Word to the Wise
Monday, February 15, 2021 - Monday in the 6th Week in Ordinary Time
[Gen 4:1-15, 25 and Mark 8:11-13]The Lord looked with favor on Abel and his offering, but on Cain and his offering he did not. Cain greatly resented this and was crestfallen. So the Lord said to Cain: "Why are so recently and crestfallen? If you do well, you can hold up your head; but if not, sin is a demon lurking at the door: his urge is toward you, yet you can be his master. Cain said to his brother Abel, "Let us go out in the field." When they were in the field, Cain attacked his brother Abel and killed him. Then the Lord asked Cain, "Where is your brother Abel?" He answered, "I do not know. Am I my brother's keeper?" [Genesis]
The psychological genius of the early chapters of Genesis takes us into the most common and deep elements of human nature and character. Adam and Eve speak to us of our desire to rebel against God in favor of our appetites. Cain and Abel speak to us of envy and its corrosive effects. That corrosive effect can lead us to destroy the very thing we are envious of because we cannot bear the feeling of envy. If nothing else, it will lead us to destroy a precious relationship. How often I hear of this in the sacrament of reconciliation!
We are not told why God did not accept Cain's offering. But God does try to encourage Cain to continue to do good work, with the warning about the evil of envy lurking in him. Perhaps the reason may have been the very rivalry that we all know between siblings. The text does not tell us. I find myself in the position of offering the same advice to those who speak to me of their envious feelings. "You are doing good things yourself. Why do you want what someone else has?" That question requires serious and honest self-examination. Even when we celebrate with a friend, (family member, co-worker, roommate, etc.) some good fortune or ability, is there the faintest thought that the other does not "deserve" it as much as we do?
Adam and Eve and their sons, Cain and Abel, teach us some awful truths that are at the same time beneficial ones. Learning how to discipline our appetites and feelings is a lifetime task that Jesus reaffirmed in the Sermon on the Mount. Genesis and Matthew (chs. 5-7) offer us a challenging examination of conscience. God's mercy awaits the results. AMEN