Cain and Abel: It’s all about mediocrity

Monday’s reading for the Christian liturgy is a Genesis passage most Jews and Christians recall with ease. Abel’s dead, the Lord comes looking for him and asks Cain where Abel is. Cain’s reply?

“Am I my brother’s keeper?”

Remember the song, he ain’t heavy, he’s my brother? Even back in the days when I thought the Bible and religion pure fallacy, I loved that song. And sang it at the top of my lungs. A vivid demonstration, I think, of the law written in each of our hearts. Even-perhaps especially-when we deny its presence.

Like you, I’ve heard this Genesis passage countless times and never correlated it with mediocrity or excellence, or to me and my life. To my habits or as a prescription for closing the distance between God and me.

Until I listened to exorcist Fr. John Farao’s homily.

First, a review of Monday’s passage from the book of Genesis:

Adam made love to his wife Eve, and she became pregnant and gave birth to Cain. She said, “With the help of the Lord I have brought forth a man.” Later she gave birth to his brother Abel.

Now Abel kept flocks, and Cain worked the soil. In the course of time Cain brought some of the fruits of the soil as an offering to the Lord.  Abel for his part, brought one of the best firstlings of his flock. The Lord looked with favor on Abel and his offering, but on Cain and his offering he did not look with favor. So Cain was very angry, and his face was downcast.

Then the Lord said to Cain, “Why are you angry? Why is your face downcast? If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must rule over it.”

Now Cain said to his brother Abel, “Let’s go out to the field.”  While they were in the field, Cain attacked his brother Abel and killed him.

Then the Lord said to Cain, “Where is your brother Abel?”

“I don’t know,” he replied. “Am I my brother’s keeper?”

The Lord said, “What have you done? Listen! Your brother’s blood cries out to me from the ground. Now you are under a curse and driven from the ground, which opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand. When you work the ground, it will no longer yield its crops for you. You will be a restless wanderer on the earth.”

Cain said to the Lord, “My punishment is more than I can bear. Today you are driving me from the land, and I will be hidden from your presence; I will be a restless wanderer on the earth, and whoever finds me will kill me.” But the Lord said to him, “Not so  ; anyone who kills Cain will suffer vengeance seven times over.” Then the Lord put a mark on Cain so that no one who found him would kill him. So Cain went out from the Lord’s presence and lived in the land of Nod, east of Eden.

Genesis

How does murdering a brother correlate with mediocrity?

Indeed.

The statements are deceptively simple: Cain brought some of the fruits of the soil as an offering to the Lord. Abel for his part, brought one of the best firstlings of his flock.

In uncloaking the passage’s inherent subtle wisdom, Father John reveals the distinctions of each brother’s actions. While I listened to the homily and long afterwards, Cain’s behavior reveals my own habits of mediocrity. Furthermore, Cain’s inability to acknowledge the excellence of his brother’s offering augments his parents’ distrust and disobedience of God with the new poisons of envy and jealousy.

Did Cain wake up that morning intending to murder his brother?

Maybe for there had to be tension between these two very different men. But on that day, more likely, Cain rose “and brought some of the fruits of the soil…” Not thinking a whole lot about what he was doing as opposed to his younger brother.

Cain did precisely what I all too frequently do. Grabbed a handful of whatever was closest and easiest to gather. Because so often, I am not paying attention. Or I am trying to fit too many tasks into too little time. Hurrying…get this thing done in order to move on to the next thing. Perhaps that’s what Cain was doing too.

But Abel selected one of the best of his flock.

To identify the best, Abel must have taken extensive time…searching through what was likely his large flock to compare and contrast each of the animals. His intention primary, therefore entirely focused and patiently looking for excellence. Cain and Abel: It’s all about excellence. versus mediocrity And when confronted with the truth, Cain sulked, got angry because he felt shame. So much shame that he was incapable of hearing the warning of his Best Friend to him and to each of us.

“Then the Lord said to Cain, “Why are you angry? Why is your face downcast? If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must rule over it.”

Shame: sound familiar? After eating of the tree, they realized they were naked-read they were ashamed. And doesn’t the evil one and his minions always feast on our shame? Our enemies know precisely how to use it. How quickly our shame turns to anger because we forget to turn to Christ. We forget- more accurately, we’re too proud, to say, “I am sorry Lord. Please forgive me.”

Instead we blame someone. Anyone, everyone for what we detest in ourselves. And the distance between us and Him widens. Over time, becomes a chasm.

I realized, while listening to this reading in a way I never had before, why my friend St. Teresa of Avila spoke of washing the dishes as prayer. And Brother Lawrence, in his classic Practicing the Presence of God found washing the floors and the most mundane tasks to be holy. Because their intentions were toward His Glory. Each task is an opportunity for achieving perfection.

Therefore when our habits of mediocrity overwhelm like we know they will again, and again, let’s vow to refuse the despair and shame at our weakness and fickleness.

Instead, let’s accompany Jesus

Soon, in the liturgical churches, we’ll leave ordinary time. Once again, we’ll be given another chance to accompany Jesus as he’s driven into the desert. Forty holy days to beg for grace to understand Jesus, this God-man that Father John Riccardo’s calls the ambushed predator and our Rescuer.

In his remarkable book, Rescued: The Unexpected and Extraordinary News of the Gospel, Father John Riccardo explains the weakened, staving, crucified Christ as the “ambushed predator.”

“God became a man to fight, to rescue us, to get his creation—you—back. He landed on earth in order to vanquish the enemy, but here’s the challenge: the enemy won’t fight God. Satan isn’t stupid. Satan knew he couldn’t beat God and wouldn’t try, so God designed a plan: a plan he knew would involve piercing, nails, and a cross. Then he hid himself as a man. And he waited…

Jesus on the cross is not the poor, helpless victim, and he is not the hunted. Jesus on the cross is the aggressor and the hunter…in slaying our Lord, death itself was slain. It was able to kill natural human life, but was itself killed by the life that is above the nature of man. Death could not devour our Lord unless he possessed a body, neither could hell swallow him up unless he bore our flesh; and so he came in search of a chariot in which to ride to the underworld. This chariot was the body which he received from the Virgin; in it he invaded death’s fortress, broke open its strongroom and scattered all its treasure.”

Rescued: The Unexpected and Extraordinary News of the Gospel

But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must rule over it.”