Doing What is Right: Genesis 4:1-8

In Genesis 4 Cain and Abel are both presented as productive members of God’s creation.  Respectively working as a farmer and a shepherd, both men are duly fulfilling the God given command to “fill the earth and subdue it” (Gen. 1:28).  What is more, both of them choose to worship God by bringing a portion of their labors as an offering to the Lord.  Their acts of worship are particularly telling because to this point God has never commanded acts of sacrifice and worship.  They worship God not out of duty or obligation, but out of a natural response of gratitude for what God has given them. 

And yet, for someone reason God looks upon Abel’s offering with favor, and does not look with favor upon Cain’s.  Why?  What would cause God to respond so differently to these two offerings?

It has often been said that Cain’s offering was inferior to Abel’s.  While Cain brought “some fruit of the soil,” Abel brought “fat portions from some of the firstborn of the flock.”  Abel takes from the best of his flock and offers it to God, while Cain just takes some of his produce (not necessarily his best).  God’s favor goes to Abel because Abel’s offering is more reflective of a faithful sacrifice to God.

While that may sufficiently explain Cain’s lack of favor, I wonder if there is there something deeper happening in this passage.  For a farmer like Cain God’s favor would look like perfect amounts of rain and sun leading to an abundance of crops.  A season of drought and famine would cause a farmer like Cain to doubt God’s favor. 

What if, after dutifully working the land and making his offering to God, a drought overtook Cain’s farm, while Abel’s flocks continued to multiply?  That would almost certainly lead Cain to conclude that God was showing favor to Abel and none to him.  How many of us have looked at the success of others in the midst of our own troubles and wondered, “God, why do they have such success while I continue to struggle?”

With his face downcast, and his heart feeling dejected, Cain becomes angry with God.  But God isn't angry with Cain.  As a matter of fact, God is concerned about Cain.  God says to him, “Why are you angry?  Why is your soul downcast?” (Genesis 4:6).  While Cain believes that he has lost God’s favor, God hasn't come to that conclusion.  “If you do what is right, will you not be accepted?” (Genesis 4:7).

In the midst of his troubles and anger God calls on Cain to “do what is right” – to continue to live according to God’s design.  The reality of sin, introduced to world in Genesis 3, means that in life there will be trials and struggles.  Droughts, famines, and misfortune can come even to someone who works hard and tries to please God.  In the midst of such troubles, God’s call is to do what is right.  Even when the days are hard, God’s call is to continue to live faithfully and to worship God. 

Unfortunately Cain chose differently.  Rather than remaining faithful to God in the midst of his struggles, he chose to take the life of his brother, in an act of jealousy, rage, and anger.  It’s a sad story about the challenges of navigating a world broken by the effects of sin.

How do you respond to trials and struggles in your life?  Do you assume that God is causing trouble to come your way?  Do you blame God for your problems?  The reality is that all of us will experience troubles in this life.  While they may not come to us in equal measure, we will all have days when nothing seems to go our way.  That’s the consequence of living in a sinful world. 

The challenge Genesis 4 lays before us is, “can we continue to do what is right and be faithful to God, even in the midst of our troubles?”  For our troubles are not, in fact, a sign that God has rejected us, but they are moments that test our faith.  It’s easy to have faith when the days are good, but it’s difficult when the days are hard.  May God give us a strong faith, that we might persevere in doing what is right, even in our troubles.

A Story for All Ages

Note: This post marks the beginning of a summer long series of devotions on the book of Genesis. Each Wednesday a new devotional will be posted.  These devotions are intended to be a companion to with Faith UMC's summer sermon series, "The Gospel According to Genesis" and the daily reading guide to Genesis.  You can access sermon online here and the daily reading guide here.

Imagine that you are an Israelite child, living in Babylon in 570 B.C.  Seventeen years ago your family was deported from Jerusalem when the Babylonian army laid siege to the city.  While you yourself have never stepped foot in Jerusalem, your parents always speak of the city with awe and reverence.  They tell you stories about how God created the heavens and the earth, and everything contained therein.  They speak of God’s goodness to humanity, and of humanity’s mistrust and disobedience to God.  They speak of a covenant God made with your ancestor Abraham, promising that through his family God would bring blessing to the whole world.  They recall that God promised the land of Jerusalem as an inheritance to Abraham’s family.

