Memorial of Saint Scholastica, Virgin

“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.”

God forbid the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil with the following words: “You are free to eat from any of the trees of the garden except the tree of knowledge of good and bad. From that tree you shall not eat; the moment you eat from it you are surely doomed to die.” Notice how the serpent begins his temptation of Eve. He exaggerates what is forbidden in such a way to make God’s command sound unreasonable. Of course, Eve corrects the serpent, but her reply misstates God’s commandment to include touching the fruit. Lastly, the serpent rejects the commandment completely and then promises that breaking it will make Eve like a god. This is how temptation works, it first makes God’s Will sound unreasonable, and then it leads us to exaggerate the burdens involved with following God’s Will. Finally, temptation asks us to reject God’s Will and replace it with our own opinions and desires. Dialogue with evil always ends in sin. This is why we should ignore our temptations, avoid listening to them, and instead turn away from them and focus our minds and hearts on God’s Will.

Do we exaggerate the burdens our faith places upon us? Do we listen to our temptations and let them convince us that we know better than God? How can we close our ears to the alluring voice of evil and instead follow God’s Will?

O Lord, we want to serve your will and not our own.

Amen.