Overcoming the Tempter

Homily for the 1st Sunday of Lent

The First Sunday of Lent always brings us back to the foundations: who we are, what went wrong, and how God sets it right. Today’s readings trace that entire arc—from the Garden of Eden to the desert where Jesus confronts the tempter, and finally to Paul’s sweeping vision of salvation in Christ.

Genesis paints a picture of intimacy: God forms Adam from the dust, breathes life into him, and places him in a garden of abundance. Everything is gift. Everything is grace. Remember, the Hebrew word for breath and for spirit is the same. So, when God breathes, it is the gift of the Spirit of God, a gift that makes Adam in the image and likeness of God.

But into this harmony comes a voice—the serpent—whispering suspicion: “Did God really say…?” “God is holding out on you.” “You can be like gods.” The first sin is not simply eating forbidden fruit. It is distrust. It is the belief that God is not enough. And once that trust breaks, shame enters. Adam and Eve hide. They cover themselves. They fear the One who made them. We know that feeling. We’ve lived it. Sin always promises freedom but delivers fear.

Psalm 51 gives us the words Adam and Eve could not yet speak: “Have mercy on me, O God.” “My sin is always before me.” “A clean heart create for me.” This is the voice of someone who has stopped hiding. Lent begins not with despair but with truth—the truth about our weakness and the truth about God’s mercy. The psalmist knows that God does not despise a humble, contrite heart. God wants to restore, not condemn.

Paul gives us the big picture: Through one man, sin and death entered the world. Through one man, Jesus Christ, grace and life overflow. Adam’s disobedience fractures creation. Christ’s obedience heals it. Paul is not simply comparing two individuals. He is telling us that Christ rewrites the human story. Where Adam said “no,” Jesus says “yes.” Where Adam grasped, Jesus surrendered. Where Adam hid, Jesus stands exposed on the cross. Lent is not about self-improvement. It is about letting Christ’s “yes” reshape our lives.

In Matthew’s Gospel, Jesus enters the desert not to escape but to confront the enemy head-on. Immediately before his flight into the desert, Jesus was baptized in the River Jordan by John the Baptist. He had heard a voice proclaim: “You are my beloved Son.”

The temptations are universal, and they challenge the voice that was heard at his Baptism. If you are God’s beloved Son, “Turn these stones into bread.” This is a temptation to let our appetites rule us, to believe we are only what we consume. If you are the Son of God, “Throw yourself down.” This is a temptation to demand proof, to make God serve our agenda. If you are the Son of God, “All these kingdoms I will give you.” This is a temptation to seize power to take shortcuts, to worship something less than God.

Jesus answers each temptation with Scripture, but more importantly, with trust. He refuses to grasp. He refuses to doubt the Father’s goodness. He refuses to take the easy way. Where Adam fell, Jesus stands firm. Where Israel failed in the desert, Jesus remains faithful.

Lent is not a gloomy season. It is a season of truth, freedom, and returning to God. These readings invite us to three movements:

Return to the truth of who we are. We are dust, yes—but dust breathed into by God. We are sinners, yes—but sinners loved into redemption.

Name the temptations that shape our lives. Every one of us faces the serpent’s whispers: “You’re not enough.” “God is not enough.” “Take control.” “Hide.” Lent is the time to bring these into the light.

Finally, let Christ’s obedience become our strength. We do not overcome temptation by willpower alone. If you are still trying to resist temptation through your own strength, you might as well give up right now. We can only overcome temptation by clinging to Christ who has already won the victory. Fasting, prayer, and almsgiving are not spiritual chores. They are ways of clearing space so Christ can reshape our hearts.

As we begin this holy season, the Church invites us into the desert—not to punish us, but to free us. Not to shame us, but to heal us. Not to burden us, but to teach us to trust again. Adam’s story is our story, but so is Christ’s. Lent is the time when we choose which story will define us. May this season lead us to deeper trust, clearer vision, and a renewed heart that can say with Jesus: “My food is to do the will of the One who sent me.”