The Gift of a Brother

Then the Lord said to Cain, “Where is Abel your brother?” 

Genesis 4:9

Recent events emphasize how human life is losing its value and sacredness, given the ease with which we take the life of another, be it a close relative, a friend, an acquaintance, or a stranger. In the first pages of Genesis, we learn about the human couple (man and woman), created by God, who become one flesh in the bond of love. In the couple, composed of two people who love each other, radical unity is sought, in the projection of which each one constantly strives for transformation. From the first married couple we move on to the first pair of brothers, for whom the story is almost the opposite. From the beginning with Cain and Abel, and passing through Jacob and Esau, it is a story of unity perpetually divided by deep rivalry. The brothers originate from the union of the same father and mother, but they cause crisis with their differences. According to God's plan, brotherhood must be unity of what is different, preserving diversity, and God is free in his gifts: he gives more to one and less to another. However, this should not make one better or superior to the other. The actions of the children of Adam and Eve are recounted: both offer the fruits of their labor as a sacrifice to the Lord, but God accepts Abel's offering and rejects Cain's. It is difficult for us to understand why the Lord acts in this way, and perhaps we will never be able to understand how this acceptance is perceived by those involved.

Cain is unable to bear what he perceives as an injustice on the part of the Lord towards him: his resentment against God is directed against his brother, his “adversary.” The resentment he feels is so strong that it leads him to raise his hand and kill Abel, despite God's words warning him to come to his senses. At the root of the murderous violence that leads Cain to kill his brother, we might suppose a lack of dialogue, behind which lies the rejection of the other and of his being different, even in the sense of being favored or better. It is certainly a form of jealousy that leads to tragic consequences. However, there is also a lack of dialogue with God. In fact, when he is warned of the danger, Cain remains silent; indeed, he goes to talk to his brother (v. 8). We do not know exactly what he said to him or in what tone of voice. An attempt at clarification is perceptible, but it will not be enough to appease the inner anger, if not actually to unleash it. Disagreements cannot always be resolved quickly. Sometimes they require several attempts and, above all, a willingness on the part of those involved to give something up. After that dialogue, unfortunately, Cain decides to take action and “when they were in the field, Cain rose up against his brother Abel and killed him” (v. 8b).

After his crime, Cain is asked, “Where is your brother?” The same question is also addressed to us today and invites us to reflect on our responsibility towards others and on our ability to welcome and love those who are different from us. Every act of rejection, of hostility towards our brother, even when no blood has been shed, is in reality a murderous act. God is there. He does not intervene, but he sees and questions. Responsibility before God is essentially responsibility towards our brother, whose face is precisely that of God, as in the story of the reconciliation between Jacob and Esau (Genesis 33). The first brotherhood therefore ends in fratricide, and those that follow come close to it: Esau threatens Jacob with death, Joseph's brothers pretend to kill him and sell him. Beyond blood ties, in the Bible, being brothers means having the same God, living the same expectations, consciously belonging to the same people. With the coming of Jesus and listening to His words, we discover that it is possible to go even further. Being brothers and sisters is a journey, made up of misunderstandings and mistakes, but where we must learn to accept and welcome one another, appreciating that each person's differences are a family treasure. In the group of disciples, family relationships are transcended: “For whoever does the will of God is my brother and sister and mother” (Mark 3:35). At the same time, these words are a challenge for an expanded fraternity, to welcome as brothers and sisters all those who adhere to the message of the Kingdom, and recognizing Jesus as the firstborn, they are all indistinctly children of the Father. We still have a lot of work to do on ourselves to leave the pages of Genesis behind.

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Weekly Bible reading plan #25

June 16, Nehemiah 4-6; Acts 2:22-47

June 17, Nehemiah 7-9; Acts 3

June 18, Nehemiah 10-11; Acts 4:1-22

June 19, Nehemiah 12-13; Acts 4:23-37

June 20, Esther 1-2; Acts 5:1-21

June 21, Esther 3-5; Acts 5:22-42

June 22, Esther 6-8; Acts 6