Cain, Abel & Baby Jesus

Father, we thank you for your word.

We confess before you, Father, that we often just quickly flip through your word,

just gaze or listen to it lightly, gaze lightly with our eyes, listen lightly with our ears,

and that we don't allow your word, Father, to settle into our heart and our mind and our will.

We don't trust your word, Father, to settle into our mind, our heart, our will.

So that we are preoccupied with our own thoughts.

Father, you know our frailty and still you love us.

You know our rebellion and still you love us.

We ask that you would gently but deeply pour out your Holy Spirit upon us this morning

so that we might gaze upon your word and listen to your word

and that your word might have its healing and forming and challenging role in our lives.

And all this we ask in the name of Jesus, your Son and our Savior.

Amen.

It's not a good thing about me, but some things really, really sort of bother me.

And I think I've mentioned it before.

I listen to Christian radio sometimes.

In fact, it's usually Christian radio on at our house.

And my daughter, who'd come back from university,

was asking me if I'd noticed that a particular show had changed on Sunday night.

And I realized that I hadn't noticed that.

And I was trying to think about why it was.

And then I realized the reason why I hadn't noticed that this show had changed on Sunday night.

And that's because at some point in time on Sunday morning, afternoon,

I always turn the radio off, even though it's usually on sort of in the kitchen area.

And it's because I think there's like four shows in a row about contagious enthusiasm.

And I end up, by the time I've listened to it the second time, I want to go postal.

Too much unbridled enthusiasm and positive thinking just starts to really, really, really irritate me.

Because it just, I don't know, there's just something.

I hope I'm not offending anybody here.

Those of you who I'm offending, it just shows you how deeply you have to pray for me,

that I can be set off by people just wanting to always be,

have cheery voices, huge smiles, only talking about positive, pleasant things,

and just encouraging us to be good.

And that makes me go postal after a certain point in time.

It shows that there's something going on inside of me.

I probably need counseling, but I turn it off.

Because it's having the exact opposite effect on me

than the people who are making the show are intending it to.

And this sort of complicated aspect of human nature, or at least my human nature,

but I think all of us have certain things that people intend it to maybe make us smile,

or happy, or do something, but it creates the opposite reaction.

This type of complicated aspect of human beings is well illustrated,

and great wisdom is presented in the passage, which John just read a few moments ago.

So I invite you to take your Bibles and turn with me to Genesis chapter 4.

Genesis 4 · chapter mention

Genesis chapter 4.

Genesis 4 · chapter mention

And as is every Sunday, if you're a guest here, you don't have your Bible with you,

there's always some Bibles here at the front by the stage,

and you're welcome to use the Bible, keep it.

It can be a gift from us to you if you want.

You can return it afterwards as well if you want.

And it's the famous story of Cain and Abel.

Some of you might have noticed when John read Am I My Brother's Keeper,

that is one of those snippets of biblical tradition

which still would be sort of known in our culture.

People might not know where it came from.

They might use it out of context, but it's a snippet of that biblical heritage

which still exists in our culture.

And so it's going to talk...

Anyway, let's read.

Genesis chapter 4, verses 1.

Genesis 4:1

We'll look at it again.

Now Adam knew Eve, his wife, and she conceived and bore Cain, saying,

I have gotten a man with the help of the Lord.

And again she bore his brother Abel.

Now Abel was a keeper of sheep, and Cain a worker of the ground.

In the course of time, Cain brought to the Lord an offering of the fruit of the ground,

and Abel also brought of the firstborn of his flock and of their fat portions.

Just a pause here.

In older times, people liked eating fat.

It was highly valued if something had lots of fat.

I mean, now it's sort of a guilty pleasure when we're pouring on the bacon and the cheese on our burger

with lots of filling in it so that none of the fat runs out of the hamburger

and we feel slightly guilty about it.

But in older times, and in many parts of the world today,

it would still be viewed as something precious.

The fat was important.

Back to verse 4 again.

And Abel also brought of the firstborn of his flock and of their fat portions.

And the Lord had regard, had favor.

That's sort of another way to translate it.

And the Lord had favor for Abel and his offering,

but for Cain and his offering, he had no regard.

He did not have favor.

So Cain was very angry, and his face fell.

The Lord said to Cain,

Why are you angry, and why has your face fallen?

