Matthew 4:1-11 l Bob Reid

This homily comes at the first week of lent. The Lenten season begins with the story of Jesus squaring off in the desert with the tempter, Satan. In this story, we see the reversal of Adam and Eve giving in to the lies told by the snake in the garden. For the first time ever in human history a human being is completely faithful to God’s gifts, and refuses to believe the dark fantasy that God is holding something back. Jesus succeeds where Adam, Eve and God’s ancient people Israel, after them, failed. He succeeded where we have all failed. The three temptations that Jesus resists are all at their core temptations to flourish apart from God’s provisions, God’s gifts.