Genesis 4:1-16, Matthew 5: 21-26, Steven Biko (readings below)

Almost 3,000 years ago, a royal soap opera played out in Jerusalem. David, the powerful king of Israel, lay dying. His oldest son, Adonijah, began to take steps to succeed to the throne, enlisting the help of various priests, advisors, transition specialists and spin doctors.

But then Bathsheba, David’s favorite wife, reminded her husband that he had once promised that their son Solomon would be king. David held true to his promise, and Solomon was installed as co-regent and served until his father’s death, when he was anointed king.

Remarkably, Adonijah agreed to his father’s decision favoring Solomon, but a while later, when Solomon heard that his elder brother had asked Bathsheba if he could marry one of his father’s concubines, Solomon determined that something treacherous was afoot. So, he did the only thing he thought he could do: he took out the political competition. He killed his brother, along with various priests, advisors, transition specialists, and probably a spin doctor or two.

Now you tell me, is it any surprise that the account of Cain and Abel was included in the archetypal stories of Genesis?

Like the other stories in the first 11 chapters of the Bible, the tale of Cain and Abel is a ‘prehistory’ story, told to build a particular world view about Yahweh and the people of Israel. So far we have looked at both stories of creation and the one about the Garden of Eden. And today’s tale is about the sons of Adam and Eve who had been compelled to take up residence outside the gates of the garden. Now remember – the author of this story is not interested in history, or science, let alone biography, he is only concerned with God and with God’s relationship with the unaccountably complex and remarkably disappointing people of creation.

The story begins simply enough: Adam and Eve have two sons. Cain, the older brother, grows into a farmer, and the younger one, Abel, becomes a shepherd. Their entire growing up years are summed up in a single verse, and aside from their occupations, we are told nothing about either man.

We are told that “In the course of time,” the brothers seek to honor Yahweh by bringing an offering – a sacrifice specific to each man's vocation. Cain brought some produce from his gardens and Abel brought some firstborn animals from his flocks. So far so good. But then, with nary an explanation, “God looked with favor upon Abel’s offering, but had no regard for Cain’s.” At this, Cain was filled with both rage and despair – ‘what had he done wrong? What was so great about Abel’s offering? Why didn't God like his offering?’ And you know, it's good question. Why didn't God like Cain’s offering?

After all, it’s not like Cain broke any rules. We’ve read the 3 chapters that precede this story, and there’s not been a single mention about the need to sacrifice anything to God, much less any rules or regulations about first fruits and firstborn. That kind of instruction won’t happen for several hundred years. Of course, since Genesis was written in the time of King Solomon, it’s possible that the author of this story intended for his readers to pick up on the difference between the two offerings, but to be fair to Cain, he sure wouldn’t know anything about it.

Ok, so if it’s not about breaking rules, why didn't God like Cain’s offering? Well, a lot of biblical scholars have floated ideas about this question. Some propose that Abel offered the very best of his flock whereas Cain simply grabbed what was convenient to bring. Others suggest that Cain brought his offering with pride while Abel was humble; still others want to put it in terms of the age-old struggle between farmers and ranchers.

That’s all very interesting, but there’s nothing in the text to suggest any of it. The scripture simply doesn’t give us a clue as to why God favored Abel’s offering over Cain’s. It’s a bit irritating, but God’s preference for Abel doesn’t seem to interest the narrator at all, and I think we just have to let it go. All we have to know is that life is not always what we call fair. It's not always the most deserving who gets the prize. It's not always first come, first served. It's not always the best worker who gets the praise — or the raise. God just ‘favored Abel’ and it gets us exactly nowhere when we try to second guess God.

But rejection did not sit well with Cain. Cain went ballistic, and then he went morose. Jealousy had him firmly by the neck. Cain did the only thing he thought he could do: he took out the religious competition. He killed his brother.

But did you hear what God said right before Cain took his brother to the killing field? God said, "Why are you filled with rage? Why are you downcast? If you intend good, you can hold up your head; if you don't intend good, then sin is a demon haunting your doorway, and it wants you – but you can conquer it." Or as the CEV puts it: “If you had done the right thing, you would be smiling. But you did the wrong thing, and now sin is waiting to attack you like a lion. Sin wants to destroy you, but don't let it!^“

I think this is the single most important verse of the whole story! For one thing, this is the first time we see the word ‘sin’ in the Bible. It wasn’t found in creation, it wasn’t there in the Garden of Eden either. But when Cain becomes angry with God and jealous of his brother, God points out that ‘chataw’ – sin – is not something inside Cain in particular or innate to humanity in general, but it’s like an animal, crouching just outside his tent, that hungers to devour him. Sin, which in Hebrew is understood as ‘falling short of the mark’, does not bubble up from inside our hearts or extend logically from our minds, but sin is like a hungry lion outside our door, eager to pounce on us when we aren’t paying attention.

And did you hear the punch line? God said that the demon that is lusting for a kill needn't get to have its way. It can be overcome, we can beat it, but we have to consciously take it on ourselves and wrestle it to the ground.

Cain could have tried again, he could have brought another offering, he could have reconciled with Abel – that is certainly what God wanted Cain to do. But he gave in to the demon at his door: Cain invited his brother out into the field and he killed him. Shortly afterwards, God comes to Cain and asks, “Where is your brother?” Cain replied with that classic line so familiar to the selfish and the jealous: “Am I my brother's keeper?”, sarcasm dripping from his lips. God is not amused. The reality is that yes, Cain, you are your brother's keeper. We are responsible for one another. We are responsible for our all our brothers and our sisters.

