Original Blessing. We contrast that with Adam's Original Sin of disobedience, which only occurs after the Original Blessing. And since God is goodness itself - evil can only be discerned when it is compared to God's goodness. And from God's actions…
“man became a living soul.”
The NAB translates that as a living being.
[00:22:57] “And the LORD God planted a garden in Eden, in the east; and there he put the man whom he had formed.”
[00:23:06] In other words, God created man and gave him a home.
[00:23:13] “And out of the ground the LORD God made to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food,”
Meaning that God provided every everything necessary for man's survival.
“the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.”
[00:23:35] What we don't hear in that abbreviated account are God's instructions and his prohibitions. If we read verse 15, God instructs man to till and keep the garden. Then in verses 16 and 17, God gave man permission to eat of any of the trees of the garden except the tree of knowledge. God very directly prohibited man from consuming the fruit of that particular tree. Then, this passage jumps to the Fall…
[00:24:18] “Now the serpent was more subtle than any other wild creature that the LORD God had made.”
[00:24:25] When we hear the word serpent, we typically picture a snake - but we probably shouldn't! Part of the punishment God will inflict on the serpent is for it to crawl on its belly so it's likely that the serpent initially possessed legs of some sort. And when the author uses the word “subtle” - it's not intended as a compliment. Subtle can also mean shrewd, deceitful, or cunning. The NAB actually translates that as cunning, which has a more negative connotation than subtle. The idea there is that Adam and Eve should be wary of this creature.
“[The serpent] said to the woman, ‘Did God say, “You shall not eat of any tree of the garden”?’”
[00:25:23] Now, the serpent knows the answer before he ever asks that question. From the outset, his words are intended to confuse and trick Eve.
“And the woman said to the serpent, ‘We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden; but God said, “You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.”’”
[00:25:52] Eve's response is both inaccurate and an exaggeration, but in her defense, she also didn't directly hear what God said! Eve was created after God's admonition to Adam… so, what she says may actually be what she was told. It's also worth noting that different translations present different information.
[00:26:27] The RSV quotes God as saying to Adam: “in the day that you eat of [the fruit of the tree of knowledge] you shall die” while the NAB records God saying: “the moment you eat from the [tree of knowledge] you are surely doomed to die” - those are two apparently different outcomes.
[00:26:51] “But the serpent said to the woman, ‘You will not die. For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.’”
Notice the RSV says: “you will be like God” (capital “G” God) meaning that mankind would be putting itself on the same level as its Creator; while the NAB says: “you will be like gods” (lowercase “g” gods) suggesting instead that mankind would be establishing itself as a false god in opposition to its Creator. Either way, it's bad… and it describes not only the sin of disobedience, but the sin of hubris as well. Scott Hahn wrote of the Fall “the serpent speaks twice and humanity is ruined.”
[00:28:00] “So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate:”
[00:28:14] Those words describe a crucial choice for Eve - between self-determination and trust in God. We've been facing that very same choice ever since, often with the same outcome.
[00:28:35] “she also gave some to her husband, and he ate.”
[00:28:40] Notice Genesis doesn't say that Eve had to go in search of Adam, it just says that she gave him the fruit… which implies that Adam was right there all the time and did nothing to intervene. So often, Eve alone is blamed for the Fall, but if we read this critically, we see that SHE actually argued with the serpent - she told the serpent they weren't supposed to eat that fruit. Adam, on the other hand, observed the entire exchange and didn't say a word.
[00:29:24] Adam, whom God specifically instructed to till and keep the garden, to cultivate and care for it, should have been on the lookout for potential threats as part of the responsibility entrusted to him of caring for the garden. But clearly, he did not recognize the threat that was right in front of him! Clearly, he did not fulfill the task God put before him.
[00:29:59] “Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked;”
Meaning that they did learn the difference between good and evil, and that they internalized that knowledge. Their natural, inherent innocence was destroyed, and they became aware of their nakedness, which in turn made them aware of their vulnerability. After which…
“they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves aprons.”