If you do well, will you not be accepted?

In other words, will you not have my favor upon you?

And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door.

Its desire is for you, but you must rule over it.

Now, I should have sort of paused there at a certain part.

But some of you might wonder, why is it, like,

why on earth is it that God liked Abel's sacrifice,

and he didn't like Cain's sacrifice?

I have to confess that for many, many years,

when I would glibly go over it,

I thought that the reason that God liked Abel's sacrifice

was because it was an animal sacrifice,

and you sort of pointed to the cross.

And Cain's was just, you know, grain and fruit and nuts and stuff like that,

and didn't point to the cross.

But I later on realized that that actually can't possibly be the reason,

because if you go on and read Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy,

you'll see that, in fact, there's a whole series of Old Testament offerings

that, in fact, just involve grain and the fruits of the earth.

So it's not as if there's something special about the animal

and something bad about the grain.

And so, you know, somebody might wonder,

well, why is it that God sort of liked one sacrifice and didn't like another?

One of the things when you read Old Testament stories and New Testament stories

is, as we read it, to understand that no response is,

that no particular response is required by the text.

Like, we might become very familiar with the fact that a certain response occurs,

but you should, we can always ask the question,

well, out of all of the possible responses,

why did the person choose that response?

So here's what I mean.

I'm married, and let's say I bring home to my wife one day a gift,

and I bring the gift to my wife, and her face falls.

She gets sad by it.

Okay, well, one moment.

I have a whole range of responses to this, don't I?

Like, if in fact, if I bring my wife a gift,

and her face falls,

and she seems to be unpleased with it,

why would I fly into a rage at her?

Like, why would I be angry at it?

Like, I mean, I could ask her,

like, why are you upset?

Well, I didn't like you spending so much money, or something,

or it reminds me of something.

I mean, I could ask her,

I could ask her, what could I do to make the gift acceptable?

I could ask if I could take this gift back,

and exchange it, and buy another gift.

I mean, if I did something to offend her with the gift,

I could apologize.

Like, there's all sorts of responses to that, isn't there?

So, in fact, what happens when, in this story,

when Cain's gift is not accepted,

his response to God reveals

why it is that God did not accept the gift.

Here's the first insight from the text,

if you want to put that up on the screen, Mike.

The first insight from the text.

A problem with me?

I want to put God in my debt.

A problem with me?

A problem with you?

I write these in such a way that if you write them in your notes,

if you write these in your notes,

it doesn't say,

a problem with George.

But if you write down a problem with me,

then you realize that you're writing it as a problem about you,

about me.

That it's, in fact,

it's a far, far deeper-rooted problem than we realize.

You see, what Cain is doing

is he's trying to, in a sense, manipulate God.

Like, don't we understand?

Here's another thing about gifts.

It matters to us, doesn't it?

Why somebody gives us a gift?

It matters to us.

Like, if somebody gives me a gift,

and I think, oh, that's really nice.

You know, maybe they've been, I don't know,

really obnoxious,

they've been really, really rude,

they've been angry,

and they give me a gift.

And then, you know,

I think, well, that's sort of curious.

Why are they giving me a gift?

And then, like, you know,

an hour later, they say,

oh, by the way,

I need a letter of recommendation from my pastor.

Could you write me a letter of recommendation?

Well, that would be a very transparent attempt

to try to bribe me,

to try to change my mood,

to try to make me feel like somehow I'm in their debt,

or change my impression of them.

And so, even if at a human level,

we understand that the motive behind the giving of the gift matters,

then how much more does it matter for God?

But the fact of the matter is,

is that we regularly think, naively,

that whether it's being involved in a liturgy,

or reading our Bible,

or somehow or another,

that we do it,

not so much necessarily because we love God,

or trust God,

or trust his sovereignty,

or trust his goodness,

desire to know him,

desire to give him honor,

desire to show our dependence upon him,

do anything which is what God desires,

but instead we do it expecting some type of result.

Maybe because we've done something bad,

and it maybe helps us with our conscience,

it calms our conscience,

or,

you know,

I,

you know,

I,

you know,

we come to church not because we want to sing God's praises,

and open the Bible,

and hear from him,

but we want an hour of calm and quiet to collect our thoughts,

so we can handle a busy week.

