15 February 2021

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.
Genesis 4: 1-15, 25, NRSV

In today’s reading we hear that Adam and Eve had two children, Cain and Abel, and that Abel became a shepherd while Cain was “a tiller of the ground”. We are then told that after a passage of time, both brothers brought a sacrifice before the Lord and that Abel’s sacrifice was favoured whereas Cain’s was not. We are not told why this was the case but it may have been that Abel’s sacrifice was the more heartfelt and generous. Cain was angered and jealous and the Lord offered him the chance to relent and to overcome his feelings. Instead of taking this chance, Cain lured his brother outside and killed him. When the Lord asked what he had done, Cain tried to evade the issue but his deed was known by the Lord and he was punished by being banished to become a “fugitive and wanderer”. Cain did not express remorse for his actions but rather expressed concern for his own life. The Lord showed mercy by ensuring that Cain was prevented from being killed by anyone else.

• • Why do you think did the Lord ensured that Cain would not be killed?
  • What are there consequences to our jealousy and anger – can we prevent these?

Pray for those whose lives are blighted by acts of anger and jealousy.

Image – Cain and Abel – Titian