Love.
Beloved,
“9 Then the Lord said to Cain, “Where is your brother Abel?” He said, “I do not know; am I my brother’s keeper?” (Genesis 4:9)
God left the question that Cain spit out unanswered. Afterall, he had been caught – red-handed.
When we do harm to another, sometimes we are caught red-handed. Other times, that which we are trying to hide goes unobserved… except by God.
God’s answer is an unsaid affirmative to Cain’s spiteful, defensive retort. Yes, we are our siblings keepers: sisters and brothers that share blood from the same parents’ blood, and sisters and brothers with whom we share the blood of our common humanity.
The call to all of us is to LOVE. To love is to remember we are all related – all of us have sprung from the heart of God. All of us are beloved by God, and beloved by others, even when we ourselves don’t feel the love.
Questions for reflection:
How do you find the strength to love when you feel outraged or envious?
How do you tap down unexpected or unleashed rag when it surfaces?
Sometimes our enemies are not over there, but as close as our next breath.
Breathe on me breath of God. Fill me with life anew.
That I may love what Thou dost love and do what Thou wouldst do.”
(From the hymn “Breathe on Me, Breath of God” by Edwin Hatch.)
Breathe. Release. Breathe.
Love.
Rev. Dr. Cheryl F. Dudley
Regional Executive Minister of the American Baptist Churches of Metropolitan New York