[00:30:34] The NAB translates that as loincloths. Regardless of how it's translated, we get the message that they created some type of covering for their nakedness… they recognized that they were now vulnerable and took some steps to protect themselves.
[00:30:53] Again, that is the difference between self-determination and trust in God.
[00:31:01] The clear connection between this passage and our Gospel is temptation - the choices are different, the outcomes are certainly different - but they both remind us that we face temptation every day… that we are tempted to listen to the wrong message every day, although it is often presented in a way that somehow seems right. We are tempted every day to do the wrong thing, but we may not recognize just how wrong it is until it's too late.
[00:31:43] That's how the devil works - through guile, misdirection, and cunning… by pitting our own worst tendencies against us… by appealing to our baser instincts - our pettiness, our prejudices, our greed, our spitefulness. Lent invites us to examine our choices, to repent of the sins we have committed, the sins we continue to commit, and to rely not on ourselves but on Jesus our Savior and God our Father. They will always help us… they will send the Holy Spirit to help us… all we have to do is ask!
[00:32:40] That takes us to our Responsorial Psalm, which is Psalm 51, and the refrain is:
“Have mercy on me, O God, [and] blot out my transgressions.
[00:32:51] And here are the verses:
“Have mercy on me, O God, according to your merciful love; according to your abundant mercy blot out my transgressions. Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin!”
“For I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me. Against you, you only, have I sinned, and done that which is evil in your sight.”
“Create in me a clean heart, O God, and put a new and right spirit within me. Cast me not away from your presence, and take not your holy Spirit from me.”
“Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and uphold me with a willing spirit. O Lord, open my lips, and my mouth shall show forth your praise.”
[00:33:44] This Psalm is a Penitential Psalm attributed directly to King David.
In 2 Samuel 12, the prophet Nathan confronts David about his sin with Bathsheba (the wife of David's general Uriah), but Nathan does so using a story about sheep. Nathan tells David that a rich man who had many sheep coveted the one little ewe lamb belonging to his poor neighbor.
[00:34:19] Now, Nathan constructs quite a narrative specifically designed to stir David's anger on behalf of the poor man, and when David's ire is fully inflamed, Nathan lets David have it… he informs David that HE is the greedy rich man, that Uriah was the poor man, and Bathsheba was the little ewe lamb that was confiscated.
[00:34:48] David experienced such guilt and misery that he didn't eat or sleep for days. There are other tragic layers to that story that I won't go into right now. Just know that tradition attributes this Psalm to David, who wrote it to express sorrow for his actions and to ask God for forgiveness.
[00:35:15] That leads us to our Second Reading, which is from Romans5: 12-19.
[00:35:23] There is a shorter version of this reading, and I will explain more about that after we read through it the first time.
“[Brothers and sisters:] [S]in came into the world through one man and death through sin, so death spread to all men because all men sinned— sin indeed was in the world before the law was given, but sin is not counted where there is no law. Yet death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those whose sins were not like the transgression of Adam, who was a type of the one who was to come. But the free gift is not like the trespass. For if many died through one man's trespass, much more have the grace of God and the free gift in the grace of that one man Jesus Christ abounded for many. And the free gift is not like the effect of that one man's sin. For the judgment following one trespass brought condemnation, but the free gift following many trespasses brings justification. If, because of one man's trespass, death reigned through that one man, much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man Jesus Christ. Then as one man's trespass led to condemnation for all men, so one man's act of righteousness leads to acquittal and life for all men. For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by one man's obedience many will be made righteous.”
[00:37:28] That, of course, is the full version of this passage, the shorter version is half that length and never mentions Adam by name… it alludes to him, but doesn't name him, because the entire middle of that passage is omitted in the shorter version. That shorter version captures the essence of what Paul is saying without providing the theological depth that makes Paul's argument so compelling. So, I really do hope that you hear the entirety of this Reading at your home parish this week.