An hour of calm and quiet to,

you know,

to calm our thoughts to handle a busy week.

Like,

we do it because of me,

because of I,

because of,

you know,

whatever reason.

And,

and,

and that's what's going on here in Cain,

is his response shows,

that in fact,

he's not actually that interested in God.

In fact,

here,

if you put the next point up,

Andrew,

here,

here's the spiritual principle behind the text.

The first thing is very important,

that the problem is very important,

but here's the spiritual principle.

In true worship,

first I bring myself,

and then I bring myself and my stuff.

In true worship,

first I bring myself,

and then I bring myself and my stuff.

In fact,

at a,

at a,

at the level of the Hebrew,

and in the,

and the,

and the cultural context,

we actually get a bit of a hint about that.

In,

in the book of Hebrews,

Hebrews 11:4

chapter 11,

verse 4,

it talks about how,

uh,

Abel's sacrifice was accepted,

because it came out of faith.

In other words,

it came out of a desire,

to have a relationship,

with the living God,

where,

uh,

Abel acknowledges that God is God,

and he is a creature,

Abel is a creature,

and that God,

Abel desires to somehow,

honor that,

illustrate that,

to represent that,

to,

to,

to know God.

He's not only bringing himself,

he brings himself to God first,

in a matter of trust,

but then he brings his stuff with him,

and,

and that's seen in the,

in the,

in the,

in the actual story,

because Abel brings the best,

and gives it to God,

off the top.

He doesn't sort of wait,

until he has,

uh,

a thousand,

livestock,

and then after he has lots of livestock,

for himself,

he then takes,

you know,

a few unimportant ones,

or a little bit of,

you know,

so-so ones,

I guess if,

you know,

we,

I don't know,

we put a little,

you know,

wash it up a bit,

and fluff its hair,

it'll look all right,

for God.

He,

he takes it at the beginning,

he gives the first fruit,

he gives the very,

very best,

and he gives the best portion,

of the meat,

to the,

the very,

very best,

and in the original language,

Cain just sort of gives some of his stuff.

It's like he has a whole barn full of stuff,

and he says,

oh gosh,

I've got to go to God,

uh,

I don't know,

I,

um,

you know,

and he says to his wife,

you know,

you don't like turnips,

I don't like turnips,

let's give turnips to God,

okay?

Uh,

we'll give God a whole pile of turnips,

uh,

we won't miss them,

and,

and God will be pleased,

you know?

And that's,

that's what's going on in the story.

And,

um,

but,

so Abel understands it,

he actually,

he,

he doesn't understand,

he just knows that God is God,

and he wants to give of himself to God,

and he gives himself first,

and he brings along his stuff.

It's a very,

very fundamental principle.

If you're a guest here today,

this is my opportunity to say to you,

uh,

that one of the things that we do here as part of our worship

is collect an offering.

And,

and why do we collect an offering?

Well,

first of all,

we want to bring ourselves to God,

and then we want to bring ourselves and our stuff.

That that's like a spiritual principle about growth.

Because stuff matters,

right?

Stuff matters to us.

And so,

if we're bringing ourselves to God,

we want to bring the stuff that matters to God as well.

And so,

if you're here,

and you're a seeker,

or you come just,

you know,

for whatever reason,

uh,

and you're a guest,

especially if you're a guest that you're,

you haven't given yourself to God first,

I really,

you know,

keep coming to our church as often as you want,

and never put any money in the plate.

Uh,

that's completely fine with us.

In fact,

it's probably better for you not to.

Uh,

because you see,

what God wants first is,

is me.

What he wants first is you.

And then,

as,

as,

as I give myself to God,

and he,

and,

and,

and I start to know God,

and I start to know who he is,

and his goodness,

and his mercy,

and I start to be healed,

and freed up by that,

then it,

it starts to become obvious to me that I need to bring my stuff to him.

So,

let the plate pass.

Uh,

we'll keep passing the plate,

uh,

in our services because it is part of worship.

It's a,

an important spiritual principle,

but at the same time,

um,

you know,

give ourselves first,

then,

then our stuff.

Now,

um,

some of you,

um,

um,

one of the things that,

uh,

also sort of bothers me about Christmas

is,

uh,

I,

boy,

this is like a bad day for Christian radio.

