God’s Grace Heals Human Frailty

The Collect for the First Sunday in Lent.

Almighty God, whose blessed Son was led by the Spirit to be tempted by Satan: Come quickly to help us who are assaulted by many temptations, and, as you know the weaknesses of each of us, let each one find you mighty to save; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.   

It didn’t take long for humanity to become estranged from our Creator. And, it sure didn’t take long for us to learn that we can blame others for our own actions. Just look at what Adam said in Genesis 3:12 when God confronted him about the apple in the Garden of Eden, and he not only blamed Eve, but insinuated that it was God’s fault as well: “The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit of the tree, and I ate.” It probably never occurred to Adam that he could have been obedient to God and refused to eat what Eve had given him. Instead, he threw Eve under the proverbial bus. He was condemned, however, and the penalty was death, both spiritually and physically. And because of Adam’s disobedience, humanity was condemned as well.

Today, we are assaulted by many temptations throughout the day and night as the Collect says. Probably over half of what we see, read and hear on the news today deals with violence, injustice, sexual immorality and oppression … all of which are designed to incite our senses. It’s a well-known tactic, by the media, called negative bias which means, in short, people are drawn to the dark side of what is destructive and morally wrong. For many, though, being barraged constantly with negative news can lead to despair.

But Anglican mercy is not about despair. It’s about honestly acknowledging our frailty, our weaknesses, and in seeking of our Lord’s divine mercy, His healing mercy of obedience, in contrast to Adams disobedience. As the Collect of the Day says, “you know the weaknesses of each of us”. Our relationship with Jesus is then personal. It’s not abstract. God’s omniscience is wonderfully captured in Psalm 139:4 “Even before a word is on my tongue, behold, O LORD, you know it altogether.” While human frailty may be universal, salvation comes from Him who was tempted in the wilderness and has overcome temptation.

Because of Adam’s disobedience, humanity has been locked in a prison, one of sin, and condemned to death. Yet, we have an advocate before God. As 1 John 2:1–2 tells us “if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world.” We come before the throne of grace to acknowledge our sins before God, not because He doesn’t know them, but because we actually agree with him and seek His mercy. A mercy which is His alone to give for it’s not something that we have earned. It is solely because of Christ’s advocacy that we are declared “not guilty” and set free to go forth to love and serve the Lord.

As we enter this season of Lent, we should do so on our knees, humbly acknowledging our sins before God while kneeling in awe of His saving grace. Some of our sins are presumptuous and others are hidden in the recesses of our minds. Through fasting, studying and praying, especially the Penitential Office within historical prayer books, can we prepare ourselves for His glorious resurrection we will celebrate this Easter.

Bibliography:

Portions of this article were drafted with the assistance of Microsoft Copilot and Logos, Legacy Edition; all theological judgements and final wording are the author’s own.

Witmer, J. A. (1985). Romans. In J. F. Walvoord & R. B. Zuck (Eds.), The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures (Vol. 2, pp. 458–460). Victor Books.

Reumann, J. (2003). Romans. In J. D. G. Dunn & J. W. Rogerson (Eds.), Eerdmans Commentary on the Bible (pp. 1292–1293). William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company