Tuesday of Lent 1

Tuesday of Lent 1 – March 3, 2020 –Romans 5:12
 

[1]

1 In Adam we have all been one,
    One huge rebellious man;
We all have fled that evening voice
    That sought us as we ran. [2]

Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, so also death was passed on to all men, because all sinned." - Romans 5:12

We’re stuck under sin’s tyranny. The result is the reign of death, sin’s ally, over us. However, Adam’s act of disobedience has been overcome by the more powerful obedience of Jesus (his faithful death on the cross). Just as we once had our identity and our deadly destiny in Adam, so now we have a new identity and a new destiny of righteousness and life in Christ.

The hymn writer echoes the event, which follow Adam and Eve’s fall into sin. “And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden. But the Lord God called to the man and said to him, “Where are you? (Genesis 3:8-9) We’re quite good at hiding ourselves from God, from members of our family, from our community when God asks, “where are you?” 

God knows exactly where you are! He wasn’t looking for a missing person when He asked Adam and Eve where they were hiding—He wanted them to understand the full ramifications of what they had done. God wanted them to experience the painful realization that they were now alienated from Him. Just as He asked Adam and Eve, the Lord asks each of us, “Where are you?”

It’s so easy for us to hide somewhere behind the bushes of denial and blame-shifting. It didn’t work for our first parents nor does it work for us either. Instead, we confess our sin and in faith run headlong to the open and welcoming arms of Jesus who bore our sin in His body that we might be redeemed from all of our offenses. The story of salvation started with a simple question. Ponder it today, “Where are you?” 

Grant to your people, Lord, grace to withstand the temptations of the world, the flesh and the devil, and with pure hearts and minds to follow you, the only True God; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever. Amen [3]

1 Image: Adam and Eve hide themselves, Schnorr von Carolsfeld woodcuts © WELS for personal and congregational use

2 In Adam We Have All Been One © 1969 Concordia Publishing House. Used by permission: LSB Hymn License .NET, no. 100013721.

3 Collect for Tuesday of Lent 1, http://www.liturgies.net/Lent/LentenCollects.htm