Um,

one of the things that bothers me about Christian radio,

at least in this city,

is how they almost play as many secular Christmas songs as,

as Magic 100,

uh,

or,

uh,

88.5,

Live 88.5,

uh,

you know,

the alternative music station,

or any other station.

Uh,

and,

and if you listen to secular music songs,

and I,

you know what,

you're going to think I'm like the Grinch.

I,

I really am not like the Grinch.

I don't want to be the Grinch,

but I'm just trying to,

here's the thing about secular music songs,

is it makes it look as if,

what's Christmas about?

Christmas is about snow,

about family,

uh,

about coming home,

uh,

it's about being good,

and it's about being kind,

and it's about being generous,

and that's what Christmas is sort of all about.

And,

uh,

and one of the funny things about this secular understanding and idea behind Christmas

is that it,

it,

it sort of promises certain things about home and goodness and kindness and getting along,

but then when we actually go home for Christmas,

we deal with all the grumpy,

angry,

selfish people who irritate us for the rest of the year.

I'm not talking about my own family,

okay?

Uh,

maybe they're taught,

maybe that's what they think about me,

I don't know,

but,

especially after I'm sort of grumpy about secular Christmas carols.

and,

and,

and,

but you know what I mean,

on one hand,

Christmas carols promise something,

but if you actually try to follow the secular Christmas carols,

it reveals something very,

very different.

And,

you know,

some families are really,

really great,

and hopefully,

well,

let's all pray for great families.

But you know what I mean,

often,

you know,

maybe it's at work,

and you go to a Christmas party,

or you have a neighborhood Christmas party,

and,

and you realize that,

boy,

some people,

they're just obnoxious.

Like,

you sort of hope that you don't get caught in a corner with them.

Like,

that idea of human goodness is often not revealed at Christmas parties,

and at Christmas time.

The rushing,

and the pushing,

and the grabbing,

and the materialism,

and there's all sorts of stuff about Christmas that reveals the opposite of what Christmas songs seem to promise.

And,

and one of the reasons I'm doing these unusual introductions to the Christmas story is because these unusual introductions help to reveal the meaning of Christmas,

the biblical meaning of Christmas,

and also are just very,

very rich insights about what is that goes on in us as human beings.

And,

and this can be seen in something,

the story that maybe some of you are wondering at,

which is,

just,

well,

let's go back and look at the text.

Go back up to verse five,

this part about how Cain gets angry at God.

Go up to verse four.

For Abel also brought of the firstborn of his flock and of their fat portions,

and the Lord had regard for Abel and his offering,

but for Cain and his offering he had no regard.

So Cain was very angry,

and his face fell.

The Lord said to Cain,

why are you angry,

and why has your face fallen?

If you do well,

will you not be accepted?

Or,

as I said,

sort of,

my favor will rest upon you.

And if you do not do well,

sin is crouching at the door,

its desire is for you,

but you must rule over it.

Now just put your finger there for a second.

This is sort of very,

very interesting.

God actually has been very kind and merciful to Cain.

He's basically telling,

warning Cain of a great danger,

and he's definitely leaving the door wide open

for Cain to change his heart in such a way

that he can know God,

and that God will know him,

and that Cain can know God's favor.

And so God speaks to Cain,

and in the story,

how is it that Cain speaks next?

Like, how does he speak to God?

Okay?

God has spoken to Cain.

How does Cain respond?

Well, notice this in the text.

It's very, very subtle,

but very, very important,

and very interesting.

Verse 8.

Cain spoke to Abel.

He doesn't speak back to God,

but he speaks back to God in a sense

by speaking to Abel.

Cain spoke to Abel, his brother,

and when they were in the field,

Cain rose up against his brother Abel

and killed him.

That's,

look at verse 9,

how it continues.

Then the Lord said to Cain,

where is Abel your brother?

And Cain said,

I do not know.

Am I my brother's keeper?

And the voice,

and the Lord said,

what have you done?

The voice of your brother's blood

is crying to me from the ground.

And just sort of paused.

You see that?

It's a very,

very interesting dynamic.

Abel,

I mean,

Cain brings the turnips

and,

I don't like Brussels sprouts,

brings the turnips

and the Brussels sprouts.

I like turnips.

I don't like Brussels sprouts.

