Why is there evil in the world? If God is good, why do bad things happen? These are not idle questions. They arise when someone we love suffers. They come when we see violence, injustice, or betrayal. They surface quietly in our own hearts when we recognise weakness, regret, or shame. Lent begins by taking these questions seriously.

The first reading takes us back to the beginning. The story of Adam and Eve is not a scientific account, but it reveals something deeply true about the human condition. God creates a world that is good. Humanity is placed in a garden, a place of abundance and beauty. Everything is given as gift.

The serpent does not tempt with something obviously wicked. The temptation is subtle. “You will be like God,” he says (Genesis 3:5, ESV). The lie is not simply about fruit. It is about independence. It is the suggestion that we do not need God, that we can decide good and evil for ourselves, that freedom means self-sufficiency.

This is the root of sin. Evil does not begin because God creates it. It begins because humanity chooses to distrust the Giver of life. The desire to grasp, to control, to define everything on our own terms – this is the fracture at the heart of the story. When trust is broken, harmony is lost. When dependence is rejected, the world becomes disordered.

We see this pattern repeated again and again. Nations grasp at power. Individuals protect pride at the cost of truth. Relationships suffer because someone must win rather than forgive. The same ancient whisper continues: take control, define your own truth, serve yourself first.

The Gospel opens the second act of the drama. Jesus enters the wilderness. He is led by the Spirit. He fasts. He grows hungry. He places himself in a position of weakness. And there, in that hunger and solitude, the tempter comes. The temptations are familiar. Turn stones into bread. Prove yourself by dramatic display. Take power without the cross. Each suggestion invites Jesus to use his gifts for himself, to seize control, to bypass trust in the Father.

Jesus answers each temptation with Scripture. “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God” (Matthew 4:4). He refuses to grasp. He refuses spectacle. He refuses false glory. Where Adam reached out in mistrust, Christ stands firm in obedience.

This is why the Church calls him the new Adam. He relives the human story, but he lives it rightly. He enters the battlefield of temptation and does not surrender. He shows that temptation itself is not sin. To be tested is part of being human. The question is not whether we are tempted, but how respond.

Lent places us in the wilderness with Christ. Prayer teaches us to listen rather than control. Fasting reminds us that we are not sustained by comfort alone. Almsgiving draws us out of self-absorption and into love. These practices are not punishments. They are training in trust.

In our own lives, the wilderness can take many forms. It may be illness, uncertainty, strained relationships, or the struggle with habits that weaken us. In such moments, we can feel alone. Yet the Gospel assures us that Christ has already walked this path. He has faced the tempter. He has stood firm. He stands with us still. The drama of Lent will deepen. The wilderness will lead to Gethsemane. Trust will lead to the cross. For a moment, evil will seem to triumph. Yet Easter will reveal what Lent teaches – that obedience is stronger than rebellion, that love is stronger than violence, and that life is stronger than death.

The Page has turned. The curtain rises. The Drama begins.