[00:38:06] As you may recall, Romans is an Ambassadorial Letter written by Paul to introduce himself to the Christian community in Rome with the intent of asking their assistance in launching a future Missionary Journey to Spain - which never actually occurred. This is the longest of Paul's letters and is arguably the most influential letter Paul ever wrote. Remember, Paul has been preaching the good news of Jesus for two decades by the time he wrote this letter, and it is full of his wisdom, experience, and spiritual energy.
[00:38:47] This passage is toward the beginning of the letter, and in it Paul compares Adam (who was imperfect and did sin) with Jesus (who was perfect and did not sin). Paul's argument is that sin and death came into the world through the actions of the one man, Adam, while the abundance of grace and the gift of righteousness came into the world through another man, Jesus.
[00:39:16] So, let's break open what Paul has to say to us in this passage…
“[Brothers and sisters:] [S]in came into the world through one man”
[00:39:27] When Paul uses the word sin, he's alluding to something more complex than only disobedience to God's law - he also means the guilt that accompanies our sin. And the one man responsible for sin and guilt is, of course, Adam.
“and death through sin,”
[00:39:50] The penalty for sin is death… bodily death certainly, but more grave even than bodily death is the loss of sanctifying grace. And it's not as if God didn't warn Adam… he most certainly did! We talked about that in Genesis. In the RSV, God told Adam that he would die if he ate the fruit; in the NAB, God said Adam would be doomed to die. And if we look at both translations, I think we get a better sense of the fullness of man's transgression… man's Original righteousness was lost, thereby ensuring that the body was destined to experience corporal death, but - more importantly - sanctifying grace was lost and the soul experienced separation from God, which is a type of spiritual death. And Adam's soul experienced that type of death immediately.
[00:41:00] “and so death spread to all men because all men sinned— sin indeed was in the world before the law was given,”
[00:41:11] Paul is saying that because of Adam's sin, all men are accounted sinners and, from a theological perspective, he means that all men now possess a tendency towards sin inherited from Adam and Eve - what Saint Augustine calls our wounded human nature. That tendency towards sin has been in the world since the Fall, and it will always be in the world. The law, however, was not in the world until it was given to Moses on Mount Sinai. Then Paul says something quite interesting…
[00:41:52] “but sin is not counted where there is no law.”
[00:41:56] Paul is not saying that sin didn't exist before the law - he is saying that sin was “not counted” before the law. Meaning that the Mosaic law provided a gauge - a measuring tool, if you will - a way to enumerate sin and judge its severity.
[00:42:19] “Yet death reigned from Adam to Moses,”
Because sin was in the world and because the penalty of sin is death, death became an unfortunate and devastating part of life.
“even over those whose sins were not like the transgression of Adam,”
[00:42:42] Adam's transgression was unique and singular. He disobeyed God by eating the fruit of the tree he had been forbidden to eat, which thereby broke - for all time - the trust, the bond, the relationship between Adam and God, which in turn destroyed the original peace and unity of creation. When Paul says that other sins were not like Adam's transgression, he means that no other human enjoyed the same relationship with God that Adam did, so no human could fracture a relationship with God that no longer existed.
[00:43:32] Then Paul introduces a new concept. He says Adam…
“was a type of the one who was to come.”
What Paul means by “a type” is that Adam was a foreshadowing, an example, a model, of a human that did not yet exist… he is, of course, alluding to the Incarnate Jesus. Jesus always existed, he was not always Incarnate.
“But the free gift is not like the trespass.”
By free gift Paul means grace - the divine life of God freely given to us that enables us to act according to God's love here on earth and to live eternally with God in heaven.
“For if many died through one man's trespass,”
Meaning again that death came into the world through Adam's sin.
“much more have the grace of God and the free gift in the grace of that one man Jesus Christ abounded for many.”
[00:44:40] Paul is saying that regardless of how much death came about as a result of Adam's sin, the gift of grace that the Incarnate Jesus bestows on mankind will still be orders of magnitude more beneficial than Adam's sin was harmful.
“And the free gift is not like the effect of that one man's sin.”
Grace brings life, not death.