           

As you listen, you feel in your heart that these stories are your story.  While you weren't there when the world was created, you believe that you too were created by God.  While you never met Adam and Eve, you can relate to their mistrust of God and inability to keep God’s commands.  While you never met Abraham, you feel a kinship with him and a desire to be faithful to the covenant God started with him centuries ago.  You are a member of the people of Israel, and while all you have ever known is life in Babylon, you feel like your heart is in the Promised Land.

           

The book of Genesis was written so that the people of God from all generations might know where they come from, and their reason for existence.  Genesis – which means beginning – tells the story of God’s creation of the heavens and earth and of the beginning of God’s people, Israel.  The book is divided into two parts.  Chapters 1-11 tell a universal story about the creation and crisis of humankind.  They speak of humanity’s call to live in God’s image, how human sin distorts that image, and how the effects of sin spread so far across the earth, that God grieved the earth and laid waste to it by flood.

By the end of chapter 11, the story of Genesis has come to a major impasse.  A good and gracious God has created a good and beautiful world, but human sin continues to spread and disrupt God’s design, bringing death and destruction.  What will happen to world?  Will it die away, a victim of its own sin, or will God do something to rescue the creation?

The second part of Genesis, chapters 12-50, tells the story of what God does to redeem the world.  Rather than destroy the sinful world, God chooses to enter into relationship with a man called Abraham, promising to bring blessing to all the world through his family.  The story continues through four generations of Abraham’s family, showing how God remains faithful to the promise of blessing, even amid the continual failings of Abraham’s family.

This is the story of Genesis.  As the ancient Israelites knew from the beginning, the purpose of Genesis is not to provide a detailed historical account of the creation of the world.  Neither is it to provide scientific explanations for the various phenomena of the universe.  None of them expected Genesis 1 to be a literal account of the creation of the world, nor did they expect to be able to locate the bones of Adam and Eve in Mesopotamia.  Rather they knew that the purpose of Genesis is to convey the truth about the human condition and the good news about the God who loves the world too much to let it go.

As we enter into a summer long immersion in the book of Genesis, it’s important that we know what Genesis is for.  If we want to read every detail of the story as historical or scientific fact, we will quickly get frustrated and miss the point.  Many of the stories of Genesis, particularly in chapters 1-11, are full of symbolism and imagery that is not meant to represent what actually happened, as much as to convey truth about who God is and who we are.

As you read Genesis, pray that God would help you find yourself in these stories.  Pray that God would open your eyes to see God as he really is.  Pray that these stories would convict you of your own frailty and brokenness.  And above all, pray that these stories would become your story, that you too would believe that the same God who created the universe and called Abraham, is the God who created and called you.             

Praying for Syria

Last week, my heart broke as I sat down to the evening news and saw images of the 1400+ Syrians mercilessly killed at the hands of their own leader.  A civil war that has waged for several years and claimed over 100,000 lives was suddenly hitting close to home.  I cannot imagine the fear, grief, anxiety, and pain the Syrian people are experiencing.

My heart sunk even deeper on Saturday when I heard our President calling for our own nation to respond to the Syrian crisis with a military strike.  I have prayed and worried for my older brother as he served in Iraq and Afghanistan, and the thought that our nation may again become embroiled in war overwhelms me. 

And yet, our President, Congress, and other international leaders find themselves in a difficult situation.  To do nothing sends the signal that the international community will sit idly by while innocent life is taken.  To take military action is to respond to violence with violence, which will neither solve the Syrian crisis nor bring about a lasting peace.

No matter how the international community chooses to respond to this crisis, we who follow Jesus have only one appropriate response: prayer.  God’s desire is that none of His children war with each other, that no one be victimized by brutal violence, and that all live at peace.  In his death and resurrection, Jesus broke the cycle of violence and death that plagues our world and created the conditions for a true and lasting peace.

Pope Francis has invited people of faith around the world to observe a day of prayer and fasting for the people of Syria this Saturday, September 7^th.  I myself intend to join with brothers and sisters across the world in observing this solemn day.  I will fast from sun-up to sundown, and spend time through the day praying for the victims, for the peaceable end to the civil war, for those working for peace and justice, and for national and international leaders as they discuss a response.  I encourage all of you to join me and brothers and sisters around the world in this day of fasting and prayer. 

