Sin is lurking at the door

As I continue to spend a little time on the daily lectionary during Lent I am confronted with what is actually one of my favorite stories - the story of Cain and Abel.  I have preached on it several times and find truth in it.

The truth is in the set up - two brothers who are very different.  And each offers something to God and God has greater regard for one than the other.  The one who is feels rejected - Cain - kills the one whose offering is accepted - Abel.

The truth for me is the reality that we are all different and we bring different talents and gifts to the table.  And some seem to be more acceptable than others.  Then what are we going to do?

I continue to ponder this question - what do we do with our pain and anger?  There is pain and anger  in rejection and we cannot talk ourselves out of it.  We live in a culture which discourages the experience of pain.  

Last year when I went to the Virginia Festival of the Book, I heard the author Don Winslow speak about pain.  He has written many novels about the drug traffic from Mexico to the US and the violence of the Mexican cartels.  His response to the situation was to say that the problem lies - not in Mexico but in our country.  And the problem is that we WILL NOT experience pain - instead the solution is drugs - heroin, opiates, alcohol.  You name it. For people like me - I like to intellectualize for as long as I can or numb myself with food or TV for as long as I can.

Life is hard and pain is inevitable.  Some of it is physical pain but  equally painful are the times of rejection and feeling like a failure.  That is what happened with Cain.  For him it led to anger and murder.

Sin is lurking at the door - the Bible tells us.  I think in this case sin is the demon of comparison.  Can we go through life without comparing ourselves to others?  That is a tall order.  In a way we become socialized by comparing ourselves to others in order to ascertain what are the social norms.  God knows that as teenagers as we are trying to "find ourselves" we often live trying to fit in with whatever crowd is ours.

I have been listening to a Podcast of Richard Rohr lately and am more aware that for most of us - maturity comes later.  In the second half of life.  I keep finding that it is in centering myself on God through prayer and meditation and reflection, I can be guided into whatever life God has for me - which may look very different from my peers.  And my faith also helps me to find peace with the many times of feeling inadequate and imperfect and just plain wrong.

Sin really is always lurking at the door - but God is present within our souls if we can be still enough to wait and listen.

Here is a blessing by Maxine Shonk

May God be present to you whenever you are ANGRY

energizing you to discover divine truths wherever they may be found.

May you discern the heart of your anger and speak the words that give birth to positive change and mutual growth while the rest falls away like chaff.

May you be a patient presence to others in their anger.

May the God who holds you in your anger, the God of PATIENCE bless you.