Good Morning Friends,
Today we look at the issue of discouragement and how we handle that situation either graciously or with anger. Today we look at an important Biblical narrative to help us live more connected and meaningful lives when we realize that our actions are less than perfect. And frankly the issue may be a more important text than we would like to acknowledge. Breaking News seems to address the ways it is handled poorly. Maybe it is time to focus on the positive ways of dealing with those emotions that might draw out our worst side even as we ask today’s question. If God’s Love Is For Everyone Why Does God Seem To Favor Some And Not Others?
Scripture: Now the man knew his wife Eve, and she conceived and bore Cain, saying, “I have produced a man with the help of the Lord.” Next she bore his brother Abel. Now Abel was a keeper of sheep, and Cain a tiller of the ground. In the course of time Cain brought to the Lord an offering of the fruit of the ground, and Abel for his part brought one of the firstlings of his flock, their fat portions. And the Lord had regard for Abel and his offering, but for Cain and his offering he had no regard. So Cain was very angry, and his countenance fell. The Lord said to Cain, “Why are you angry, and why has your countenance fallen? If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin is lurking at the door; its desire is for you, but you must master it.” Cain said to his brother Abel, “Let us go out to the field.” And when they were in the field, Cain rose up against his brother Abel, and killed him. Then the Lord said to Cain, “Where is your brother Abel?” He said, “I do not know; am I my brother’s keeper?” And the Lord said, “What have you done? Listen; your brother’s blood is crying out to me from the ground! And now you are cursed from the ground, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand. When you till the ground, it will no longer yield to you its strength; you will be a fugitive and a wanderer on the earth.” Cain said to the Lord, “My punishment is greater than I can bear! Today you have driven me away from the soil, and I shall be hidden from your face; I shall be a fugitive and a wanderer on the earth, and anyone who meets me may kill me.” Then the Lord said to him, “Not so! Whoever kills Cain will suffer a sevenfold vengeance.” And the Lord put a mark on Cain, so that no one who came upon him would kill him. Adam knew his wife again, and she bore a son and named him Seth, for she said, “God has appointed for me another child instead of Abel, because Cain killed him.”
Genesis 4:1-15, 25 (NRSV)
The Pharisees came and began to argue with him, asking him for a sign from heaven, to test him. And he sighed deeply in his spirit and said, “Why does this generation ask for a sign? Truly I tell you, no sign will be given to this generation.” And he left them, and getting into the boat again, he went across to the other side.
Mark 8:11-13 (NRSV)
The mighty one, God the Lord, speaks and summons the earth from the rising of the sun to its setting. Not for your sacrifices do I rebuke you; your burnt offerings are continually before me. But to the wicked God says: “What right have you to recite my statutes, or take my covenant on your lips? For you hate discipline, and you cast my words behind you. You make friends with a thief when you see one, and you keep company with adulterers. “You give your mouth free rein for evil, and your tongue frames deceit. You sit and speak against your kin; you slander your own mother’s child. These things you have done and I have been silent; you thought that I was one just like yourself. But now I rebuke you, and lay the charge before you.
Psalm 50: 1, 8, 16-21 (NRSV)
Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. Indeed, by faith our ancestors received approval. By faith we understand that the worlds were prepared by the word of God, so that what is seen was made from things that are not visible.
Hebrews 11:1-3 (NRSV)
Message: We want to say that all suffering and death is meaningless and wasteful. Sure, we believe that war is hell and that those that start wars find them very difficult to end. But it’s not meaningless or wasteful if it’s being directed by God toward God’s good ends. Beyond my pay grade and yours too. The thing is that death is a natural process like the changing of the seasons. Without self-consciousness, animals are unable to worry about death the way we humans do. And that is a large part of what makes human suffering so painful. Moreover, suffering and death leading up to Adam and Eve are only a problem if we divorce evolution from God’s loving involvement in creation. What is interesting is that suffering and death do not seem to be a problem in the animal kingdom. Besides, if it had happened in any other way, we wouldn’t be who we are. And don’t we like who we are? And all life, no matter how long or short, is good, and God loves his creatures. We humans weren’t around to enjoy dinosaurs, but God was. So suffering and death don’t seem to be a problem in the animal kingdom. We moderns or post moderns have adopted an Epicurean worldview that says that this life is all there is…God is nowhere to be found… so we’d better enjoy life while we can. Still the case of Cain killing Abel is pretty interesting in this regard. Maybe you have some questions about why God would pit brother against brother. The tale of Cain and Abel reveals that it didn’t take long for sibling rivalry to manifest — and in a horrific manner. It’s a narrative of jealousy, fratricide and divine judgment. Yet, beneath the surface, this story challenges our assumptions about justice, fate and the very nature of God. It does not seem fair that God appears to pour lighter fluid on what may have been a smoldering fire by favoring Able’s offering over Cain’s. Though the