6th Week in Ord. Time, Monday – 13th February 2023 – Genesis 4,1-15.25; Mark 8,11-13
Competition Kills
Today’s first reading presents the story of Cain killing his younger brother Abel. From the sin of disobedience, the human condition worsens to fratricide (killing of a brother). Cain is upset because his sacrifice of grain is not as pleasing to the Lord as his younger brother’s offering of the best of his flock. God’s displeasure with Cain’s sacrifice may be based on Cain’s not offering the best of what he had. Cain is inflamed with jealousy that drives him to anger and ultimately to murder.
Once again, this passage describes our human nature. Sometimes we are like Cain. We perform some sort of ritual, expecting to be rewarded, but we do not have the right attitude when we make an offering to God. The purpose of presenting a gift to God should not be to receive something in return. It should be to praise and worship God for God’s sake, not for what God might do for us. In another way, we might express jealousy when others seem to be having a better response to their actions than ours. Instead of trying to see how we might improve our actions, we rather often try to put down other persons, either emotionally or physically. We think it is easier to remove the competition or block. Further still, we may act like Cain when it comes to our fear of being punished even for things for which we deserve to be punished. We are afraid of others’ reaction against us.
