Narrative Lectionary Key Verse for Today
“Then the Lord said to him, ‘Not so! Whoever kills Cain will suffer a sevenfold vengeance.’ And the Lord put a mark on Cain, so that no one who came upon him would kill him.”
NL Daily Devotion for Thursday, September 16, 2021
by R. M. Fergus, Clergy Stuff
This is a weird story. First of all, God is already playing favorites, which doesn’t seem God-like to me at all. So can you blame Cain for being jealous of Abel? But murder, dude…that’s a bit extreme. And in response, God once again kicks one of his humans out. First God kicks humans out of the garden and tells them they’ll have to till the soil. Then God kicks Cain out of the ability to do even that. Was the punishment harsh? Maybe. But murder. Dude.
But then comes the weirdest part of the story. Cain’s upset that he won’t be able to farm anymore, but even more upset that anyone who sees him will want to kill him. (Why? How will they know he’s a bad guy?) And God says, “No way! I won’t let anyone kill you!” Was that grace? Or a further punishment that said Cain wouldn’t be put out of his misery? It’s all so very convoluted.
I’d like to say it was grace. The first instance where God openly proclaims, “I know you messed up royally. But I love you anyway, and even though there are consequences to your actions, I won’t abandon you.” I mean, wow. If God could forgive and love the first murderer, surely God can love and forgive me when I mess up.
Are there things I don’t think I can be forgiven for?