Chapter Two, pages 92-98

Cain's Assault

This section asks us to take a fresh look at the story of Cain and Abel. It is always tempting to put ourselves into the role of the virtuous one, but the truth is that we play both roles at different times in our life. "Cain's envy and murder do not prefigure how 'they'... behave in distinction to 'us'... but, how all human beings tend to behave toward others."

Fortunately for us, the story of Cain is also a story of God's protection. Cain is not just exiled from his home, he is also marked and given holy protection through his wanderings. This is fortunate, for when we live into the role of Cain in our own lives, we know we will not be completely forsaken and cast off.

This is a story of inequalities and the choices we make when confronted with them. Volf opens up this story, helping us see that Cain was the favored son, with the most successful life, while Abel was the second son, who barely scratched a living out of the earth. Cain came to God expecting that his favored status would translate to an outpouring of divine blessing, regardless of the state of his heart or his offerings. When Abel was honored above him, the reversal was more than Cain could take. Abel was unworthy, and if God chose the unworthy son over the worthy one, then God must also be unworthy.

Do you see the dangerous logic that Cain employed? It is often this kind of logic we use to justify our exclusion of others. They are not worth our time, energy, resources, etc. That level of worth can be measured in many different, trivial ways, disregarding the most fundamental truth that we are all human, all created from the dust of the earth. "Cain was confronted with God's measure of what truly matters and what is truly great." God turns the tables on us whenever we try to put ourselves above another human being.

Because Cain, because we, cannot bear to live with this reversal, we fall prey to the pervasive logic of sin. "The logic of sin was originally designed for the very purpose of overcoming the obligation to do good." We begin to come up with reasons and rationale for why we must act the way we choose to act.

Volf says that first we set up a geography of sin, determining where we can carry out our desires. This takes us out of the public sphere, because deep down we know that what we are contemplating is not appropriate. "The preferred geography of sin is 'the outside,' where the wrongdoing can happen unnoticed and unhindered." Cain knew that his response of violence towards Abel was not appropriate, even though he also felt like he had no other choice. An empty field was chosen, where no one would see and no one would know. No one except for God, that is.

Then there is the ideology of sin. "The ideology of sin functions to deny both the act and the responsibility for it, preferably with a touch of humor." Once the sin has been committed, we find ways to defer suspicion and investigation. "Am I my brother's keeper?" Cain asked, blithely sidestepping the Divine's questions. In order for our sin to remain undetected, we construct whole stories to cover our whereabouts and deeds.

But all of our maneuvering cannot change the simple facts: we have been created by one God, and so we are all brothers and sisters. We are our brother's keeper, and our sister's friend, to use the words of a song I know. This is God's intention for our life together. When we act in a way to exclude another, then we end up excluding ourselves, from all relationships and from God.

Still, there is good news. We may exclude ourselves by our own actions, or inactions, but God does not abandon us. God chooses to remain in relationship with Cain even though his sin was egregious. "The same God who did not regard Cain's scanty offering, bestowed kindness upon the murderer whose life was in danger. God did not abandon Cain to the cycle of exclusions he himself has set in motion." This provides us assurance for when we are acting out Cain's role, and guidance when we have been wronged like Abel.