Brings the turnips

and Brussels sprouts

and offers them to God

as his offering.

And it throws in,

like, you know,

an apple or something

because he likes apples,

just to, you know,

hide the fact that it's

a whole pile of Brussels sprouts

and offers them to God.

God realizes

what's going on

in Cain's life,

speaks a word of mercy

to Cain.

Cain's response is,

Cain's response is,

anger at God.

God speaks his word

of mercy to him

and Cain goes

and rather than speaking

back to God,

he speaks to Abel

to lure him

into a field

to kill him.

Put up the next slide.

A problem with me,

I have an anger at God

that is expressed

as an anger

at myself and others.

A problem with me,

I have an anger at God

that is expressed

as an anger

at myself

and others.

There are some of us

who

maybe are insufficient

that don't get angry

when we should.

maybe we've

been so deeply

inundated by our culture

to accept certain types

of indignities against us

that

when there might,

should maybe be

a type of a moment

of appropriate anger,

it's gone.

That's a bit of a problem,

probably not as much

of a problem in our culture

as we think that it is.

The more problem,

the more,

the more

common problem

is that

while there might be

a place

that something happens

where there's,

you know,

a type of a,

being upset

at the,

at the wrongness

and the injustice

that there is

an appropriate

response to evil

that can also

go along with anger.

But for most of us,

we can't just stay

with that appropriate

response

to the evil,

but the anger

grows within us.

And for many of us,

there are

deep areas

of anger

in our lives

that can easily

come out.

Maybe it's

Rob Ford,

the mayor of Toronto,

and as soon as I mention

that to some of you,

you get mad.

Maybe it's

Thomas Mulcair

of the NDP,

and I just mentioned him,

and you get mad.

Maybe it's

Stephen Harper.

Maybe it's

the president

of the United States.

Maybe it's,

I just have to mention,

ex-wives

or children,

and instantly

there's anger

that's right there

underneath the surface

for you.

Maybe it's even

good things.

Maybe it's even

things like,

I mentioned,

sex trafficking

or abortion

or

violence against

women

or

racism.

And instantly

there's this

anger which is

there.

And

we might have,

even as Christians,

very, very

sophisticated

theological

reasons as to

why our anger

is justified.

And maybe

even we would

say,

boy,

if you knew

my ex-wife,

if you knew

my kids,

if you knew

my husband,

if you knew

my boss,

if you knew

my employees,

if you knew

my neighbor,

you would be

angry as well.

But the Bible

here reveals

something which

modern psychology

and counseling

completely and

utterly ignores,

and Christian

counseling and

psychology,

which is just

aping secular

counseling,

completely and

utterly ignores,

that in fact,

ongoing,

habitual,

residual wells

of anger

within us

are revealing

to us

that we aren't

really angry

about the things

that we think

we're angry

about.

You and I

are angry

at God.

The problem

with me,

I have an

anger at God

that is expressed

as an anger

at myself

and others.

I guess I

could have put

and or others.

That would have

been more

appropriate.

That's what

the text is

revealing.

Cain tries

to buy off

God.

God calls

him on it

but does it

in a very

gracious way

so that it

can all be

fixed.

Cain doesn't

even speak

to God.

He speaks

to his

brother and

kills him.

Cain is

consumed with

an anger

at God

and he

takes it

out at

anger and

murder

at his

brother.

And there's

a very,

very important

takeaway for

us here.

that in

fact if

some of

us are

dealing,

if we

are aware

of the

fact that

ongoing

deep

anger that

gets revealed,

one of the

things we need

to do is

call out to

God and

say,

God,

why am I

angry at

you?

And one

of the

things that

we need

to do is

ask ourselves,

ask the

fathers to

pour out his

Holy Spirit

upon us,

that he can

reveal to us

the idols that

we're serving,

the lies that

we're believing,

or the sin

that we're

guarding.

that is at

root of our

anger against

God.

If we put

up the

next slide,

here's the

other important

thing for us,

is that God

is never,

ever,

ever,

anger driven.

One of the

things that

comes all the

way through

the story,

God is

never,

ever,

ever,

anger driven.

