Lent I

The First Sunday of Lent

Genesis 2:7-9, 3:1-7; Psalm 51; Romans 5:12-19; Matthew 4:1-11

David Shannon wrote a children’s book entitled, “No, David!”*

David’s mom always said…No David! Don’t write on the wall with crayons, David!

Don’t stand on a chair and reach for the cookies, David! Don’t walk in the house covered in mud, David, no!

David! Be quiet! David, don’t play with your food! David, go to your room! Don’t jump on your bed!

Don’t pick your nose, David! Put your toys away! I said no, David!

It all began the first time our parents said “No!” to us. That is why they are called the ‘terrible twos’ but not for the reason we may think. The ‘terrible’ is not just the experience of many parents but of ourselves. That first “No!” devastated our lives. Life has limits!

“You are free to eat from any of the trees of the garden except the tree of knowledge of good and evil”.  ‘Except’. What a terrifying word that is. It sets limits. It declares there are some things we cannot do, should not do. It is like a dagger into the heart of what we consider ‘freedom’. Or so we think.

To consider limits means to reflect on our understanding of freedom. How many of us believe that we can do anything we want, at all times, without taking into consideration the consequences, or how it affects other people, including ourselves?

Isn’t that the understanding of ‘freedom’ for many people today as we scream in each other faces at rallies and protests or through social media?

Despite all the senseless murders, isn’t this unbridled understanding of freedom that which underlies the issue of guns, the Second Amendment and any common sense remedies?

Despite the devastation to the earth, isn’t this unbridled understanding of freedom that which supports corporations and governments in their continued acts of deforestation, strip mining, damming up ancient rivers or building highways and walls that affect the migrations of animals and balanced patterns the planet formed millennia before we humans arrived on the scene.

Unbridled freedom. We want it all. But are we free? Or are we living lives of license? And what is the difference?

Consider. The tree of knowledge of good and evil is a delight to the eyes, good for food and desirable for gaining wisdom. Why do you think God made this one exception? Was the serpent correct in that God would be jealous if we could determine good from evil like the gods? Despite that we haven’t done such a good job of making that determination over time, have we?

God has shown us from the beginning that true freedom has constraints. Some imposed from outside of us; others imposed by us.

Consider the ultimate example of freedom within limits that God gave us in the Incarnation of his Son. The incomprehensible and infinite God by choice limits God–self to a finite, vulnerable human being who will die, experiencing the final consequence of the garden. Is Jesus any less God by being limited? Is a hungry Jesus any less free by his choice not to turn stones into bread? Is Jesus any less divine by not blatantly exercising his divine authority and jumping off the temple parapet? Is Jesus any less God by dying?  All these limitations upon Jesus – God. Who is truly free? We without limitations or Jesus with limitations?

Otherwise what you have is excess, lawlessness, recklessness, blame, lack of self-control and responsibility. Does any of that sound familiar to you? Doesn’t ‘license’ better define our times than ‘freedom’?

Aren’t there good reasons there are signs that tell us: Speed Limit 65 – 20 in a School Zone? Isn’t the issue safety for all of us?

Aren’t there good reasons why religious communities for millennia have put restraints around sexual activity? Isn’t the issue the sacredness and dignity of people, the coherence of relationships and the larger community?

Aren’t there good reasons why there are age limits for voting, obtaining a driver’s license, getting married or purchasing alcohol? Isn’t the issue individual maturity and the health of the larger society?

Consider the consequences of living outside any limits. The man blamed God and the woman who in turn blamed the serpent. Yes, they gained knowledge but at the price of shame as they covered their nakedness. And did the physical nakedness not reveal the raw nakedness of a false perception of freedom that we can do anything we want. And then the final consequence, death; death of the spirit, death of relationships between the humans, God, and creation.

Lent is about limits. Recall the words of Ash Wednesday: “Remember, you are dust…” reminding us of the ultimate limit. Fasting. Limiting food for the sake of the hungry. Prayer. Limiting our activities to acknowledge our neediness, a limitation in itself, for the sake of humility. Alms-giving. Limiting what we purchase so that people might have the basics of life.

Lent is about freedom. Freedom in Jesus Christ.

David’s mom always said…No David!…for good reason. Limits offer us a freedom which allows us to flourish.

_{*No, David! By David Shannon, The Blue Sky Press, An Imprint of Scholastic Inc., New York, 1998.}