Pastor Dan’s Drift ... July/August 2010
. . . then the LORD God formed man from the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and the man became a living being. And the LORD God planted a garden in Eden, in the east; and there he put the man whom he had formed. ... The LORD God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to till it and keep it. ... Now Abel was a keeper of sheep, and Cain a tiller of the ground. ... Then the LORD said to Cain, "Where is your brother Abel?" He said, "I do not know; am I my brother's keeper?" Genesis 2:7-8,15, 4:2,9
Genesis chapters 1 and 2 contain two similar yet distinct methods of communicating God’s creative activity. Both convey that God created, but each in distinctively different ways or perspectives: one has a majestic, list-like-legal flavor of God, where God speaks and creation happens (Gen 1); the other has a more earthy, storytelling touch, where God is on his knees forming Adam out of a pile of dust, taking a rib from Adam to form Eve, and then walking with Adam and Eve each day in the cool of the evening (Gen 2).
Back in March I wrote about this second story known as “The Fall” within the context of Lent and Ash Wednesday, which “inspires that black gritty cross on our foreheads: ‘remember you are dust, and to dust you shall return.’” At that time I included but did not fully flesh out the nurturing of the many relationships conveyed within and between the lines. This time I want to focus on Cain and Abel, a story connected to the creation/fall story through the continuance of the “till and keep” theme, the vocation that God entrusted to Adam in the garden in Eden, and Cain and Abel.
The Hebrew words translated “till and keep” suggest “serve and protect/preserve.” This servant-nurturing would include all with whom Adam is in relationship; God, the animals, the ground and its fruit, Eve, and the serpent. Serving (tilling) and protecting/preserving (keeping) surfaces again in the birth of Cain, a tiller of the ground, and Abel, a keeper of sheep. As we hopefully all remember, Cain kills Abel out of anger that God took notice to Abel’s offering of the fatty (best) parts of the flock’s firstlings, and not Cain’s offering of the fruit of the ground. Abel’s blood cried out from the ground (of which Adam–tiller and keeper–was made) and God heard. God finds Cain and asks, “Where is your brother Abel?" He said, "I do not know; am I my brother's keeper?” It appears that Cain would answer, “NO!” But what about God’s answer? What do you think?
After a meeting a few years ago, an out-of-town acquaintance told me that the answer to Cain’s question is “No.” This person’s construal arose out of a discussion concerning poverty and healthcare. I could not help but wonder to myself what lens this man used to conclude “No.” Unknowingly, he answered my silent question by adding that he did not want any of his money used to pay for someone else’s healthcare and self-inflicted poverty–quite a popular yet troubling, politicized response in light of the good Samaritan’s befriending/keeping response to a penniless and severely injured man (Lk 10:34-35).
First, such an answer fails to consider that the lens is supplied within the story itself, the theme of tilling and keeping, wherein God chooses to be a tiller and keeper by rejecting the death penalty for Adam and Eve, and now Cain. Cain’s deadly choice is not met with more violence and death, but with protection. Surely Cain is held accountable, as he is expelled from family, home, and land, in a similar way as Adam and Eve were expelled from the garden. However, like God’s response to Adam and Eve, God does not expel Cain from His presence and grace, nor forsake the very principle He instituted and Cain rejected–tilling and keeping–which is God’s “YES” to Cain even though Cain said “No.”
Secondly, “No” fails to take into consideration the most important Christian lens; Jesus’ life, teaching, death, and resurrection. Jesus was born into poverty. As his ministry began, Jesus chose to be poor and homeless, relying on the support of his Father (Luke 12:24) and “many others” (Luke 8:3). He specifically taught that the way we treat “the least of these” is how we treat Him (Matt 25:40), a teaching which has at its core God’s resounding “Yes” to Cain’s question.
Jesus was, is, and always will be God’s cosmic “Yes” for us and all creation. Jesus answers: “YES” as he calls us his brothers and sisters, and friends; “YES” as he, the good shepherd, lays down his life for his sheep/friends; “YES” as he calls us to take up our cross and till and keep. Baptized into Christ’s death and resurrection, we have been living life anew in the kingdom of God by answering “Yes” through ONE, Habitat, Domestic Violence Intervention, Elders’ gifts, Biloxi, Haiti, and others. May we continue (and seek new ways) to be our sisters’ and brothers’ friends and keepers.
Pastor Dan See all you in worship!