In our worship service this Sunday, we will continue this observance with a special time of prayer for the people of Syria.  No matter what your opinion on this matter (and our opinions are many), prayer is our way of acknowledging that the challenges of our world cannot be met by politicians, generals, or cruise missiles, but only by the power of our great and gracious God.

In it for the Long Haul

“If I say, ‘I will not mention God’s word, or speak anymore in God’s name,’ his word is in my heart like a fire, a fire shut up in my bones.  I am weary of holding it in; indeed, I cannot” (Jer. 20:9).

Every year at Annual Conference (a gathering of United Methodist clergy and lay leaders) we honor those pastors who are retiring.  I am always amazed at the number of retirees who have served 40+ years in active ministry.  That’s 50% longer than my lifetime (to date)!  In a day and age where the average person changes careers three times, it’s remarkable to recognize those who have stuck with something for four decades.

If our ministry is a race, then God is calling us to be
the tortoise, not the hare.

Jeremiah’s ministry as a prophet also lasted forty years (627-587 BC).  He first began speaking God’s Word as a young teenager.  Over the next forty years he would continue to speak God’s Word through some of the most tumultuous and challenging days in the history of Israel.  In Jeremiah’s lifetime he witnessed the demise and fall of the holy city of Jerusalem – a demise rooted in the reckless faithlessness of the people of God.

Imagine how difficult it was for Jeremiah to stick to it – to get up every morning with a willingness to be faithful to God’s message, even though it seemed few were willing to listen.  How did he do it?  How did Jeremiah make it forty years in such a difficult vocation?

The answer is that Jeremiah was deeply connected to God.  Hardly a page goes by in the book of Jeremiah where we don’t find the prophet on his knees in prayer, asking God to clarify his purpose, free him from suffering, give him strength to carry on.  Jeremiah’s heart was so passionately devoted to God’s purpose for him, that he found he couldn't quit.  There was a fire in his bones.

As we begin our fourth year together in min

istry at Faith UMC, I am reminded that we have just begun.  God has called us to be in ministry with our community and world.  It is a calling that includes welcoming all people to worship God with passion, grow deeply in Christian faith, and serve Christ in community.  And while God has begun some good work among us in these past years, we have barely started on the journey God has for us.  We have not been called to a short-term ministry, but to a lifetime of ministry.  And what we learn from Jeremiah is that if we want our ministry to last a lifetime, then we must be deeply and passionately connected to God.

Do you have the kind of faith that gets you out of the bed in the morning ready to serve Christ?  Are you passionately devoted to God’s Word, seeking to know and live out the scriptures?  Do you regularly connect with God through prayer and worship?  Does your connection to Christ enable you to be in ministry for the long haul?   

Get Ready to Get Wet!

Before ascending into heaven, Jesus left his followers (including us!) with the one last command: “Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit” (Matthew 28:19).  This Sunday, we have a very special opportunity to do just that.

It’s been nearly a year since Jeff Vasalech first joined us in worship.  He moved to the Pittsburgh area from Monterey, CA seeking a fresh start in life.  Over the past year, it has been my joy to journey with Jeff as Jesus has given him the fresh start he was looking for.  In our conversations together, Jeff and I have read the scriptures closely, prayed for God’s transforming grace to be at work in his life, and marveled at how Jesus has made Jeff a new person. 

Now, convinced that he is called to follow Jesus all his days, Jeff is ready to be baptized.  Baptism is an act of God’s grace, in which water symbolizes the cleansing power of God’s forgiveness, and our acceptance into God’s eternal family.

Jeff’s desire from the beginning has been to experience a deep water, full immersion baptism.  This Sunday at 2 p.m., we will hold a special baptism service for Jeff at Campbell Lake.  The lake is owned by owned by a local family and is close to the church.  Out of respect for the family, I will not publish their address on the world wide web, but you can call the c

hurch office (412.963.8155) or email me (pastortom@faithfoxchapel.org) to get the address.

I want to invite you to come and share in this special service.  Baptism is an act of the church, and so it is important that as many of us as possible be present for the service, to witness God’s grace at work in Jeff’s life and to remember our own baptism. 

