By Faith
AM Psalm 119:1-24 • PM Psalm 12, 13, 14
Gen. 4:1-16 • Heb. 2:11-18 • John 1:(29-34)35-42
Siblings are the center of some of the more troubling bible stories, yes? We all share the father’s joy when the prodigal son comes home; less clear is our feeling toward the son who stayed at his father’s side, did everything asked of him but is not sharing the joy in his brother’s return. And today we read of Cain and Abel, the first sibling rivalry and the first murder in the bible.
The author of Genesis left out a lot of information that I would have appreciated knowing! God must have revealed the necessity of sacrifice but how were they supposed to know what to sacrifice? If Abel was a shepherd and Cain a farmer, what exactly was better about an animal versus a grain offering? It’s explained to us elsewhere (Hebrews 11: 4) that:
by faith Abel offered to God a more acceptable sacrifice than Cain’s. Through this he received approval…
We know that God looks in on our hearts. Was there something in Cain’s motivation and heart-attitude, perhaps something in his actions that made his offering unacceptable in God’s eyes? Later, Cain’s cynical reply to God—hey, not my job to take care of my brother, that’s your job!—shows us more of what is happening. God knows what Cain has done and yet wants to stop violence begetting more violence. So he protects (marks) Cain so no one will ever take vengeance on him.
More questions pop up in my mind, though; and soon I realize I could slide down a rabbit hole of why-this, why-that, until I’ve wandered too far away from the essence of the story. Yes, there is much left untold; cultural details that, centuries later, could help us with context and insight. My questions, however, not only distract me but crowd the space in me to allow for other possibilities. Perhaps that is what faith is—the space we leave for God, the space in us we give to God.
Written by Bernadette Reda
Enjoying the mystery, light and love of our world and each other, along with Frasier reruns and good puns.