Oblivious to this peaceful scene, the angel approaches Abel, a tiny cross in his right hand. The angel soars over Abel’s faithful herding dog, panting as it watches over the pasture, as well as three sheep from his flock, which are carefully stacked on top of each other to create the illusion of depth. On the left-hand face of the capital, the angel swoops down, and his ruffled garment indicates his haste to arrive on the scene. In the Glencairn example, the sculptor chose to indicate God’s acceptance of Abel’s sacrifice through the intervention of an angel. However, this detail was open to interpretation by medieval artists, and in other examples God is shown pointing directly to Abel from Heaven. I do know that violence begets violence and that the only way to better a complex tension is time, patience, love, faith and trust.The Bible does not describe how God expressed his preference for Abel’s sacrifice, though tradition states that a sign of fire was sent. But I do know that love is a stronger force. I don’t have any answers when it comes to the issue of violence affecting our world. That through the strong warriors of time and patience, peace can be found. Was Cain's punishment a banishment? Worse than death? Or was it God’s way of showing us that one violent act does not have to lead to another. In War and Peace, Leo Tolstoy wrote, “The strongest of all warriors – time and patience.” Why let him live? Why not strike Cain to the ground in one blow just as he had his younger brother who had done nothing wrong? Anyone who kills Cain will pay for it seven times over.” God put a mark on Cain to protect him so that no one who met him would kill him.” Genesis 4:13-15. I’m a homeless wanderer on earth and whoever finds me will kill me.” I can’t take it! You’ve thrown me off the land and I can never again face you. But instead of imagining that your Abel, put yourself in Cain's shoes.Ĭain said, “My punishment is too much. Again, there are few words and no emotional context, so use your imagination, fill in the gaps. When Cain faced God for his sins, for murdering his own brother, something interesting happened. We all bleed and breathe, hope and dream… We are our brother's and sister's keeper. It’s so important to understand that we are ALL CONNECTED. Grace and redemption are remarkable fellows. It's complicated to get into the middle of that situation and try and bring resurrection to someone's control, dignity and trust. It’s easy to judge your violent neighbour. I’m not going to lie, I’ve punched a wall or two (pretty weak punches, my upper arm strength is nothing to write home about) out of anger and frustration. When we lose control of our emotions and our capacity to reign them back in. Something happens to us when we're pushed to the brink. Instead, he felt upstaged, humiliated and angry to the point of violence. (We're not going to go down the sacrifice road in this devotion, maybe another time!) He was the older brother, the one who was supposed to protect and befriend the younger, show him the ropes, help him carve out his own path in life. Cain was livid, angry – more than angry – that his offering wasn’t accepted and Abel’s was. Whatever it was, whatever had been festering in Cain's heart, or between the two, came to a head one day when the brothers offered their own sacrifices to God. Maybe Cain had an anger problem, maybe Abel was one of those ‘gifted kids’ where everything he touched turned to gold, or at least enlivened the hearts of their parents. We don’t really know what, but somewhere along the way a rift formed between the two. Were they friends growing up? Did they share a bedroom? Did they play together down by the stream? Splash each other in the water? Race each other back home? Did they hunt for food together? Share their parents table? Laugh and talk and dream and spend time together? Not just perhaps Leo Tolstoy's greatest work, but humanities most complex tension.Ĭain and Abel’s story found in Genesis 4 has so few details, it's hard to tease out just what happened. It has journeyed with us ever since wreaking its havoc on us all. Am I my brother’s keeper?” Gen 4:9 (NKJV)Įver since the beginning, way back in humanity's origin story, violence was present. Then the Lord said to Cain, “Where is Abel your brother?” He said, “I do not know.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |