1st Sunday of Lent

The LORD God formed man out of the clay of the ground and blew into his nostrils

the breath of life, and so man became a living being. Then the LORD God planted a

garden in Eden, in the east, and placed there the man whom he had formed. Out of the

ground the LORD God made various trees grow that were delightful to look at and

good for food, with the tree of life in the middle of the garden and the tree of the

knowledge of good and evil. Now the serpent was the most cunning of all the animals

that the LORD God had made. The serpent asked the woman, "Did God really tell you

not to eat from any of the trees in the garden?" The woman answered the serpent: "We

may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden; it is only about the fruit of the tree in the

middle of the garden that God said, 'You shall not eat it or even touch it, lest you die.'"

But the serpent said to the woman: "You certainly will not die! No, God knows well

that the moment you eat of it your eyes will be opened and you will be like gods who

know what is good and what is evil." The woman saw that the tree was good for food,

pleasing to the eyes, and desirable for gaining wisdom. So she took some of its fruit

and ate it; and she also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it.

Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized that they were naked; so

they sewed fig leaves together and made loincloths for themselves.

Brothers and sisters: Through one man sin entered the world, and through sin, death,

and thus death came to all men, inasmuch as all sinned for up to the time of the law,

sin was in the world, though sin is not accounted when there is no law. But death

reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those who did not sin after the pattern of the

trespass of Adam, who is the type of the one who was to come. But the gift is not like

the transgression. For if by the transgression of the one, the many died, how much

more did the grace of God and the gracious gift of the one man Jesus Christ overflow

for the many. And the gift is not like the result of the one who sinned. For after one sin

there was the judgment that brought condemnation; but the gift, after many

transgressions, brought acquittal. For if, by the transgression of the one, death came to

reign through that one, how much more will those who receive the abundance of grace

and of the gift of justification come to reign in life through the one Jesus Christ. In

conclusion, just as through one transgression condemnation came upon all, so, through

one righteous act, acquittal and life came to all. For just as through the disobedience of

the one man the many were made sinners, so, through the obedience of the one, the

many will be made righteous.

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, command that these stones

become loaves of bread." He said in reply, "It is written: One does not live on bread

alone, but on every word that comes forth from the mouth of God." Then the devil

took him to the holy city, and made him stand on the parapet of the temple, and said to

him, "If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down. For it is written: He will

command his angels concerning you and with their hands they will support you, lest

you dash your foot against a stone." Jesus answered him, "Again it is written, you shall

not put the Lord, your God, to the test." Then the devil took him up to a very high

mountain, and showed him all the kingdoms of the world in their magnificence, and he

said to him, "All these I shall give to you, if you will prostrate yourself and worship

me." At this, Jesus said to him, "Get away, Satan! It is written: The Lord, your God,

shall you worship and him alone shall you serve. "Then the devil left him and, behold,

angels came and ministered to him.