Sunday, March 13, 2011 (First Sunday of Lent)

First Reading: Genesis 2:7-9; 3:1-7

7 then the LORD God formed man of dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being.

8 And the LORD God planted a garden in Eden, in the east; and there he put the man whom he had formed.

9 And out of the ground the LORD God made to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food, the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

Psalm: Psalm 51:3-6, 12-13, 17

3 For I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me.

4 Against thee, thee only, have I sinned, and done that which is evil in thy sight, so that thou art justified in thy sentence and blameless in thy judgment.

5 Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me.

6 Behold, thou desirest truth in the inward being; therefore teach me wisdom in my secret heart.

12 Restore to me the joy of thy salvation, and uphold me with a willing spirit.

13 Then I will teach transgressors thy ways, and sinners will return to thee.

17 The sacrifice acceptable to God is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.

Second Reading: Romans 5:12-19 or 5:12, 17-19

12 Therefore as sin came into the world through one man and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all men sinned --

13 sin indeed was in the world before the law was given, but sin is not counted where there is no law.

14 Yet death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those whose sins were not like the transgression of Adam, who was a type of the one who was to come.

15 But the free gift is not like the trespass. For if many died through one man's trespass, much more have the grace of God and the free gift in the grace of that one man Jesus Christ abounded for many.

16 And the free gift is not like the effect of that one man's sin. For the judgment following one trespass brought condemnation, but the free gift following many trespasses brings justification.

17 If, because of one man's trespass, death reigned through that one man, much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man Jesus Christ.

18 Then as one man's trespass led to condemnation for all men, so one man's act of righteousness leads to acquittal and life for all men.

19 For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by one man's obedience many will be made righteous.

Gospel: Matthew 4:1-11

1 Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.

2 And he fasted forty days and forty nights, and afterward he was hungry.

3 And the tempter came and said to him, "If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread."

4 But he answered, "It is written, `Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.'"

5 Then the devil took him to the holy city, and set him on the pinnacle of the temple,

6 and said to him, "If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down; for it is written, `He will give his angels charge of you,' and `On their hands they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone.'"

7 Jesus said to him, "Again it is written, `You shall not tempt the Lord your God.'"

8 Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain, and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and the glory of them;

9 and he said to him, "All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me."

10 Then Jesus said to him, "Begone, Satan! for it is written, `You shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve.'"

11 Then the devil left him, and behold, angels came and ministered to him.