In today’s first reading we see the familiar story of Cain and Abel. Two young men who both offer up a sacrifice to God, one which God finds pleasing, and another which we did not. It wasn’t that Cain offered something bad, he offered from what he was in charge of, just as Abel did. What mattered was the content of Cains’ heart. God sees past our empty gestures into who we truly are. Even though Cain had his heart in the wrong place, God offered him the path to repentance. “Why are you so resentful and crestfallen. If you do well, you can hold up your head; but if not, sin is a demon lurking at the door: his urge is toward you, yet you can be his master.” This is God speaking to us every time we sin. Instead of repentance, Cain tricked his brother out into the desert and killed him. One small sin led to another. Another led to another, and someone ended up dying because of it.
Jesus in the Gospel reminds us that he did not come to be a magician, to dazzle people with fancy tricks and miracles. He came to offer us reconciliation with God. He came to show us that God loves us and wants to offer us a path that leads to mercy and love, not anger and hate. One that leads to creating life, not destroying it. In our culture of death, this is still not a popular message. It is a reminder of the most underappreciated and unused Sacrament in our Church: confession. A moment in which God offers us the same chance he offered the first sinners, a chance to get out the small things that are starting to add up. Remember that it only takes a pebble to start an avalanche. Cains jealousy led to lying and murder. Ted Bundy once said in an interview that all the evil in his life began with pornography, led to another thrilling sin and another. Eventually, he became one of the most sadistic serial killers of all time.
As the Psalmist reminds us today: “Why do you recite my statutes, and profess my covenant with your mouth though you hate discipline and cast my words behind you?” God is looking for integrity, authenticity, and humility. If we humble ourselves, coming to Him in the Sacraments, not seeking signs and flashy miracles, but rather that still small voice that calls out to you: “You are forgiven, go in peace;” that is the real miracle. It’s time to drop our rocks.
A reflection on the readings for Monday of the 6th week of Ordinary Time: February 18th, 2019 (Year 1)