The trouble begins with Cain's relationship with the Lord. Cain brings some of the fruits of the soil as an offering to the Lord, while Abel brings the best of the firstborn of his flock. The Lord accepts Abel's offering but not Cain's. Why? Because, "by faith Abel offered God a better sacrifice than Cain. By faith he was commended as a righteous man, when God spoke well of his offerings." (Hebrews 11:4) That means that Cain's offering was inferior, it was token, it was unworthy. His motive was not righteous.

It is easy to get into the habit of giving to God a token offering of our lives and labor rather than of our best. We can slip into the habit of giving God what is left over, what does not cost us anything. Such offerings are manifestations of our relationship with the Lord. It is what is in our hearts that matters. It is what motivates us that is important. When David wanted to buy the threshing floor of Araunah on which to build an altar to the Lord, Araunah offers to give it to the king. But the king replied, "No, I insist on paying you for it. I will not sacrifice to the Lord my God burnt offerings that cost me nothing." (2 Sam.24:24) Worship requires all that we are, not just part of us. "I urge you, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God - this is your spiritual act of worship." (Rom.12:1)

Rather than accept the rebuke and change his heart attitude - in other words, repent - Cain gets angry, resentful, and jealous of his brother. He does not take to correction. He does not learn from his lesson. God sees this and confronts him with it. This is a teachable moment for Cain. This is the moment when the boy becomes the man, when the adolescent grows up and takes responsibility for his attitude. Will he learn from this experience?

"Do you want to be accepted? Then do what is right." Get your heart right with God. Make sure your motivation is right? Humble yourself and you will be accepted. Get yourself out of the way and put your best foot forward. Pick yourself up and try again with integrity. But if you don't, you will be in trouble. If you take the lower road, and indulge your anger and resentment and jealousy, sin will have you in its grip. He desires to have you, but you must master it. You are responsible. You must choose. Is this not the voice of every parent to their adolescent child?

Jesus was troubled in spirit at the Last Supper, and said, "One of you is going to betray me." When he gave Judas the piece of bread Satan entered into him. Jesus told him, "What you are about to do, do quickly." (John 13:21,27) Sin was crouching at the door of Judas's heart, its desire was for him, and he did not master it. He chose evil rather than good, wrong rather than right.

Cain took his brother outside and killed him. He took out his anger at God on Abel. Rather than dealing with his own shortcomings Cain murdered his younger brother. When questioned by the Lord about his brother's whereabouts he sarcastically commented, "I don't know. Am I my brother's keeper?" He lies. He is callously indifferent to his brother's wellbeing. Here is the birth of individual autonomy, and the break up of the family. It is the selfish assertion of the primacy of individual feelings over responsibility to others.

The Gospel of Jesus is the antithesis to Cain. "This is the message you have heard from the beginning: We should love one another. Do not be like Cain, who belonged to the evil one, and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his own actions were evil and his brother's were righteous....Any one who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life in him. This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers." (1 John 3:11-16)

Rather than taking the lives of our brother, as Cain did, we give our lives for our brother. What could be more compelling? Sacrificial love is the characteristic of Jesus and his followers, not murder. Anger is replaced with forgiveness, jealousy is replaced with acceptance, and callous indifference is replaced with reconciliation. What a difference Jesus can make in a family if relationships are modeled on him?

Violence has consequences. "What have you done? Listen. Your brother's blood cries out to me from the ground." The descendants of Abel are crying out. Your guilt remains. You will be cursed. "You will be a restless wanderer on the earth." Abel's blood cries out for justice and retribution. It cries out to God against all who do violence to their brothers. But there is "the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel." (Hebrews 12:24) The blood of Jesus speaks of forgiveness and reconciliation.

The Bible makes a contrast between the way of Cain (Jude 11) and the way of Jesus. Jude warns us of false teachers who take the way of Cain. "These men speak abusively against whatever they do not understand; and what things they do understand by instinct, like unreasoning animals - these are the very things that destroy them." (Jude 10) It is a way of unbelief that manifests itself in envy, in murder, in denial of responsibility for one's brother, and in refusal to accept punishment for their actions and attitudes.

"My punishment is more than I can bear. Today you are driving me from the land, and I will be hidden from your presence; I will be a restless wanderer on the earth, and whoever finds me will kill me." There is no remorse, just self-pity. Despite him deserving all that he describes, the Lord gives him protection so that he will survive. Even the worst of sinners are given time to repent.

There is an anti-Cain story in the New Testament. Saul of Tarsus persecuted the followers of Jesus to their death, arresting men and women and throwing them into prison. He was present at the stoning of Stephen to death. He gave his approval to the murderous action and guarded the clothes of those who were killing him. Yet, the Lord confronted him on the road to Damascus and gave him an opportunity to repent, which he did. He described himself as the worst of sinners. Yet he became the apostle to the world, the bearer of the grace of God to the worst of sinners, the writer of these immortal words: "love always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails." (1 Cor.13:6-8)

St. Francis of Assisi gives us the Gospel answer to Cain.

Lord, make us instruments of your peace. Where there is hatred, let us sow love; where there is injury, pardon; where there is discord, union; where there is doubt, faith; where there is despair, hope; where there is darkness, light; where there is sadness, joy. Grant that we may not so much seek to be consoled as to console; to be understood as to understand; to be loved as to love. For it is in giving that we receive; it is in pardoning that we are pardoned; and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.

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