LENT 1
Worship
Scripture Notes
For use with Common, Lutheran and Roman Catholic Lectionaries
God's gifts of life and free will, mankind's choice of sin and disobedience, mankind's need for forgiveness and redemption, and God's gifts of grace and forgiveness, especially through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus the Christ who resisted evil and temptation and was obedient to God - these are the great themes of the texts selected for Lent 1 in Series A.
Except for the specifically Christian solution in Jesus as the Lord and Savior, these are the great themes within all of the major religions that had their origin in the Ancient Near East (Judaism, Zoroastrianism, Christianity, and Islam, and their many derivatives). It will be well for us, therefore, on Lent 1 to look at the big picture that shall be elaborated upon during the entire Lenten Season and not become bogged down in minor details on this occasion.
Common:
Genesis 2:4b-9, 15-17, 25--3:7
Lutheran: Genesis 2:7-9, 15-17; 3:1-7
Roman Catholic: Genesis 2:7-9; 3:1-7
If we insist that this group of readings contains a record of precisely what happened between God, Adam and Eve, and the serpent, we shall have some very serious theological problems. We might even have to say that it appears that God set a trap for these young, innocent, idyllic people, Adam and Eve, with the tree of the knowledge of good and evil and that, with only slight prodding from the clever serpent, Eve and then Adam fell into the trap that God had set for them. Once this had occurred, God had to condemn them to death as God had threatened to do. Since God must know everything, God must have known that they would fall into sin. If God had been certain that they would sin, why did God set them up in a situation such as this? If this group of readings contains a record of precisely what happened, what kind of God is God?
On the other hand, if we have some awareness of the nature of religious language and of the use of storytelling to convey a theological message, we can approach the great subject under consideration here in a much different manner. Then we can see that perceptive early Israelites, believing in God as Creator-Redeemer to whom they were accountable, reflected theologically on the human situation as they saw it, and claiming the inspiration of God to validate their explanation, with inspired creativity developed this story of the first man and the first woman, of good and evil in pristine form, of the serpent, and of their own mortality. This story - so familiar to us now that we can practically visualize every detail, even (thanks to movies and video-tapes) of a snake crawling in a tree - expresses the human condition over against God as the early Israelites and their Jahwistic literary tradition perceived it. The story that they told was related so well that even small children could and still can gain understanding from it. Children can perceive it as a fascinating fable in which there is actual fruit and a snake that talks. Adults can recognize in the story what these early People of God believed about their origins and their present situation. The story is true, valid, even historical in the best sense of history, in the message that it conveys. Then we ask not, "Why did God set such a trap for that poor, simple, young woman Eve?" but "Is this not the way it is for me today also?" Then we can say, "God permits me to sin, and I sin. I cannot blame God for that. I can thank God, however, that God provides grace and forgiveness, particularly in Jesus as my Lord and Savior."
Common, Lutheran: Psalm 130
The depths of the sin of each of us becomes vivid for us as we join the psalmist in this agonizing individual lament. How often have we used it in funeral services! As Christians, we should adapt verses 7-8 to our situation by saying, "O my people! Hope in the Lord! And the Lord will redeem us from all of our sins." Material was freely adapted within the biblical traditions, as we see in our comparisons of texts. Should we not continue to adapt biblical materials, following the biblical patterns, in our time, as we do in our liturgical traditions?
Roman Catholic: Psalm 51:3-6, 12-14, 17
In this most excellent individual lament, the individual sinner - each of us - is brought face to face with God. We recognize evil as evil and sin as sin. There is no attempt to evade God or to avoid blame. There is faith in God and in God's mercy. There is such great faith in God that there is no necessity of God saying anything. Joy and salvation are restored.
Common, Roman Catholic: Romans 5:12-19
Lutheran: Romans 5:12 (13-16) 17-19
Paul provides a specifically Christian solution to the problems that we face in our human condition. Unlike Genesis 2-3 and Matthew 4:1-11, Paul did not use a vivid story to express his message and to share the good news. Paul used what he considered to be a persuasive, logical argument in comparing the one man Adam who sinned to the one man Jesus Christ who was obedient to God. We note how freely Paul adapted the Genesis 2-3 material in his presentation of his message of good news here and in Philippians 2:1-11. Paul did not even blame the woman Eve here for the sin that spread to all people. Therefore, once again on this occasion the gospel is in the epistle!
Matthew 4:1-11
In the Gospel of Jesus Christ (Mark) it is merely stated that Jesus had been driven by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by Satan. The Matthean and the Lukan traditions (and perhaps Q traditions before them) chose to go farther to provide a vivid story complete with Satan in human form leading Jesus around and quoting Scripture texts to him. Is there any new religion among those that have their origin in the Ancient Near East in which the primary founder of the religion is not acclaimed as the hero of faith who triumphantly overcame every human temptation? The stories differ in their details, but the stories are always there, and they are helpful to us, especially when we recognize them as stories that have great theological significance for us.
