LENT 2020: Day 6

• LENT 2020: Day 6
• Tuesday, March 3, 2020:
  Psalm 32; Genesis 4:1-16; Hebrews 4:14-5:10

“To live in God’s world on God’s terms is enough of a problem,” says Walter Brueggemann in his commentary on Genesis. “But to live with God’s other creatures, specifically human creatures (the brother), is more of a dilemma.”

Indeed, one of my professors in college would often quip, “The Bible said, ‘Where two or three are gathered,’ but it didn’t say anything about more than that! Any more than three is when we start to get in trouble!”

But, as Brueggemann observes, “The world knows that the murder of a brother is a scandalous, unacceptable act. It does not require the Bible to announce that unchallenged norm.”

“What interests the story-teller (and therefore us),” Brueggemann says, “is the destiny of the murderer.”

Cain is not “fallen,” argues Brueggemann. “He is not the victim of original sin. He can choose and act for the good.”

And there is good news: “The God who calls the worlds into being does not stop calling, even this chaotic brother. … God’s protection extends now even to the land of Nod, to the place thought beyond protection, the place that seemed beyond humanness.”

Cain has violated community, and he is exiled as a result. But — with God’s protection — he finds a new community. He founds the first city, and his ancestors make major advancements to civilization: pastoral nomadism, music, and metallurgy.

The world is full of exiles, looking for a community where they can find a home and a place where their talents can flourish.

May we open our doors to those who have been exiled. May we be community to them. And may we, in turn, allow and empower them to be community to us.