One of the

problems that

we have as

human beings

is because we

have this

deep-seated,

these,

you know,

and some

of us

don't have

it,

you know,

maybe some

of us,

anger is

never going

to be a

bit of a

problem for

us,

but those

of us

who have

realized that

there's

anger in

there,

we,

you know,

you know,

the sign

of anger

beyond the

very,

very narrow

momentary

appropriateness

of it is

a sign of

our enmity

towards God.

It's an

indicator of

it,

using

sociological

language.

It's an

indicator of

a deeper

problem.

And it's

part of our

problem that

we have in

coming to

God and

talking to

God and

worshiping God

and giving

ourselves and

our stuff to

God is that

we sort of,

at one level,

transpose,

transfer,

project our

own anger at

God to God

and how he

relates to us.

But in this

story, God is

never, ever,

ever,

anger-driven.

read the

Old Testament.

He is

never,

ever,

ever,

anger-driven.

Now,

we're going to

have to wrap

it up in a

couple of

minutes.

Some of you

might be

wondering,

George,

those are

all very,

very interesting

things.

But, you

know,

I have two

things,

George.

First of all,

this is a

Christmas sermon

and you

haven't mentioned

anything about

Christmas at

all yet.

But the

other thing,

George,

is, come

on,

let's look at

this story

for a second.

You know,

I remember

that other

part.

I remember

the story a

little bit.

where are

the other

people to

kill Cain?

Cain's going

to start a

city?

Like, where

are the

people to

start a

city?

And those

are very,

very good

questions.

But here's

the thing

about the

stories in

the first

11 chapters

of Genesis

in particular.

And, you

know, this

would be one

of those

things that

if Andrew

or Mike

were to

take my

tape and

cut it at

the right

spot, it

would make

me look like

I'm saying

something very,

very bad

and wrong.

So you

have to hear

the whole

part of it.

But, you

know, the

stories in

Genesis are

a little bit

like a joke.

Okay?

They're a

little bit

like a joke.

I'll show you

what I mean.

Some of you

have heard this

before.

It's my

favorite

Anglican joke.

How do you

explain the

different

Protestant

denominations

to a Roman

Catholic or

an Eastern

Orthodox?

You know,

somebody comes

from a place

where there's

only Eastern

Orthodox,

they come and

discover all

these Protestant

churches,

how on earth

do you explain

Protestantism to

them?

And it's

very, very

simple.

You say,

well, the

Salvation Army

pick you up out

of the gutter.

the Baptists,

they get you

baptized and

started in the

Christian life.

Presbyterians,

they're really

good at

educating you.

And so,

you know,

Christian Reformers

are really good

at educating you.

Methodists,

they get you

really fired up

with a concern

for holiness.

Pentecostals

and Charismatics

are really

spectacular at

freeing you up

in worship

and teaching

you how to

sing.

Anglicans,

they introduce

you to society

and culture.

And then the

Salvation Army

pick you up

out of the gutter.

Now, you

see, the

thing about

this is,

obviously,

in this story,

that's not all

about Anglicanism.

You know,

I haven't

mentioned the

39 articles.

I haven't

mentioned,

you know,

Wilberforce

and C.S.

Lewis and

John Stott

and the

godly Anglican

heritage.

You know,

you could say,

oh, George

Emerson,

all this stuff.

You know,

Methodists,

you know,

Baptists,

they don't

just baptize you.

You know,

okay, but what's

the point of,

how does a joke

work?

You just take

this little tiny

moment and you

trace along the

thread to make

a point.

How is that a

parable work?

A parable,

when Jesus tells

a parable about

the seeds and

the sower,

you know,

it's just,

he's trying to

make,

you just take

the tiny little

narrow point as

it goes from

moment to

moment to

moment to

get the

point.

How does a

metaphor or

an analogy

work, you

know,

or an

illustration?

You take

this,

that one

aspect of

the story or

the image

which matters

and you leave

the rest of

it behind.

And that's,

in a sense,

what's happening

with Genesis

Genesis 4 · chapter mention

chapter 4.

We have lots

of questions

about the

text,

that the

text is not

interested in

answering.

It doesn't want

us to pause to

try to figure out

these other

things,

it's just

wanting us to

follow along

as the text

makes a series

of very,

very important

points.

One overarching

point,

which is that

as the enmity,

as human enmity

towards God

and rage

toward God

increases,

that God

is always

merciful.

