Cutting Away What Doesn't Belong

Hebrews 11:4-5

By faith Abel offered to God a more acceptable sacrifice than Cain’s. Through this he received approval as righteous, God himself giving approval to his gifts; he died, but through his faith he still speaks. By faith Enoch was taken so that he did not experience death; and “he was not found, because God had taken him.” For it was attested before he was taken away that “he had pleased God.”

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I'm lookin' for another kind of love
Oh Lordy, how I need it.
The kind that likes to leap without a shove
Oh, honey, best believe it.
To save a lot of time and foolish pride I'll say what's on my mind, girl
You loved me, you hate me, you cut me down to size.
You blinded me with love and yeah it opened up my eyes

"The Other Side" recorded by Aerosmith, written by Steven Tyler and Jim Vallance from "Pump"

Here's a question that I have never really had answered: What was so almighty acceptable about Abel's sacrifice? Is this how the Lord says, "Cauliflower? Shoot, I'll have more brisket!"  If it was, it would explain a lot about my diet and Texas dietary practices in general.

There are some theories. One is that this is just the first example that the Lord prefers the younger brothers. You see a lot of this in Genesis, but it doesn't say so. One is that while Cain just brought some fruit of the vine, Abel brought the best of the meat--the good stuff with the fat. Even the Lord likes good marbling. Well, again while this points to the Lord having an affection for good Kansas City BBQ, scripture doesn't say that Cain didn't bring first fruit.

Others say that this is just scripture introducing sibling rivalry which is truly one of the recurring themes of Genesis. Hebrews then reminds us that while he died, through his faith he still speaks. Able pleased God even though he was murdered.

The Book of Hebrews also reminds us that Enoch who never tasted death is in the Lord's presence. He is in the Lord's presence just as Able is even though he didn't die. Enoch was taken away because he pleased God, as did Abel.

Both of them were looking for a different kind of love, and as Steven Tyler sings, O Lordy how they need it! It is God's love that leaps without shoving, and it is our love that is to leap without being shoved too. We are called to go and to follow. We are to seize our foolish pride and declare what is true. We are to share our hope, God's love for us with the world.

It is this way that God prunes us to become what we are called to be. It is how God makes us what we are and cuts away what doesn't belong. In killing his brother, Cain cut away what God still loved and Cain found harsh discipline. Still, God doesn't hate as we are disciplined, as the imperfect is cut away, as we are cut down to size, but what is left is perfect.

It is said that when asked how he could carve such marvelous things from marble, Michelangelo would say that he would simply cut away the excess revealing what the stone contained all along. God cuts us to reveal what is there all along. In Enoch, in Able, in us, and yes, maybe even in Cain too.

This is our hope, That in our sinful imperfection the Lord sees what belongs to God.

Choose Your Weapons

Requested by my sister Mary Jane Tyra...



Exodus 20:16

You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.

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Ain't that what you said?
Ain't that what you said?
Ain't that what you said?

Liar, liar, liar

"Liar" by Ozzy Osbourne, Zakk Wylde, Bob Daisley, and John Sinclair. Recorded by Three Dog Night

It's funny when we talk about weapons. Most of the ancient world thought of swords and such. These days we think of guns and "instruments of Terror." It's funny, the most dangerous weapon anybody wields is their tongue.

A war of words can do more damage and leave more victims than most guns.

That old "Sticks and stones can break my bones but words will never hurt me" thing we learn growing up. We learn to say that only because words do hurt.

Scripture tells us not to bear false witness against our neighbors, so why do we gossip so?

It's seductive, to be in the know, to have a tidbit that only the best connected people have. Whether it's true or not is hardly the point. Having the scoop, that's the point.

A quick and cutting word, a word that belies care, a word not even meant to hurt, just a random hand grenade cast casually aside. Those are the worst, nobody expects those and the collateral damage is devastating.

Ain't that what you said? Liar!

Our hope comes in a few places. One is to resist the lies in the first place. Whether it means to tell them or to listen, don't. It's like any good drug market--when it dries up it disappears.

Second is to be an advocate. Hear a lie, Squelch a lie. Stand up for truth.

Third and final- Remember God has given us a set of rules to live by. It started with one ("Don't eat that"), went to ten, and grew into the mitzvah. Remember to forgive debts against you as we all pray others will forgive our debts against them. And remember, that's scriptural too.

Growing up my parents taught us both "Sticks and stones..." and "Words hurt other people, don't be like that." Maybe if we grow up with the latter knowing the former is really a lie then we'd live in a better world.

Battle and Death

2Samuel 1:25

How the mighty have fallen
in the midst of the battle!

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We come from the land of the ice and snow,
From the midnight sun where the hot springs blow.
How soft your fields so green, can whisper tales of gore,
Of how we calmed the tides of war. We are your overlords.

On we sweep with threshing oar,
Our only goal will be the western shore.

So now you'd better stop and rebuild all your ruins,
For peace and trust can win the day despite of all your losing.

"The Immigrant Song" written by Jimmy Page and Robert Plant, recorded by Led Zeppelin from "Led Zeppelin III"

Edwin Starr and later Bruce Springsteen sang the song "War." It carries the chorus, "What is it good for/Absolutely nothin'." Well, many wars are good for nothing. Most wars have a tendency to kill young boys for the indiscretions of older men. Some wars are fought because someone can't leave well enough alone. More and more, wars are fought not for noble reasons, but only for wealth and power; both only fleeting blips on the radar of history.

Saul had fallen out of favor with the Lord. David is rising in stature. It doesn't help matters that Saul's son Jonathan and David are like brothers together, Saul's line is threatened because the people hail David, the conquering hero.

Philistines attack the Israelites at Gilboa and Saul heads into battle with his sons, but it is not to be his victory. Saul and Jonathan with Abinadab and Malchishua, two of Saul's other sons, all die in the battle. It is a horrible day for David.

How the mighty have fallen in the midst of the battle!

How soft your fields so green, can whisper tales of gore.

War is horrible, war is a terror; especially the wars that are fought for the wrong reasons with weapons and tactics that are devastating to the armies that fight them and the nations that wage them. (Yes, I am saying that war, when engaged poorly, can harm the very soul of a nation.) It is highly likely that there are people who feel this way of every war, without regard to whether it is just or not, and maybe this is what we need to remember, there is just war.

Perhaps even more important than the war itself is what follows. Is there justice in the peace that follows the war. The leading cause of World War II was the Treaty of Versailles. The way WWI ended, the penalties placed at the feet of the Germans, laid the groundwork for the next world war. The Marshall Plan rebuilt Europe after World War II. Europe is stronger today because of it. American reconstruction was another matter after the assassination of President Lincoln. This is an example of winning a war and losing a peace which America still pays for today.

It is time to remember Robert Plant's plaintive cry in "The Immigrant Song," "So now you'd better stop and rebuild all your ruins, For peace and trust can win the day despite of all your losing." In battle the mighty will fall. It is how we follow the fall that matters to the end of days.

Winning poorly only lays the way for the next generation of war victims.