"Am I my brother's keeper?" a man quoted this Scripture passage to me recently to prove from the Bible that he didn't owe anybody anything. Every once in a while when I would preach on social justice, someone would quote this to me. I awoke this morning with the quote going through my head, so I used Genesis 4:1-16 for meditation today.
Cain has just killed his brother Abel. God comes looking for Abel and asks Cain where he is. Cain's flippant reply is "Am I my brother's keeper?" God doesn't honor the smart aleck remark with the answer which is clearly "Yes." He kicks Cain out of Paradise.
This passage isn't aimed just at those rich people who think they deserve what they worked for. So what is God saying to us. In this time of the virus one message is that I must protect my brothers and sisters by something as simple as wearing a mask and keeping my distance. Being more generous by sharing what I have more than I might usually do. Favoring programs that care for the poor and sick and exiled.
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