story gives a reflection of the historical friction between settled agriculturalists and nomadic pastoralists. Maybe the story reveals more about our human failure in holy history than God’s capriciousness. The narrative reveals a deeper cultural tension, but the text remains maddeningly silent as to why Abel’s offering of the firstborn of his flock is accepted, while Cain’s fruits of the soil are rejected. We puzzle over a seemingly arbitrary divine preference. But there is a theme here that recurs in the Bible. God’s choices often defy human logic, much like the seemingly unjust suffering of Job or that Jesus had to die on a Cross. Some shift the blame from a divine whim to Cain’s own shortcomings and that it was the spirit in which the offering was made that sealed the rejection, but we do not do that with Christ’s death nor ultimately in our understanding of Job’s suffering. Maybe the deck was stacked against Cain from the start. Maybe he is a tragic figure whose sin is envy. Think of Eve eating the fruit and whether it is a spontaneous act and more an inevitable outcome of character. We face a dilemma. And are left to ponder over the messy reality of human conflict without any details. We wonder whether it’s a stone, a primal bite, a farming tool or anger itself that killed. We will never know. The lack of specificity gives the story a mythic quality, inviting readers to consider not just the act but the consequences of unchecked anger. After this horrifying act, Cain is marked by God — not as a curse, but as protection, ensuring that anyone who tries to harm him will face vengeance sevenfold. It is God’s mercy at work as Cain founds a city and we ponder where all the people came from and conclude that they were there all the time, and that Adam and Eve may have been called out like Abraham and Moses in Holy History. At first glance, the story of Cain and Abel reads like a straightforward morality tale about unchecked envy. God’s warning to Cain is that Sin is crouching at your door… it desires to have you, but you must master it. But beneath this warning lies a story of complex responsibility. Cain’s fate remains unresolved after the murder, leaving room for redemption. God who, even in judgment, allows space for healing and transformation. Of course, God’s favoritism is what caused the entire ruckus in the first place.
And So, to receive the favor of God we must have a character acceptable to God, emptied but with faith.We really do not need a sign. Friends, we are to be righteous not evil, we are to love and not hate. We are to empty ourselves, so God might fill us up. We are to have faith in God more so than our own works. God’s charge is for us and against us but with a purpose that we might grow in grace shared to God’s glory. The Genesis narratives include several important firsts that form the foundation of an understanding of the human condition that helps us in reading the rest of the Bible and in living the Christian life. There is original sin, the first murder, then the destruction of the brotherhood of man, and ultimately near the end of the book redemption. It is an example that even though hurt people hurt people, God can still use evil for good. Here scripture interprets scripture and if we are seeking a better relationship with Jesus enlightens us. So, today we look at the story of Cain and Abel and its vital clues as to the root of the destruction of all relationships between human beings. And as we do so we also look at how Jesus dealt with rejection, pondering a question, sighing deeply, and crossing over to the other side with a love that is surely the only sign from heaven that we should need. Still, it is helpful to realize that in Hebrew thought, someone’s name is reflective of one’s character. The name Jesus, for example, means, the Lord will save. So too, the meanings of the names of “Cain and Abel” are windows into their characters that help us to understand. Cain’s name means, a possessor, one who has substance while Abel’s name means empty of substance. Cain represents the accomplishments of life and Abel, though empty of substance, is shown to be the person who brings the better gift to God. So, this morning I am pondering why Abel’s sacrifice was favored and have concluded that God knew both Cain and Abel. And God knew their hearts as he knows ours now and was not only looking at the sacrifice they brought, but at the faith, righteousness of their emotions and even the deeds that preceded the sacrifice. Interestingly, Cain brought his gift to show his self-importance, to boast of his self-righteousness much like the Pharisees in today’s Gospel reading. Able like Jesus would be murdered for that sacrifice he brings and so in a way foretells the story of Christ in a way that glorifies God. Able was emptied in a way so that God could use him and so was favored in a way that set him in tension with the ways of the world.
Pray for peace. Pray for God’s mercy and our redemption. Pray for understanding. Pray for forgiveness. Pray we learn that God wants our love not sacrifices. Pray we learn to love ourselves, so we might better receive the love of God and in turn share it with others.Pray that we give thanks in all things. Pray we realize that only Jesus can satisfy our deepest needs. Pray we realize that people are still spiritually hungry and are spiritually blind and spiritually ignorant. Pray we help others to discover the power of the Word of God through the character of God in the power of God. Pray we rejoice with praise even in our sufferings. Pray we persevere. Pray we develop character and hope in the love of God. Pray we realize that when things seem impossible if we have the right attitude, we will be better off. Pray our lives are blessed to be a blessing to God’s glory.
Blessings,
John Lawson
Daily Devotionals 