Word to the Wise
Monday, February 17, 2025 - Monday in the 6th Week in Ordinary Time
[Gen 4:1-15, 25 and Mark 8:11-13]So the Lord said to Cain: "Why are you so resentful 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 but 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]
Can there be a more famous line from the Old Testament than the one, "Am I my brother's keeper?" There is another phrase that arises out of the story as well: the mark of Cain. Strangely, this latter phrase has come to mean someone who is a social pariah when the "mark" was intended as a protective gesture. The question that Cain asks, when confronted with his lethal behavior, remains. "Am I my brother's keeper?" The answer then and the answer now is "Yes!" Jesus goes further and says we are not just Abel's "keeper" but Cain's as well.
The story is also about a human failing that can be "demonic." God speaks of the "demon lurking at the door" and assures Cain that he (Cain) can be its master. Cain fails to do that. Envy seems to be THE original sin of the seven deadly ones! The serpent tempts Eve and Adam with envy of God's power. The same demon overcomes Cain with envy and resentment. The "urge to kill" can be real and take many forms that are less than murder but can be almost as destructive.
The challenge to master the demon's urge is still with us. As disciples of Jesus, the Sermon on the Mount [Matt. 5-7] is the guide to this mastery. We are our brother's and sister's keepers. AMEN