God put a mark on Cain

Genesis 4:15 God told him,“No. Anyone who kills Cain will pay for it seven times over.” God put a mark on Cain to protect him so that no one who met him would kill him.

God preserves Cain. The “mark of Cain”, which did identify him as a murderer, was actually a protection. Life has barely begun and it is already marked by tragedy. The human family is just one generation old and already we have murder, fratricide. Eve is not mentioned here, but in effect she lost both sons with one blow: Abel dead, Cain driven away. How painful, too, for God, to see this little experiment already going so badly awry. God is angry (not as angry, perhaps, as he gets later, when a lot of smiting happens) but also hurt, distressed. There is just God and this one little family, and Cain, out of spite and jealousy, has murdered his brother Abel. Even so, God protects him from being killed by the other people he might meet (other people?! There are other people on earth?! Where did they come from? Ah, the mystery of scripture…)

So what does this mean to me? As a Christian, the mark of Cain is replaced by the cross at baptism, when I was marked and sealed as one of Christ’s own, forever. This mark of Cain was God’s way of saying, “This is my man, despite what he’s done, so leave him alone.” The mark of Christ is less protection (though it does have that aspect) than a call to live into my baptismal covenant. Cain never promised anything to God, but God loved him and wanted to protect him anyway. Baptism calls me to respond to God’s saving love and grace in the way I live my life. And what does that mean but to live a life with God in the center of it, rather than my own needs, desires, and, as in Cain’s case, passions?

Prayer: Dear God, You have called me and blessed me. Let me view this day as an opportunity to step into the life you call me to, centered on your word and your peace. Amen.