Except for the specifically Christian solution in Jesus as the Lord and Savior, these are the great themes within all of the major religions that had their origin in the Ancient Near East (Judaism, Zoroastrianism, Christianity, and Islam, and their many derivatives). It will be well for us, therefore, on Lent 1 to look at the big picture that shall be elaborated upon during the entire Lenten Season and not become bogged down in minor details on this occasion.
Common:
Genesis 2:4b-9, 15-17, 25--3:7
Lutheran: Genesis 2:7-9, 15-17; 3:1-7
Roman Catholic: Genesis 2:7-9; 3:1-7
If we insist that this group of readings contains a record of precisely what happened between God, Adam and Eve, and the serpent, we shall have some very serious theological problems. We might even have to say that it appears that God set a trap for these young, innocent, idyllic people, Adam and Eve, with the tree of the knowledge of good and evil and that, with only slight prodding from the clever serpent, Eve and then Adam fell into the trap that God had set for them. Once this had occurred, God had to condemn them to death as God had threatened to do. Since God must know everything, God must have known that they would fall into sin. If God had been certain that they would sin, why did God set them up in a situation such as this? If this group of readings contains a record of precisely what happened, what kind of God is God?
On the other hand, if we have some awareness of the nature of religious language and of the use of storytelling to convey a theological message, we can approach the great subject under consideration here in a much different manner. Then we can see that perceptive early Israelites, believing in God as Creator-Redeemer to whom they were accountable, reflected theologically on the human situation as they saw it, and claiming the inspiration of God to validate their explanation, with inspired creativity developed this story of the first man and the first woman, of good and evil in pristine form, of the serpent, and of their own mortality. This story - so familiar to us now that we can practically visualize every detail, even (thanks to movies and video-tapes) of a snake crawling in a tree - expresses the human condition over against God as the early Israelites and their Jahwistic literary tradition perceived it. The story that they told was related so well that even small children could and still can gain understanding from it. Children can perceive it as a fascinating fable in which there is actual fruit and a snake that talks. Adults can recognize in the story what these early People of God believed about their origins and their present situation. The story is true, valid, even historical in the best sense of history, in the message that it conveys. Then we ask not, "Why did God set such a trap for that poor, simple, young woman Eve?" but "Is this not the way it is for me today also?" Then we can say, "God permits me to sin, and I sin. I cannot blame God for that. I can thank God, however, that God provides grace and forgiveness, particularly in Jesus as my Lord and Savior."
Common, Lutheran: Psalm 130
The depths of the sin of each of us becomes vivid for us as we join the psalmist in this agonizing individual lament. How often have we used it in funeral services! As Christians, we should adapt verses 7-8 to our situation by saying, "O my people! Hope in the Lord! And the Lord will redeem us from all of our sins." Material was freely adapted within the biblical traditions, as we see in our comparisons of texts. Should we not continue to adapt biblical materials, following the biblical patterns, in our time, as we do in our liturgical traditions?
Roman Catholic: Psalm 51:3-6, 12-14, 17
In this most excellent individual lament, the individual sinner - each of us - is brought face to face with God. We recognize evil as evil and sin as sin. There is no attempt to evade God or to avoid blame. There is faith in God and in God's mercy. There is such great faith in God that there is no necessity of God saying anything. Joy and salvation are restored.
Common, Roman Catholic: Romans 5:12-19
Lutheran: Romans 5:12 (13-16) 17-19
Paul provides a specifically Christian solution to the problems that we face in our human condition. Unlike Genesis 2-3 and Matthew 4:1-11, Paul did not use a vivid story to express his message and to share the good news. Paul used what he considered to be a persuasive, logical argument in comparing the one man Adam who sinned to the one man Jesus Christ who was obedient to God. We note how freely Paul adapted the Genesis 2-3 material in his presentation of his message of good news here and in Philippians 2:1-11. Paul did not even blame the woman Eve here for the sin that spread to all people. Therefore, once again on this occasion the gospel is in the epistle!
Matthew 4:1-11
In the Gospel of Jesus Christ (Mark) it is merely stated that Jesus had been driven by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by Satan. The Matthean and the Lukan traditions (and perhaps Q traditions before them) chose to go farther to provide a vivid story complete with Satan in human form leading Jesus around and quoting Scripture texts to him. Is there any new religion among those that have their origin in the Ancient Near East in which the primary founder of the religion is not acclaimed as the hero of faith who triumphantly overcame every human temptation? The stories differ in their details, but the stories are always there, and they are helpful to us, especially when we recognize them as stories that have great theological significance for us.
