First Sunday of Lent
Call To Action's 2023 Lenten Calendar is a collaboration between the Anti-Racism Team (ART) and Indigenous Solidarity Collective. This calendar provides more than 40 days of prayer and study to guide our discernment of racial justice and lead us into solidarity with Indigenous communities. For each Sunday and holy day during Lent, we'll publish a reflection from an ART or Indigenous Solidarity Collective member. Following the reflection, we’ll feature a call to action from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada as well as discussion questions for your own meditation.
First Sunday of Lent: February 26, 2023
“A lot of times, when we look at people we admire spiritually; we think they have arrived at this place where they cease to be tempted. The reality is, our faith may grow stronger over time, but the temptations never go away. It is hard for me to imagine that I will still feel tempted at 60, but when I was 20 I couldn’t imagine I would feel such strong temptation as I do at almost 40.”
Today’s first reading is a text I love deeply—but I didn't uncover its full meaning until I was an adult. It’s a story we hear from a very young age; a story shared among the Abrahamic faiths (though each tradition has its own interpretations).
In the Garden of Eden, a serpent tempts Eve to eat the forbidden fruit. Eve gives offers the fruit to Adam, thus ushering sin into this world. God kicks Adam and Eve out of the garden for disobedience, condemning them to mortality. The moral of this story? We must endure the consequences of our transgressions.
There is a crucial part of this narrative that changes the dynamics of what happened that fateful day in the garden. The conversation between Eve and the serpent is written as a series of questions and answers. Eve answers to the best of her knowledge until the final question about the forbidden tree (there were actually two forbidden trees, but that’s for another time). Eve truly believes that if she eats the fruit from the tree in the middle of the garden, she will physically die. When the serpent corrects Eve and shares that the fruit will bring wisdom, Eve is convinced enough to try the fruit and even share it with Adam. The nature of that particular fruit was to impart the knowledge of good and evil, and so, Adam and Eve both ate before they knew the difference between good and evil. Without proper preparation, Adam and Eve had no idea what was in store for them.
As soon as Adam and Eve attained this knowledge, “the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made loincloths for themselves.” (Gn 3:7) For the first time, they felt fear and shame. They were forced to leave the garden, the place of innocence, and enter a landscape of struggle and burden.
This is where we find Jesus in today's Gospel: burdened and alone in the desert.
There are some key differences between the encounters of Eve and Jesus with the serpent. Eve and Adam had no idea what the serpent was up to that day in the garden. However, Jesus knew who was waiting in the wilderness and the nature of the tempter. He also understood why this trial was happening: This was a time to solidify self-identity and overcome the desire for power that all human beings experience. Jesus prepared for years through studying the Hebrew scriptures and intense prayer. As a result, Jesus is able to skillfully counter every one of the devil’s temptations with scripture. Adam and Eve did not have the same knowledge or opportunity.
We walk through our lives as both Adam and Eve and Jesus. There are times when we are unprepared to face the trials and challenges that come our way. Other times, we know what’s coming and equip ourselves to resist and overcome. Lent presents a valuable opportunity to enrich our existing array of spiritual resources and discover new ones.
Strengthening our conscience and attaining this knowledge of good and evil is essential for those of us working toward justice. Today, let’s make a promise to ourselves to find one thing that will draw us closer to God and fortify our souls. In doing this, we will be better equipped to walk this sometimes harsh landscape of life and plant the seeds of a new, vibrant, and welcoming garden.
—Reflection by Executive Director Donna Tarney
Suggestions for Almsgiving
As part of your Lenten practice, please consider donating to one or more of the following organizations:
Discussion Questions
What is the most challenging temptation in my life right now?
In what ways am I challenged when it comes to being an ally?
Which spiritual resources can help me in this anti-racism, anti-oppression work?
About the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada
Between 2007 and 2015, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada recorded the testimonies of more than 6,000 First Nations people across Canada either directly or indirectly affected by the residential school system. In June 2015, the commission released a final report with 94 calls to action directed at the Canadian government. The final 52 calls to action focus on reconciliatory policy implementation for the dismantling of systemic racism against Indigenous Peoples in Canada.
Call to Action 48
Settlement Agreement Parties and the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples
48. We call upon the church parties to the Settlement Agreement, and all other faith groups and interfaith social justice groups in Canada who have not already done so, to formally adopt and comply with the principles, norms, and standards of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples as a framework for reconciliation. This would include, but not be limited to, the following commitments:
i. Ensuring that their institutions, policies, programs, and practices comply with the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
ii. Respecting Indigenous peoples’ right to self-determination in spiritual matters, including the right to practise, develop, and teach their own spiritual and religious traditions, customs, and ceremonies, consistent with Article 12:1 of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
iii. Engaging in ongoing public dialogue and actions to support the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
iv. Issuing a statement no later than March 31, 2016, from all religious denominations and faith groups, as to how they will implement the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
