Genesis, our first reading, (2:7-9; 3:1-7), tells us of the creative power of God: He created human beings. He created the Garden of Eden, with all the trees of beauty and food for life. He created Wisdom (Truth). We see the good created by God.

Genesis also tells us that while the good, formed by the Wisdom or Truth of God, exists for benefit of humanity, evil, which is formed in the absence of God, is meant to temp humanity and to provide untruth or misinformation as a counter to the Truth. As we see in the story of the serpent and the woman in the Garden, Free Will is a gift from God, how we use it comes down to faith. This story, in essence, is a story about humanity’s willingness to make bad personal choices when the choice to respect and seek the excellence of others would the better choice.

In our second reading from St. Paul to the Romans, St. Paul speaks about Original Sin, which came through Adam and impacts all generations, and the Righteous Act of Christ, which also impacts all peoples—for the good; and, finally Free Will—and the desires of the human person.

In the Matthean (4: 1-11) Gospel this weekend, we hear about the Temptations of Jesus in the desert. The introduction begins with “At that time Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil. He fasted for forty days and forty nights, and afterwards he was hungry. The tempter approached and said to him, "If you are the Son of God…” and Jesus shall be tempted three times: first to turn stones into bread, second to throw Himself down from the parapet of the temple, and finally to temp the Lord God by praising something other than God Himself. In all these temptations, the devil tells the Lord that God will provide…if He is the Son of God. In the end, Jesus tells the Evil One to ‘Get away, Satan!”

What wonderful readings for Lent and especially appropriate for our culture today.

We live in a world where, according to the daily news stories, evil is a popularly chosen and lived experience. Nightly the news covers senseless murders at colleges, elementary schools, movie theaters, work places, and bars to offer a sampling. Corruption reigns as the pensions of the elderly are stolen, and government appropriations are spent not on intended projects and programs but rather go to bureaucratic whims. And anger has become the fuel of cancel culture and politics—all meant to divide rather than unite. In all these things, common denominator is Free Will or one’s own choice.

So shall we listen to the “serpents” du jour spewing out enticing lies and misinformation on numerous subjects, or will we choose Truth and be motivated to act in accordance with Righteousness? The act of Free Will should require us to make a choice based on a well-formed conscience, formed in Truth and facts, not emotions. Will we begin our search for Truth in faith? Will we seek the Word built upon Love and the search for the excellence of others (all) or will we go for the heated words hoping to raise emotions and lead us, like the serpent did to Eve, to seek the self or become a “god” herself? May the Word of God and His Grace and Love instill in us the desire to go for Truth.