The First Sunday in Lent

For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the Spirit.

+In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.

Good morning, everyone! A blessed Lent to all of you! Last Wednesday we began our Lenten journey with Jesus to Jerusalem, then to Gethsemane, then to the Cross, and then to the tomb. You may have noticed in our Scripture lessons for today that we are given several “snapshots” of Jesus’ ministry. First, we have Jesus’ baptism—which we are already familiar with since we read that passage about a month ago. Then we have Jesus’ temptation in the desert. Then in our Epistle reading we hear St. Peter’s discussion of Jesus’s death, descent into hell, resurrection, and ascension into heaven and what it means for us.

All of these “snapshots” of Jesus’ ministry follow a pattern I want you to notice: Jesus prepares the way for you and me to die to the flesh (sin and death) and be resurrected to new life (in the Spirit) and be restored to relationship with God the Father.

Jesus prepares the way in Baptism: As we discussed last month, Jesus’ baptism was different from ours in that His baptism was not a baptism of repentance and a cleansing from sin, but rather a baptism of commissioning for His ministry as the Son of God and the Savior of the world, and His identification as a member of humanity whom He had come to save. But His baptism was an example for us to follow. Just as He was baptized, so we too are baptized. Our baptism is a sign not only of repentance, but of cleansing from sin and an identification with Jesus. As St. Peter writes, “Baptism, which corresponds to this (Noah and his family delivered from sin and death through the ark and the Flood), now saves you, not as a removal of dirt from the body but as an appeal to God for a good conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ.” (1 Peter 3:21) Through our identification with Jesus in Baptism, we appropriate His saving works on our behalf.

Jesus prepares the way in His Temptation: Jesus’ temptation in the desert takes place right after His Baptism and God the Father’s declaration that Jesus is His beloved Son. Jesus goes into the wilderness, the wild and lonely place, where He fasts and prays and is then tempted by Satan. Now St. Mark doesn’t go into any detail as St. Matthew and St. Luke do in their account of this event. We know from Matthew and Luke that Jesus is tempted in a particular way—Jesus is tempted to use His identity as the Son of God for His own personal satisfaction and glory, to go outside the Father’s will and purpose for His earthly ministry. Or, as Bishop Fulton Sheen so eloquently put it, to be the Savior without going to the Cross. But unlike Adam and Eve, our first parents, who were tempted and then sinned in the Garden, Jesus, the second Adam, is victorious over Satan and temptation in the desert.

Jesus’ victory over temptation reinforces His identity as the sinless Son of God. Jesus, as both God and Man, will be the perfect sacrifice on the Cross for the sins of the human race. Adam and Eve, our first parents, succumbed to temptation and sinned, bringing sin into the human race, which has been a curse ever since. Jesus is human in every way, except that He did not sin, even when tempted. Because Jesus was victorious over temptation, therefore, we too can be victorious over temptation because all of us who are baptized are now in Christ. We can draw upon His power and presence to win the victory over temptation and sin.

Jesus prepares the way in His death: St. Peter writes, “For Christ suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the Spirit (1 Peter 3:18). This is the Gospel message—that Jesus Christ, the divine Son of God, came to earth as a man to be the perfect sacrifice for sinful humanity. Jesus’ death on the Cross was the atoning sacrifice for us. Through His death, we have been set free from the penalty of sin and death and be restored to relationship with the Father and to live the divine life of God.

Jesus prepares the way in His descent into Hell: St. Peter then writes, “in which He went and proclaimed to the spirits in prison, because they formerly did not obey…(1 Peter 3:19-20) The Apostles’ Creed says “He descended into Hell.” What does this mean? Literally, it means that when Jesus died on the Cross and was in the tomb for three days, His soul went to Hell to proclaim His victory to the spirits there. Those who had died before Jesus came (the patriarchs and the prophets) were given the chance to hear the Gospel and believe in Jesus and be delivered. His coming was also a sign that the power of Hell over the human race had been broken by Christ’s victory.

Jesus prepares the way in His resurrection: Jesus’ resurrection was the sign of His victory over sin and death. Therefore, all those who have been baptized into Jesus’ death have the promise of resurrection to eternal life. Just as Jesus was raised from the dead with a new glorified body, so, we too, will be physically resurrected at the Last Day, to worship and serve God for eternity.

Jesus prepares the way in His Ascension: St. Peter writes, “Jesus Christ, who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, with angels, authorities, and powers having been subjected to him” (1 Peter 3:21-22).  Jesus Christ, having been completely obedient to His Father’s will in all things, now sits at the Father’s right hand with all power and authority. And because of the Incarnation, humanity, in the Person of Jesus, now reigns in heaven. Therefore we, as members of the redeemed humanity, have been raised up into the heavenly realms through Christ Jesus. As Athanasius, the Church Father, once wrote, “He (God) was made human so that he might make us sons of God.” Through Christ, the human race has been elevated out of sin and death and we are now free to share in the divine life of God.

This holy season of Lent is an opportunity for us to walk with Jesus, and to reconnect with Him in His baptism, temptation, death, resurrection, and ascension. As we practice the Lenten disciplines of prayer, abstinence, fasting, and alms-giving, we are reminded once again of our need for a Savior, and that all of us who are baptized in Christ Jesus can have the victory over temptation, and ultimately, share in the divine life of Him who made us. As St. Augustine wrote, “You made us for Yourself, and our hearts are restless until they rest in You.”

​+In the name of the Father and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.