“For the judgment following one trespass brought condemnation, but the free gift following many trespasses brings justification.”
[00:45:22] Just as all humankind, descended from Adam and Eve, inherit the consequence of that original trespass, that Original Sin, even more so will all who are joined to Christ, who are united to him through the Sacraments, inherit the righteousness which puts us in right relation to God. We inherit the consequences of Adam and Eve's Original Sin simply by being human. However, in order to receive the righteousness of Jesus, we must be united to him through the Sacrament of Baptism.
[00:46:13] “If, because of one man's trespass, death reigned through that one man,”
Meaning that the sin of Adam and Eve affects us all… that we all have a fallen or wounded human nature and that we all suffer the tendency towards sin - what the Church calls concupiscence.
“much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man Jesus Christ,”
[00:46:50] Through our union with Jesus… through the Sacrament of Baptism that cleanses us from Original Sin and incorporates us into Jesus’ Mystical Body… through the Sacrament of the Eucharist that nurtures us - body and soul - and transforms us to be more like Jesus… through all the Sacraments of the Church, we receive “grace upon grace” (John 1:16) so that we will be welcomed into the perfection of eternal life with God in heaven. That's what Paul means when he says that those who receive grace and righteousness through Jesus will reign in life.
[00:47:41] “Then as one man's trespass led to condemnation for all men, so one man's act of righteousness leads to acquittal and life for all men.”
[00:47:54] The sin of Adam brought concupiscence and death into the human experience… the Passion, Death, and Resurrection of Jesus - Jesus' act of righteousness - gained for all mankind access to the grace and justification that opened the gates of heaven for all the faithful and prepares us for eternal life in the kingdom.
[00:48:23] “For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by one man's obedience many will be made righteous.”
[00:48:33] If it seems by now that Paul has repeated himself over and over again - that's because he has! Repetition was part of Aristotelian rhetoric - the fine art of persuasive speaking in which Paul was extensively trained as both a Roman citizen and a Jewish Pharisee. And while Paul does make the same point over and over, he doesn't use the same words.
[00:49:01] Repeating concepts, as Paul does in this passage, emphasizes the importance of the overall message… that just as the sin of Adam and Eve impacts all their human descendants, Jesus' act of obedient self-sacrifice, his Passion, Death, and Resurrection, are and will continue to be ever more effective for the salvation of all humanity.
[00:49:32] Jesus' obedience to his Father's will impacts all who are joined to him in Baptism and who are constantly renewed and nurtured by him through the Sacraments of the Church. While that gift is offered to all of humanity, not all will accept it.
[00:49:59] In his Preface to Romans, Martin Luther wrote: we must receive God's grace “daily” because “sin still lingers in us” but God's “grace is sufficient to enable us to be accounted entirely and completely righteous in God's sight.” That means that because of Jesus' self-sacrifice on the Cross, God sees all of us in the same way that he sees his Beloved Son Jesus.
[00:50:39] Our Lenten disciplines of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving are intended to help us be open to God's gift of grace each day, so that we can overcome sin and thrive as God's adopted sons and daughters.
But that means that whenever we are tempted to listen to the wrong message - no matter who says it… whenever we are tempted to do the wrong thing - even if others try to convince us that it's okay… we need to turn to Jesus our Savior who will help us, to God our Father who will strengthen us, and to the Holy Spirit who will give guide us toward righteousness… all we have to do is ask!
[00:51:36] If you would like to reach out to me with questions or comments, send me an email at
[email protected]
Thank you for spending this time with me and until next we meet, may God shower his blessings upon you like a soft and gentle rain, and may he hold you safe and secure in the palm of his hand.
From His Word to Our Hearts is produced by SFS Audio Solutions.
The content of the show was assembled by me, Sally Moriarty-Flask.
Our music was composed by Jimmy Flask and is used with the permission of the composer. All rights reserved.
Information regarding references used in preparing the exegesis for this podcast is available upon request.
Thank you for listening and may God bless you abundantly this Lenten season.
