Daily Readings - Sun Mar 01 2020

⁷And then the Lord God formed man from the clay of the earth, and he breathed into his face the breath of life, and man became a living soul⁸Now the Lord God had planted a Paradise of enjoyment from the beginning. In it, he placed the man whom he had formed⁹And from the soil the Lord God produced every tree that was beautiful to behold and pleasant to eat. And even the tree of life was in the midst of Paradise, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil¹⁶And he instructed him, saying: "From every tree of Paradise, you shall eat¹⁷But from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, you shall not eat. For in whatever day you will eat from it, you will die a death.¹⁸The Lord God also said: "It is not good for the man to be alone. Let us make a helper for him similar to himself.²⁵Now they were both naked: Adam, of course, and his wife. And they were not ashamed

Chapter 3

¹However, the serpent was more crafty than any of the creatures of the earth that the Lord God had made. And he said to the woman, "Why has God instructed you, that you should not eat from every tree of Paradise?²The woman responded to him: "From the fruit of the trees which are in Paradise, we eat³Yet truly, from the fruit of the tree which is in the middle of Paradise, God has instructed us that we should not eat, and that we should not touch it, lest perhaps we may die.⁴Then the serpent said to the woman: "By no means will you die a death⁵For God knows that, on whatever day you will eat from it, your eyes will be opened; and you will be like gods, knowing good and evil.⁶And so the woman saw that the tree was good to eat, and beautiful to the eyes, and delightful to consider. And she took from its fruit, and she ate. And she gave to her husband, who ate⁷And the eyes of them both were opened. And when they realized themselves to be naked, they joined together fig leaves and made coverings for themselves

Romans

Chapter 5

¹²Therefore, just as through one man sin entered into this world, and through sin, death; so also death was transferred to all men, to all who have sinned¹⁷For though, by the one offense, death reigned through one, yet so much more so shall those who receive an abundance of grace, both of the gift and of justice, reign in life through the one Jesus Christ¹⁸Therefore, just as through the offense of one, all men fell under condemnation, so also through the justice of one, all men fall under justification unto life¹⁹For, just as through the disobedience of one man, many were established as sinners, so also through the obedience of one man, many shall be established as just

Matthew

Chapter 4

¹Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert, in order to be tempted by the devil²And when he had fasted for forty days and forty nights, afterwards he was hungry³And approaching, the tempter said to him, "If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.⁴And in response he said, "It has been written: ‘Not by bread alone shall man live, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.’ ⁵Then the devil took him up, into the holy city, and set him on the pinnacle of the temple⁶and said to him: "If you are the Son of God, cast yourself down. For it has been written: ‘For he has given charge of you to his angels, and they shall take you into their hands, lest perhaps you may hurt your foot against a stone.’ ⁷Jesus said to him, "Again, it has been written: ‘You shall not tempt the Lord your God.’ ⁸Again, the devil took him up, onto a very high mountain, and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory⁹and said to him, "All these things I will give to you, if you will fall down and adore me.¹⁰Then Jesus said to him: "Go away, Satan. For it has been written: ‘You shall adore the Lord your God, and him only shall you serve.’ ¹¹Then the devil left him. And behold, Angels approached and ministered to him

Sermon

In today's readings, we journey from the origins of humanity's struggle with sin to the ultimate triumph through Jesus Christ. The first reading from Genesis recounts the creation of Adam and Eve and their fall into sin, illustrating the initial fracture in humanity's relationship with God. The second reading from Romans bridges this gap, explaining how Christ's obedience counteracts Adam's disobedience, offering justification and life. The Gospel from Matthew then presents Jesus as the new Adam, who resists temptation, embodying the obedience that restores our relationship with God. These readings interconnect by tracing the arc of sin and redemption. Genesis introduces the problem of sin, Romans provides the theological understanding of salvation through Christ, and Matthew exemplifies this salvation in action through Jesus' temptations. Together, they reveal a narrative of creation, fall, and redemption, highlighting God's plan to restore humanity. In our daily lives, these readings remind us that we all face temptations and struggles with sin, but through faith and obedience, we can overcome them. Just as Jesus resisted Satan by relying on God's word, we too can find strength in prayer and scripture. The moral lesson is clear: our struggles are not in vain, for through Christ, we are offered grace and the power to live justly. Let us embrace this hope, trusting in God's redeeming love to guide us through life's challenges.