That's the

overwhelming

story of the

text,

but even as

it goes along

there's just

always a fine

type of point

and it's not,

just like my

little joke

about Anglicanism

doesn't intend

to explain

the 1662

Book of Common

Prayer and

the 1552

Book of Common

Prayer and

the 39

Articles and

the Ordinal

with its

Preface and

her whole

godly heritage

doesn't do

all that stuff,

does it?

Just a little

tiny point,

that's what

Genesis 4 is

doing.

And in fact,

it's quite

breathtaking in

the rest of

the text,

how,

let's just

read it very

quickly.

Look back

at verse,

skip over

to verse 17.

God has

put a mark

on Cain,

it's an act

of mercy.

Verse 17,

Cain knew

his wife

and she

conceived

and bore

Enoch.

When he

built a city,

he called

the name

of the city

after the

name of

his son

Enoch.

Enoch

was born

Irad,

and Irad

fathered

Mahujahel,

and Mahujahel

fathered

Methushahel,

and Methushahel

fathered

Lamech,

and Lamech

took two

wives.

The name

of the one

was Adah,

and the

name of

the other

was Zillah.

Adah

bore

Jabal,

he was

the father

of those

who dwell

in tents

and have

livestock.

His

brother's

name

was

Jubal,

he was

the father

of all

those

who played

the lyre

and the

pipe.

Zillah

also bore

Tubal-Cain,

he was

the forger

of all

instruments

of bronze

and iron.

The sister

of Tubal-Cain

was Nahmah,

Lamech said

to his

wives.

Adah

and Zillah

hear my

voice,

you wives

of Lamech,

listen to

what I

say,

I have

killed a

man for

wounding

me,

a young

man for

striking

me,

if Cain's

revenge is

sevenfold,

then Lamech's

is seventy-sevenfold.

It's very,

very,

very curious

how this,

the Moses

writing the

book of

Genesis,

under the

inspiration of

the Holy

Spirit,

making all

these fine

things.

It's very,

very interesting.

In a world

that attributed

the development

of farming

and music

and metallurgy

to the gods,

God's word

is saying

it has

nothing to

do with

the gods,

there's only

one God.

And it's

very,

very interesting

that in the

Old Testament

in this

language here

what characterizes

building a

city is

it means

one of two

things,

it either

means building

a wall

that you

could defend

or building

a tower

that you

could go

in to

defend.

In other

words,

it's talking

about a

place to

defend against

war.

And it

shows part of

the mystery

or the riddle

of cities

all in this

little tiny

thing,

it shows the

mystery and riddle

of cities

that on one

hand,

civilization has

things like

music and

metallurgy and

fine crafts

and animals

and husbandry

and all that

thing which is

connected to

civilization,

yet at the

same time

that civilization

grows,

war grows,

which is why

you need a

fortress.

And it

sort of shows

the riddle

and the

mystery of

cities and

civilization,

and it

opens up the

whole way for

Christians to

understand what

it means to

live in the

city,

that on one

hand,

the city

does have

these things

like music

which are

good,

yet the

other time

it seems

to be,

there seems

to be,

as civilization

increases,

there seems

to be an

increase of

violence and

war at the

same time,

and there's

a mystery to

the fall,

and a mystery

to our

rebellion against

God,

and a mystery

as to how it

bends and

changes human

nature,

music and

munitions,

culture and

clash and

violence.

men.

But at the

end of it

all, it

also shows,

by the way,

that polygamy

is a result of

the fall.

But then at

the end of it,

it shows how

Lamech kills

a man just

because he'd

been slightly

hurt, and

then Lamech

boasts,

aha, God

protected

Cain by

promising

seven-fold

retribution.

I am safer

than Cain

because you

mess with

me, I

will exact

77 times

punishment on

you.

I am more

powerful than

God.

Don't fear

God, fear

Lamech.

I take wives

as I will.

I have my

sword and my

violence, and

it will protect

me.

I am more

powerful than

God.

that's how

the text

ends.

In fact,

there's a

very, very

interesting

counterpoint,

which will

then lead us

into Christmas,

that with

Cain's

rebellion, God

warns Cain

that sin is

growing and

desires to

work in him.

And then by

the end of the

story, we see

that Lamech's

understanding of

the way that

Lamech wants to

deal with sin

is to become

more powerful

than God.

