Lent 1 2026
Collect
Genesis 2: 15-17, 3: 1-7
15 The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to till it and keep it. 16And the Lord God commanded the man, ‘You may freely eat of every tree of the garden; 17but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall die.’
3Now the serpent was more crafty than any other wild animal that the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, ‘Did God say, “You shall not eat from any tree in the garden”?’ 2The woman said to the serpent, ‘We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden; 3but God said, “You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the middle of the garden, nor shall you touch it, or you shall die.” ’ 4But the serpent said to the woman, ‘You will not die; 5for God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God,* knowing good and evil.’ 6So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate; and she also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate. 7Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made loincloths for themselves.
If God didn’t want them to eat from the tree of Knowledge of good and evil, why did He put it there in the first place?
Did He who made the lamb make thee?
Good questions. In fact, the same question and the same answer. We recognise the qualities of things in terms of opposites. Tree of Knowledge of good and evil. A fierce Tyger and a meek and gentle lamb. Safe things and dangerous things. War and Peace. Why does a loving God allow the possibility of evil? Why not make sure everything is nice and safe all the time?
The answer is that He had to. If we are to appreciate the gentleness of a lamb, we need to know its opposite. If we are to understand what safety is, we need also to experience the possibility of danger. Peace means nothing if war doesn’t exist. If we are to know freedom, we need to know imprisonment. So, if there is to be ‘good’, the existence of ‘evil’ is inevitable.
If we don’t have the ability to choose between the two, we are just puppets with no free will, living in a Utopia we aren’t even aware of. God wants us to be human, with all that humanity entails, good and bad. And that means, painful as it was, He had to let Eve and Adam have the opportunity to decide. In a sense, the serpent was an instrument of God’s intention.
Eve and Adam chose to leave the Garden. They could have stayed. The serpent didn’t force them out – they were simply faced with having to make a moral decision, and they got it wrong. But at least they had that choice.
The ability to choose was a gift. But when they ate the poisoned fruit of human evil, God wasn’t about to desert them. His love extended to a second gift – forgiveness and redemption. It cost Him Himself, on the Cross. When we make choices, let His passion be our guide
Previous Posts
Praying Together 15th February 2026
Perhaps, when we pray, we need to remember it is the Jesus on the Mountain to whom we address our prayers, the one whose face shines like the sun and transfigures our faces as we radiate in His light.
Praying Together February 8th 2026
Is Jesus suggesting, not to eat and drink? And is he saying we should not wear clothes but go naked?
How unrealistic is this, and how depressing – we need to eat and drink, and we need clothing.
Praying Together February 1st 2026
Christ’s words are given to all His people in the face of the difficulties we ourselves face in life. We claim them and are assured of Blessing. And that is all we need.
Praying Together January 25th 2026
For the message about the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.
Praying Together 18th January 2026
In prayer, we ask: Who is God calling to come and use their specific individual gifts to continue to build His Kingdom in the future?
His reply is clear.
“You”, He says.
Praying Together 11 January 2026
Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.
Praying Together 21st December 2025
Joseph’s example is one of love, human reaction, vocation and ultimate obedience to his Creator. So we rightly celebrate both Mary and Joseph as the chosen parents of the Christ-child. But we must also remember that they were ordinary people with human emotions who lived extraordinary lives.
Praying Together December 7th 2025
By your grace we have the gift of the Scriptures. With the help your grace, may we listen deeply to what you want to say to each one of us. May we know your gifts of endurance, encouragement and hope, so that not only our lips but also our lives may be a song in praise of your mercy.
Praying Together November 30th November 2025
The significance of the Themes and Candles we light during the Advent Season.
Praying Together 23rd November 2025
We celebrate the beginning of the story in Advent – but before we do, it is equally important to celebrate the final act of Coronation. The Gospel proclaims that Jesus is King.
Praying Together 16th November 2025
In ways, the Christian Journey is like a race – a Marathon, not a sprint. The key is endurance, Jesus says. There will be mountains to climb, tears and heartache in the depths of your soul, and it will sometimes feel like it’s impossible to carry on. But the world will continue, and end only in God’s good time.
Praying Together 9th November 2025
Every selfless act honours our Christ. In Him, we are one. Whoever we are. We are all His family, and violence against each other is violence against Him.