May the mumbling
commence!
Do you have a
sibling? If you do, do you ever think
that your sibling is adopted? It could
be the way that they look or it could be the way that they act. Ever since the beginning of time, the
question of adoption has been raised.
Parents have asked themselves, “How can two children raised by the same
parents turn out so different?” Genesis
chapter four has one of those stories – about Adam and Eve’s first two sons
Cain and Abel. Read about their story
below:
Now Abel kept flocks, and Cain
worked the soil. In the course of time
Cain brought some of the fruits of the
soil as an offering to the Lord. But
Abel brought fat portions from some of
the firstborn of his flock. The
Lord looked with favor on Abel and his offering, but on Cain and his
offering he did not look with favor. So Cain was very
angry, and his face was downcast.
Then the Lord said to Cain, “Why
are you angry? Why is your face downcast? If you do what
is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door;
it desires to have you, but you must master it.”
Now Cain said to his brother Abel,
“Let’s go into the field.” And while
they were in the field, Cain attacked his brother Abel and killed him.
Then the Lord said to Cain, “Where
is your brother Abel?”
“I don’t know,” he replied. “Am I my brother’s keeper?”
The Lord said, “What have you
done? Listen! Your brother’s blood cries out to me from the
ground. Now you are under a curse and driven from the ground, which opened
its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand. When
you work the ground, it will no longer yield its crops for you. You will be a restless wanderer on the
earth.”
Cain said to the Lord, “My
punishment is more than I can bear.
Today you are driving me from the land, and I will be hidden from your
presence; I will be a restless wanderer on earth, and whoever finds me will kill me.”
But the Lord said to him, “Not so; if anyone kills Cain, he will
suffer vengeance seven times over.” (2b-15a)
Sometimes
everything is a competition between brothers.
I look at the words of this passage and wonder if Cain thought he was in
a competition with his younger brother Abel for attention and acceptance – both
those of his parents and those of God.
Sometimes I wonder if Cain was more upset because Abel outdid him in his
offering to God than he was that God was not pleased with him.
And why was Abel’s
sacrifice more acceptable than Cain’s?
Some scholars think it has something to do with a blood sacrifice. Blood does not come from the fruit of the
ground. Were the odds stacked against
Cain from the start, then? I cannot
believe God felt that way.
I look
instead to the words that describe Cain’s offering. Cain simply offered some of the fruits of the field – not the first fruits, the
best of his crop. On the other hand,
Abel offered the tasty fat portions of the firstborn of his flock. Abel gave of his very best to please God not
to beat Cain in competition.
Cain also
refused to listen to God. Maybe that is
why God implored Cain to listen. Maybe
this competition for his parent’s love and affection is part of the reason for
Cain being sent away and for Cain being restless. The rest of being in God’s presence was
removed. Or would God not abandon Cain?
It seems with Cain’s
reaction to God’s punishment that Cain still had problems listening to
God. Cain made the assumption that God’s
presence would be removed from him. Perhaps,
in his restless wanderings Cain would have trouble feeling God’s presence.
And, on top of this assumption, Cain also
added to the punishment that God gave him.
He was sure that God would allow someone else to kill him. Wandering as a man used to working the land
would make him quite vulnerable. In
fact, if people simply ignored him and did not extend hospitality to him, Cain
would be in danger of dying.
In answer to
Cain’s objection, God firmly states, “NOT SO.”
Anyone who causes the death of Cain would suffer God’s vengeance seven
times over. God had never intended to
leave Cain. If Cain ever decided to
return to God in repentance, God would be right there waiting – which the
forgiving Father in Jesus’ parable was patterned after.
So, brothers and
sisters, we are not in a competition for God’s love. There is plenty of God’s love to go
around. Instead we are to work in concert
to please God. Realize this fact: both
the blood of the sacrifice and the grain offerings were used later in God’s
relationship to Israel. The grain and
fat offerings were used in concert to continue relationship with God.
And every time we celebrate the Lord’s
Supper, we combine the wine symbolizing the blood and the bread symbolizing the
body to remember Christ Jesus’ sacrifice.
There it is again – the blood and the grain offering.
Enough mumbling
for now…
Peace Out
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