Following Jeff’s baptism, you will have the opportunity to remember your baptism.  You will be invited to enter the water in whatever way you choose (you can simply dip your feet in, or fully immerse yourself) and I will offer a short prayer over you, asking God to remind you of your place in God’s family.  Feel free to wear your swimsuit and a t-shirt and bring along a towel should you wish to wade deep into the water.

Words can hardly express how excited, honored, and humbled I am to have the opportunity to share in this special service.  I hope to see you there.

The Prophetic Power of Tears

“Oh, my anguish, my anguish!  I writhe in pain.  Oh the agony of my heart!  My heart pounds within me, I cannot keep silent” (Jeremiah 4:19).

“Is there no balm in Gilead?  Is there no physician there?  Why then is there no healing for the wound of my people?  Oh, that my head were a spring of water and my eyes a fountain of tears!  I would weep day and night for the slain of my people” (Jeremiah 8:22-9:1).

There are a lot of tears in the book of Jeremiah.  So many, in fact, that we could easily call Jeremiah the crying prophet.  Tears are a crucial part of Jeremiah’s prophetic ministry.  His tears convey the deep ache in God’s heart over the brokenness of the world. 

Jeremiah lived in a time of great uncertainty and grave sin.  The people of Israel had strayed so far from God that it seemed they were doomed to die in a foreign land.  Seeing clearly the fragility of the situation, Jeremiah cried.  His tears spoke the powerful message that something is deeply wrong – things are not as they are supposed to be.

While Jeremiah’s tears express his agony and grief over his personal sufferings, they also express the ache of God’s heart.  God takes no pleasure in the suffering of Israel.  The wound of their sin is self inflicted, and God weeps for them as a parent weeps over the loss of a child.  Jeremiah’s tears are also God’s tears.

If we’re honest, you and I aren’t comfortable with tears.  When someone cries, we’re quick to wipe their tears away and say “there, there, don’t cry, it will be alright.”  When we read the book of Jeremiah, we’d prefer to skip past the tears and get on to the more hope-filled passages, where God’s promise of restored life is the focus.

But tears play such an important role in God’s work of salvation.  There is no salvation without tears, for weeping permits newness.  It’s why Jesus wept before raising Lazarus from the grave (John 11:35).  It’s why he wept in the garden of Gethsemane before being crucified and raised (Mark 14:34).  Tears are the prelude of resurrection!

In the sermon on the mount, Jesus said “Blessed are those who mourn” (Matthew 5:4).  Those who shed tears of grief are blessed because they are the ones who see clearly that we need the salvation Jesus brings.  In our lives, when we shed tears over the death of a loved one, the suffering of a child, or the loss of a relationship, our tears are our acknowledgement that we need to be saved – we need God’s help.  Our tears open us to the possibility that God has something more for us – that we need new life.

What makes you weep?  How have your tears unveiled your need for God’s grace?  How can God work through your tears to bring you new life?

We are Not Our Own

"I know, O Lord, that our lives are not our own, that we're not able to direct our paths" (Jeremiah 10:23).

It's not about me.  That might be one of the most difficult lessons to learn in our culture.  We live in a "me-first" culture, where my dreams, my interests, my goals are exalted above all else.  Yet, one of the fundamental messages of the scriptures is that if I put myself first, I am doomed to failure.

That's essentially what happened in Jeremiah's day.  Convinced that they knew a better way to live than the one God had designed for them, the people of Israel went their own way.  They made their own gods, with their own hands.  They made their own rules and laws.  They pursued their own dreams.  They ignored the God who freed their forbears from slavery in order to pursue their own way of life.

As the people of Israel would soon discover: God ways are higher than our ways, and God's thoughts higher than our thoughts.  Our ways will ultimately lead to our doom.  The destruction of Jerusalem and the exile of the people of Israel is the result of Israel's attempt to make their own way in life.

Jeremiah's reminder to the people of Israel is also a timely reminder for us.  "Our lives are not our own."  We didn't make ourselves.  We were made by God for God's purpose.  Everything we have, and everything we are belongs to God alone.  And that's a good thing, because all of God's ways lead to life.

Are you living your life for yourself, or have you surrendered your life to God?  Is your first priority your own desires, or do you seek what God desires for you?  What needs to change in your life in order for God to be first?