Monday of the Sixth Week in Ordinary Time

Today's Mass Reading

Today’s first reading from Genesis contains another familiar story, namely, the story of Cain killing his brother Abel after God prefers the offering of Abel. The text is rather concise, and hence it is not clear exactly why God prefers Abel’s offering from his flock as compared to Cain’s offering from his field. The response from today’s psalm provides some insight as to why this would be: “Offer to God a sacrifice of praise” (Ps. 50:14a). We can only surmise that Abel better offered his sacrifice with genuine praise. But whatever the reason, after Cain’s killing of Abel, the Lord appears and asks Cain where his brother is. Now, of course, God KNOWS what Cain has done; God realizes that Abel has been killed at the hands of his own brother. So the question posed by God is not one of seeking information. On the contrary, the Lord is giving Cain the chance to admit his sin, to confess his murder, and to repent of this wrongdoing. Instead, Cain shirks responsibility and evades the question by replying with a question of his own, “Am I my brother’s keeper?” Because he does not own up to his crime or show sorrow, Cain lives a life of extended punishment.

One lesson we might take from this is that we are called to be our brother’s keeper. Sin entered the world through the original sin of the first woman and first man. In today’s story we see the results of this sin in the next generation. And this constant turn to sin is a theme throughout the Old Testament. Jesus Christ, however, enters this world to offer his life, death, and resurrection in order to free us from sin. He takes responsibility for our sins by taking them on himself and offering himself for us out of his great love. As such, Jesus becomes our keeper. He is the original and the most profound keeper of our souls. He became man for us that we might one day share life with him in heaven, free of sin.

So, again, we are called to be our brother’s keeper. We are called to look out for those around us, whether family and friends or even strangers. Particularly in the West we are inclined to forget about our brothers and sisters in other parts of the world who are in need of our prayer and charity. We all suffer when they suffer, as Cain continued to suffer even after he had caused Abel’s death. We must acknowledge our participation in social evil as well as our own personal sins and be willing to repent of this. In so doing, we become sharers in the divine mission of Jesus. We are called to be our brothers’ keeper, to imitate Christ and to offer our lives to others out of love for Christ. When we can do this, we offer a true sacrifice of praise.

Today, let us take some time to reflect on how we cause injustice in the world. Let us repent of that and look for ways to become better keepers of our brothers and sisters here on earth, in order that we might share eternal life with Christ in our existence beyond earth.

- Maria Morrow