Monday 16 February 2009

Background

The stories that make up the book of Genesis can be read notonly as accounts about particular people, but also as stories thatconvey universal truths about what it is to be human. Today's storyholds both possibilities, as well as carrying the symbolicsignificance of a common universal ancestry.

In the story, God is portrayed as being fickle: displaying awillingness to accept the offering of one brother whilst rejectingthat of the other. As events unfold however, this 'primitive' wayof thinking about God is shown to contain the seeds of a much moresophisticated understanding. We are told thatGod did punish Cain for murdering hisbrother Abel, but that there was also divine protection for Cain.He was not destroyed by God, and neither would God allow others tokill him in their anger.

The universal truths in this story might remind us of our ownexperiences of sibling rivalry or family disputes. The themes ofevading responsibility and of being called reluctantly to accountfor our actions are familiar to us. We also sense Cain'svulnerability as the guilty and convicted party. The story does notspell out the themes of remorse and forgiveness, but it does pointus in their direction.

Verse 25, which informs us of a third child born to Adam and Eve,is a reminder of parental grief at the loss of a child in anycircumstances and at any age. It heightens the sense ofvulnerability and of risk and danger surrounding the birth of everychild into the world in every time and place. It reminds us thatlife might move on with new possibilities, but a loved one is notreplaceable: each life is unique. 

To Ponder

Why do arguments and rivalries within familiesoften have powerful and dramatic consequences?

If we acknowledge that we belong to a sharedhuman family, what do you see as the challenges of being ourbrothers' and sisters' keeper?

What pointers does this story offer towards thetreatment of those convicted of a criminal offence?