Tuesday, March 22, 2005 Lenten Fast
The Hieromartyr Basil of Ancyra
6th Hour: Isaiah 5:7-16 1st Vespers: Genesis 4:8-15 2nd Vespers: Proverbs 5:1-15
Genesis 4:8-15, especially vs. 10: "And the Lord said, What hast thou done? The voice
of thy brother's blood cries to Me out of the ground." There are those who grade sin in degrees and dub the transgressions
of Adam and Eve as "relatively harmless"- a mere yielding to an unimportant and understandable temptation. But God
does not grade sin. All sin is separation from Him and at its depth the genesis of death-dealing among men. Behold! While
"sin entered the world" with Adam and Eve (Rom. 5:12), it is now perceived not to be "relatively harmless," but the source
of "capital crime." Sin's dread potential is revealed along with irreversible consequences, bondage, and resistance to self-examination.
The tragedy of Cain and Abel dramatically reveals sin's consequences. The voice of Abel's blood cried out to God (Gen.
4:10), and along with it, the blood of history's countless slaughtered victims. But despite grief, the dead are not restored to
life. Sin of every sort brings irrevocable consequences. King Saul's disregard of the Lord's commandment cost him his
kingdom and his life (1 Sam. 13 and 31). King David's crime against Uriah the Hittite haunted his reign, despite
repentance and gifts of psalmody and prophecy. The stain of adultery remained. Whispered lies return with ghastly results,
which even retraction cannot undo.
However, the consequences of sins may be beneficial, if one understands rightly, and does not whine like Cain: "My crime
is too great for me to be forgiven" (vs.13). As Christians, Beloved, we know that there is another way. The sinner and
Prophet, David, teaches us that "a heart that is broken and humbled, God will not despise" (Ps. 50:17 LXX).
The truth is, our response to sin in us is crucial. By the grace of God, consequences may provoke contrition and the
breaking and humbling needed for healing. Denial is a demon with a thousand forms. Cain's denial produced a terrible,
downward spiral into a hardened, personal resistance. The rejection of his offering brought no reflection but only anger
(Gen. 4:5). Presented with the alternative of offering "rightly" (vs. 7), Cain transferred his anger to Abel and murder
resulted (vs. 8). Asked where his brother was, he evaded with a question, "Am I my brother's keeper?" (vs. 9). Faced with
his crime and its consequences, he whined (vss. 10-15). Sin so often enslaves, blinds, binds, and holds: "Iniquities ensnare
a man and every one is bound in the chains of his own sins" (Prov. 5:22 LXX). How simple is the path to freedom, and
how often it is resisted! Admission is the doorway out of the bondage of sin. Beloved, the Lord speaks clearly: "Behold, I
stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he
with Me" (Rev. 3:20).
By God's grace, if we admit our sin, we open the door to those convoluted, dark passageways that sin burrows into our
hearts. Cain would not examine his anger, nor what was morally twisted within him, nor the enormity of his crime, nor the
shattering of the bond of fraternal love and trust which he had severed. Yet, Beloved, see how God encourages us. With
no repentance nor any sign even of remorse, our patient and loving God did not abandon Cain. Rather, He marked him and
continued as a covering over Cain to his life's end (vss. 15,16).
God usually leaves time and space that we may change our hearts: admit our sin, examine our souls, and confess. The thief
on the cross found sufficient time. Let us remember, "If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is
not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness" (1
Jn. 1:8,9).
Cleanse us from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, and may our soul, our body and our spirit be enlightened by the light
of Thy divine knowledge, that we may be saved by Thy mercy.