In fact, if you

put up the

slide,

a problem

with me,

sin is a

power that

towers in

me and

over me,

and in

response, I

want to

tower as

God.

So the

story is

showing.

God warns

Cain that

there's sometimes

that there's

sins that

just seem to

grow and

grow and

grow and

grow and

get bigger,

and they

desire to

overwhelm

me.

Yet at the

same time,

my response

to things

that want

to overwhelm

me is that

I desire to

tower as

God.

Both are

responses of

hell, not

of heaven.

Our response

is, put up

the next

slide,

please.

God is

sovereign and

good, even

in judgment,

and offers

mercy.

All the way

through the

story, mercy

is always

offered by

God.

All the way

through the

story, God

is always

sovereign.

And if we

just think about

those different

responses that in

true worship,

first I bring

myself and

then I bring

myself and

my stuff,

God is

never, ever,

ever anger

driven, and

God is

sovereign and

good, and

even in

judgment, offers

mercy.

That's who the

living God is.

Put up the

final slide,

please.

Running out

of time.

The birth of

Jesus is not

the prelude to

tragedy, but

the beginning of

God's gracious

gift of

shalom.

To turn into

Luke chapter

one, to Luke

chapter two.

And in Luke

chapter two, we

have Luke's

account of the

Christmas story.

chapter two, and

look at verse

eight.

And in the

same region, there

were shepherds out

in the field, keeping

watch over their

flock by night.

And an angel of

the Lord appeared

to them, and the

glory of the Lord

shone around them, and

they were filled with

fear.

And the angel said

to them, fear not,

fear not, fear not,

right?

Their shepherds are

projecting their

anger drivenness, and

their lack of the

belief that God is not

good, and they

project that on

anything that comes

from heaven.

And the angels

say to them, fear

not, for behold, I

bring you good news of

great joy that will be

for all the people.

For unto you is born

this day in the city of

David a Savior, who is

Christ the Lord.

And this will be a sign

for you.

You will find a baby

wrapped in swaddling

clothes and lying in a

manger.

And suddenly there was

with the angel a

multitude of the heavenly

host, praising God and

saying, glory to God in the

highest, and on earth

peace, shalom, among

those with whom he is

pleased.

In other words, on those

with whom his favor

rests.

It's the very, very same

language of the

sacrifice that was used

of Cain and Abel.

The very same language

that the angels used to

describe Jesus.

They describe the

state of, I mean,

what the story of Cain and

Abel shows is it reveals

human enmity and anger

towards God.

And it reveals to us our

tendency to desire to

deal with enmity and

anger and any type of

sin that overwhelms us

by being able to be like

a God and towering over

it, getting bigger and

bigger and bigger over

that sin.

And the Bible here is

revealing something

completely and utterly

different, that God

enters the human story

not by towering, but he

enters it as a baby.

And in fact, he enters it

as a baby to live his

life and ultimately to

die upon the cross as a

means to reconcile us

to God.

But we see with the

birth of Jesus the

entering in of something

that only God can do

for us and that we

cannot do for ourselves

and we cannot do in

terms of our relationship

with God, that while

that which characterizes

us is being trapped

between enmity, often

unrecognized, and a

desire to tower over the

things that seem to

overwhelm us, which

also keeps us

distance from God, but

that God brings into

the world his means

of shalom.

And shalom means

something different

than the experience

of emotional peace.

Shalom means a

setting right, a

reestablishing of

order, a reestablishing

of creating a

balance, a change not

first and foremost of

emotion, but a change

of reality and

structure.

And God is

bringing his shalom

into the world.

That shalom will be

won upon the cross, but

he's bringing his

shalom into the world,

the means by which we

by faith in him can

know God's favor and

his acceptance and be

reconciled to him.

That's what Christmas

is.

It's not a prelude to

tragedy, but the

beginning of God's

gracious gift of

shalom.

Let's stand.

Father, we, you know

those of us this

morning who struggle

with anger.

Father, you know

those of us who have

never even considered

that the anger that we

feel when certain names

are in the world.

We ask that we

never even thought,

Father, that it's

hiding in anger that

we have at you.

We ask, Father, that you

would reveal to us the

idols that we are

serving or the lies

that we are believing

or the sin that we are

covering up that make us

angry at you.

Father, we ask