The Problem & the Solution

 

Deacon Dave · 260222_002

Homily for the First Sunday in Lent, February 22, 2026. Genesis 2:7-9, 3:1-7; Romans 5:12-19; Gospel of St. Matthew 4:1-11. Theme: The Problem & the Solution 

 The great scientist, Albert Einstein, was once asked what he would do if he had just one hour to solve a perplexing problem. He replied: “I’d spend 55 minutes getting to know the problem, and then I would only need 5 minutes to come up with the solution.” In other words, we can’t arrive at a successful solution if we don’t first really understand the problem. And this is exactly what our readings are hoping to do for us today on this First Sunday in Lent. The first one from Genesis investigates the root cause of a universal human Problem that resides within each one of us. And then the second reading from St. Paul shows us where we can find the Solution. 

 So, first we start with the Problem. Everyone knows by experience that there is something off-whack deep within us. It’s a kind of inner-force that moves us to say or do things that we know we shouldn’t but which makes them seem so darn appealing. At other times, this Problem manifests itself as a kind of emptiness within us that we try to fill up by doing more or by buying more or by becoming more. So, why do we have this inner disturbance? Where did it come from? How did it start? Well, to answer these questions the first reading brings us back to the beginning of the human race. It tells us the story in symbolic language that passes on some very important truths. It tells us about the creation of Adam and Eve, and how God gave them an ideal garden as their home. Its lushness represents the perfect life they lived in blissful harmony and intimacy with one another and with their Creator. But then something went terribly wrong that gave rise to what we now identify as the Problem. But to understand what happened, we have to take a closer look at the two special trees mentioned in the reading. 

 The Tree of Life symbolized the ideal existence humans enjoyed with one another and with God. This state of holiness and happiness was intended to last forever and be passed on to all of us who are their descendants. God very much desired this for them (and for us) and this is why the story says that the couple were welcome to eat freely of that fruit! But the other tree, the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, was forbidden to them. It symbolized the choice to sin which would allow evil to make its debut in the world. You see, up to this point the couple had no experience of sin because they had not yet eaten this forbidden fruit. 

 But their ideal life drastically changed when Satan came into the story. It pictures him as a serpent because to the Hebrews, such a creature represented danger, sickness, suffering and death. He slithered into the garden and sowed the poison of doubt about God’s goodness in Eve’s mind. She passed this temptation onto Adam and together they fell victim to the devil’s lies. They committed what we now call “original sin” because it took place near the origin or beginning of our creation. As a result, human beings lost access to the sweet fruit of the Tree of Life and now could only eat the bitter fruit of struggle and conflict, of angst and confusion. The subsequent chapters of the Book of Genesis show us that this original sin spread its infection to all mankind. 

 So, that’s how the Problem of Adam and Eve became our Problem. And the thing is that no matter how hard we try, we can’t overcome it on our own. We can’t fix ourselves. And it’s not that we don’t try! For goodness sakes, we collectively spend billions of dollars a year on self-improvement! We think that if we look better, if we dress better, if we have a better job, or move to a better place, or find a better spouse, or whatever, then we will finally be happy, peaceful and whole deep inside! But these things don’t do the trick because the Problem is something within us and not outside of us. It's a spiritual disease but we keep trying to medicate it with material remedies. 

 But fortunately, our Liturgy doesn’t leave us stranded at this dark spot of hopelessness. It goes on to the Second Reading from St. Paul who tells that there is indeed an effective spiritual remedy to the Problem. He bases his teaching on the fact that since it was a sinless man (Adam) who first brought evil into the world, then what humanity needed was another sinless man but one who would be far superior to Adam. He would need to be a man motivated by total love and who had such perfect obedience to God that it would undo what Adam’s selfishness and disobedience had done. But the dilemma was that no human being could fill this role because all descend from sinful fallen Adam, so all would be equal to or even less than him. This left humanity in a seemingly impossible predicament! 

 However, nothing is impossible to God who came up with the Solution and it was this: He himself would come down to planet Earth and become that Perfect Man, that New Adam. In him both divinity and humanity would come together and this would make him infinitely greater than the first Adam, and yet still a real man. This meant that everything that Jesus did, God was doing because he wasn’t a split personality! And so, every aspect of being human, from conception through death, was healed and sanctified from the inside out because God himself was doing it, God himself was experiencing it. And to illustrate that Jesus is indeed the Solution, the Gospel today presents us with the story of how this Perfect Man, this New Adam, triumphed over Satan’s temptations. It’s the polar opposite of how the Problem first started in the first place in the garden when Satan was the one who had the victory! It assures us that from the very start of his mission as the Messiah, Christ pushed the Reset Button that put humanity back on our original track with God. 

 But as with any Solution, it can’t work if it’s not put into practice! So, the most important thing for us this Lent is to intentionally recommit to following Jesus so that through him, with him and in him we can push the Reset Button in our own personal lives. The very purpose of Lent is that we refocus on our personal connection with Christ and deepen our union with Him. We can do this in many ways but especially through a more mindful reception of the Eucharist and by daily prayer with meditation on his Gospel. Lent invites us to join with Jesus in overcoming the Problem by fasting which strengthens our spiritual muscles and by giving alms for the poor which helps us to share in his compassion for others. Then as the 40 days of Lent move forward, and if we keep faithfully applying this Jesus-Solution in our lives, we will see that the Problem is becoming less of an issue and we can have a more sure hope that by the time Easter comes around, we’ll start tasting the sweet fruit of the Tree of Life once again.