In September 1977, Steven Biko, the leader of South Africa's Black Consciousness movement died lying on the filthy floor of a police hospital in Pretoria, South Africa. He had been arrested at a road block and brought in for questioning about his political activities. During the course of his interrogation, 5 police officers threw Steven headfirst into a wall. Denied medical attention, he was stripped naked, shackled to a grate on the floor and after drifting into a coma, he died of brain trauma. He was 31 years old.

Apartheid is an enormous devouring demon of greed, ignorance, and hate. Apartheid is sin. It is a demon that the people of white South Africa let in the door and it consumed them thoroughly. Those policemen would never have considered themselves Steven Biko’s brothers, let alone his guardians. They just did what they thought they had to do: they took out the ideological competition – they killed him.

God took mercy on Cain. He was banished to wandering the land east of Eden, but his life was spared: God put a mark on Cain so that no one would kill him. Somehow, through it all, God continued to love Cain, despite the fact that Cain didn’t seem particularly loveable. In the marvel that we call grace, God reaches out to save Cain at the very moment when the blood of Abel is still on his hands, when the blood of Abel is heard crying from the earth. Cain’s bloody hands and God’s mark of protection – if you can hold those two images together, you are approaching the wonder of the Good News of the God’s love. Why doesn’t the cry of Abel’s blood have the last word? Because only God gets to have the last word, and that word is life.

As police officers in South Africa, the 5 men knew they would never face criminal charges. But in 1997, at a hearing of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, they admitted to "culpable homicide" in Biko's death. For their confession and their apology to his family, the policemen received a pardon. For many, the pardon of Steven Biko’s murderers was a tough thing to swallow, but for the cycle of violence to be broken, for healing to really begin, repentance and mercy had to drive the demon of vengeance from the door.

You see, God did not create this world to be about competition and jealousy, vengeance and murder, although that is a scenario human beings have played out from the beginning of time. No. God created this world to be “a community of brothers and sisters involved in the quest for a composite answer to the varied problems of life.” We really are responsible for one another, we are the keepers, the guardians of life. And unless we can figure out how to be reconciled with our brothers and sisters, we cannot be right with God. That’s just how it is.

The story of Cain and Abel answers the question of how it is that brother can rise up against brother, but it also tells us that we have a choice to make in the matter. We can give into failure, to falling short of the goals God sets for us, we can give into sin, but we don’t have to. We can come to terms with our anger before consumes us. We can put aside our jealous competition with one another for political, religious, and ideological gravy and be reconciled with our brothers and sisters instead of having to kill them. It’s not easy, it’s not fun, but it is the way that God would have us live.

I know I can find myself in this story. And you probably recognize it too. Who are you angry with? Who are you jealous of? Who do you hold a grudge against? Do you still churn with hurt feelings because of something someone once said days ago or maybe weeks or even years ago?

“If you intend to do good, you can hold up your head,” God tells us. I know the problems are hard and the answers are complicated. But you simply have to get over yourself. Hold your head up and try again. Be on guard against the demon that wants to run your life: go and be reconciled, lest you find yourself alone in the land of Nod, and never able to make your way back home where God is waiting for us, where God is always waiting for us. Amen.
 

Genesis 4:1-16  (PFE translation)

Adam and Eve knew each other, and Eve conceived and gave birth to Cain. "With the help of Our God," she said "I have gotten a child." She also gave birth to a second child, his brother Abel.

Now Abel became a shepherd, and kept flocks, but Cain tilled the soil. In the course of time Cain brought an offering to Our God from the fruit of the soil, while Abel, for his part, brought one of the finest of the firstborn of his flock. Our God looked with favor on Abel's offerings but had no regard for Cain's offering.

At this, Cain was filled with rage and despair. Our God asked Cain, "Why are you filled with rage? Why are you downcast? If you intend good, you can hold up your head; if you don't intend good, then sin is a demon haunting your doorway, and it wants you – but you can conquer it." Cain said to Abel, "Let us go out in the field." When they were in the field, Cain turned on his brother Abel and killed him.

God asked Cain, "Where is Abel your brother?"

Cain answered, "I don't know. Am I my brother's keeper?"

God said to Cain, "What have you done? Listen! I hear Abel's blood crying to me from the earth! You will be cursed by the earth, which opened its mouth to receive Abel's blood from your hand. If you till the soil, it will no longer give you its produce. You will be a restless wanderer on the earth."

Cain answered, "This punishment is too great to bear! Since you have banished me from the soil – since I must leave your presence to be a restless wanderer on the earth – anyone I encounter can kill me!"

"No!" said Our God. "Whoever kills Cain will face sevenfold ven­geance!" Then Our God put a mark on Cain, so that no one who came across him would kill him. So Cain left God's presence, and settled in the land of Nod – "Wandering" – which is east of Eden.

Matthew 5: 21-26(NRSV translation)

"You have heard that it was said to those of ancient times, 'You shall not murder'; and 'whoever murders shall be liable to judgment.'

But I say to you that if you are angry with a brother or sister, you will be liable to judgment; and if you insult a brother or sister, you will be liable to the council; and if you say, 'You fool,' you will be liable to the hell of fire. So when you are offering your gift at the altar, if you remember that your brother or sister has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go; first be reconciled to your brother or sister, and then come and offer your gift. Come to terms quickly with your accuser while you are on the way to court with him, or your accuser may hand you over to the judge, and the judge to the guard, and you will be thrown into prison. Truly I tell you, you will never get out until you have paid the last penny.

The Other Reading by Steven Biko

We regard our living together not as an unfortunate mishap warranting endless competition among us

but as a deliberate act of God

to make us a community of brothers and sisters

jointly involved in the quest for a composite answer

to the varied problems of life.