Monday of the Eleventh Week After Trinity

August 17, 2026Today's Reading: Genesis 4:1-15Daily Lectionary: 2 Samuel 7:1-17; 1 Corinthians 9:24-10:22“sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is for you, and you must rule over it.” (Genesis 4:7b)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Cain and Abel both presented offerings to the LORD. Abel brought his best; Cain did not. The LORD regarded Abel’s offering, but not Cain’s. Cain was shown up by his little brother! “So Cain was very angry…”It’s not wrong to get angry. Even Jesus got angry with moneychangers. But when Jesus was angry, He never acted inappropriately. That wasn’t the case for Cain, and it often isn’t the case with us. When someone else gets the recognition we wanted or thought we deserved, envy and anger are stirred up in us like they were with Cain. Pay attention, therefore, to what God says to him: “Why are you angry? If you do well, will you not be accepted?”The LORD encourages Cain by saying he can improve his situation. It isn’t over for him; he can do better next time. So can we. When things don’t go our way, we don’t have to get angry; often, there’s a way to fix the problem. Unfortunately, rage clouds our judgment, and we can’t see it. Neither could Cain.The LORD explains that Cain is in a dangerous position: “If you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is contrary to you, but you must rule over it.” Like a predator waiting to pounce, sin wants to devour him. The LORD commands him to rule over it. Sadly, that command was ignored, and Cain murdered his brother.“What have you done?” said the LORD, “The voice of your brother’s blood is crying to me from the ground.” And from there, he cursed Cain and condemned him to be a fugitive. God could have killed Cain. Instead, He exiled him. But Cain thought it was a trap: that he was being set up, “Whoever finds me will kill me!” he cried. But it wasn’t a trap. God is really that forgiving. He proved it by putting a mark of protection on Cain to spare his life.I hope your anger never causes you to sin like Cain, and that the Holy Spirit will instead work in you the strength to overcome it. But when you do sin, know this: you also have a mark of protection on you. In Holy Baptism, you have been marked as God’s own child. He will not abandon you or forsake you, even if the consequences of your sin cause you to suffer for a while. There’s no sin you have committed that will cut you off from God. In the book of Hebrews, the author reminds us that in coming to Christ, we come, “to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.” (12:24) Abel’s blood cried out for vengeance. But the precious blood of Jesus declares grace and full forgiveness to all who trust in Him.In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Abel’s blood for vengeance Pleaded to the skies; But the blood of Jesus For our pardon cries. (LSB 433:4)Rev. Joel Shaltanis, pastor of Lord of Life Lutheran Church, Plano, TX.