The Estuary of Theology 13

The Work of Man (The Head of the Serpent)

For God, Cain was the firstborn who was the fulfilment of His word, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it” (Genesis 1:28). It is easy to infer how God was looking forward to Cain’s birth. However, Cain was born to the parents who had become like Satan (the devil) and had lived based on the information of the serpent (cf. The Estuary of Theology issue 12), and he was brought up by them. Soon Abel, his brother, was born and became a keeper of sheep, and Cain became a tiller of the ground. However, Cain’s work was hard because “cursed is the ground” (Genesis 3:17) by the acts of his parents. This was his burden. He succeeded not only his body but also the result of the error from his parents.

According to the discussion last time, we can say Cain had three lords: the Father, who had given a name to his mother regarding her as “the mother of all living” and ruled her; the mother, who had said she had got him with the help of the Lord; and God, who taught and guided him reaching out to him close to him so that his knowledge of good and evil might know God’s manner. Therefore, we cannot judge whether the lord who “had no regard” was God or the parents from the description, “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 countenance fell” (Genesis 4:4-5).

However, it is the Lord God, who knows everything a man thinks, that spoke to him next: “Why are you angry, and why has your countenance fallen? If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin is couching at the door; its desire is for you, but you must master it” (Genesis 4:6-7). Also, it is the Lord God, who needs not to know the decision of human free minds (cf. The Estuary of Theology issue 5), that, knowing that Cain had risen against Abel and killed him, raised the voice of surprise, “Where is Abel your brother?” (Genesis 4:9).

God speaks to Cain’s knowledge of good and evil. The word, “if you do not do well,” means that if his knowledge of good and evil judges things and decides between good and evil based on the information of the serpent without directing itself to God’s manner. Sin is couching at the door aiming for this judgement. The “door” signifies a certain word which triggers the action based on the information of the serpent, the source of sin. This word is such that Jesus confronted in the wilderness as follows: “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread”; “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down”; and “[T]hese I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.” This word gradually justifies the knowledge of good and evil’s making the information of the serpent into action. Nevertheless, this person, once achieving the action, realizes the justification was imaginary and is left with a contradiction. A contradiction makes a man like Satan (the devil). For this reason, God says, “its desire is for you, but you must master it.” In order to master sin, we must rule it distinguishing it from God’s manner as Jesus did while it is still the information of the serpent, the source of sin (cf. The Estuary of Theology issue 12).

Cain killed Abel, and the action that God called sin has happened for the first time. A murder is the work of man, which happens when a man, whose knowledge of good and evil is closely connected with the information of the serpent, becomes like Satan (the devil). A man, who was formed out of the dust of the ground by God (cf. Genesis 2:7), is dust and returns to dust (cf. Genesis 3:19). The dust mentioned here symbolizes human death. Therefore, from God’s word to the serpent, “[U]pon your belly you shall go, and dust you shall eat all the days of your life” (Genesis 3:14), we can understand that the destination of the information of the serpent is man's death.

Lord said, “What have you done? The voice of your brother's blood is crying to me from the ground. And now you are cursed from the ground, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother's blood from your hand. When you till the ground, it shall no longer yield to you its strength; you shall be a fugitive and a wanderer on the earth” (Genesis 4:10-12). The word, “[C]ursed is the ground because of you” (Genesis 3:17), which God had said to Adam, his father, has changed to the word, “And now you are cursed,” by Cain. The actions of his parents, who had become like Satan (the devil), influenced everything in the world that God had created, and the work of man happened by Cain their son. Now a man himself has become the cursed. Cain said to the Lord, “My punishment is greater than I can bear” (Genesis 4:13).

This word of Cain has moved violently the compassion of the Father. It was the word of a man who told his thoughts straightforwardly to God without any justification and without hiding the contradiction from himself for the first time after humans had had the knowledge of good and evil. God accepted this act of him, which his parents had never showed. Then God decided to himself bear the human error and sin on behalf of man. God also took on the following word of Cain on behalf of him: “Behold, thou hast driven me this day away from the ground; and from thy face I shall be hidden; and I shall be a fugitive and a wanderer on the earth, and whoever finds me will slay me” (Genesis 4:14). The only Son of God was sent to the earth apart from heaven, appeared in front of people becoming a man, became a preacher walking around the earth, and was eventually found and slain. Christ was God. God put a mark on Cain so that no one who found him would kill him. Moreover, God did not make him a wanderer but made him live in the land of Nod, east of Eden (cf. Genesis 4:15-16). Cain said, “Behold, thou hast driven me this day away from the ground; and from thy face I shall be hidden,” but God put him in the place close to the way to the tree of life (cf. Genesis 3:24)

Sin arose from the first family created. Where people gather with the information of the serpent, there appear Satan (the devil) who rivals God showing off human authority and Satan (the devil) who tries to rule others by the imaginary mystery, and they make up the “head of the serpent.” The “head of the serpent,” which was made amidst the relationship between the father, the mother, and the child, who had been closely connected with the information of the serpent and had become like Satan (the devil), is inherited from the original family to the next and soon spreads to the local communities universally.

On the other hand, where people gather in the “name of Jesus,” there appears the spirit of Jesus, and they make up “my church” (cf. Matthew 16:18). Jesus promised, “[W]here two or three are gathered in my name, there am I in the midst of them” (Matthew 18:20), so that the forgiveness of sins which was to be completed by Jesus might be sustained on the earth (cf. Matthew 18:15-19) and that the Passover in the kingdom of God might be fulfilled (cf. Luke 22:16). The word, “[W]here two or three are gathered in my name,” suggests the Holy Family, which first received the “name of Jesus” told by the angel and experienced the mystery of Incarnation and the mystery of the Cross. The word, “two or three are gathered in my name,” suggests the composition of the Holy Family including Jesus, and the two signifies Jesus and Mary, and the three Jesus, Mary and Joseph. This composition of the Holy Family was given to “my church,” born beside the cross of Jesus, as a role together with the vocation of “eunuchs who have made themselves eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 19:12, cf. The Estuary of Theology issue 8). The word, “there am I in the midst of them,” signifies the Eucharist, which is called by the “name of Jesus” and in which God is present concretely.

People who gather in the “name of Jesus” make up “my church.” “My church,” which maintains the role and the vocation of the Holy Family, has a structure which may bruise the “head of the serpent” made up by people gathering with the information of the serpent by its existence. So, “my church,” which was established by Pentecost, must have bruised the “head of the serpent.” However, the fact that “my church” does not exist today and the work of man continues shows that the effect of having bruised the “head of the serpent” is being postponed. This fact tells us that the foretelling, “[Y]ou shall bruise his heel” (cf. Genesis 3:15), has been fulfilled. From next time on, we will discuss following this reasoning.

To be continued.

Apr. 2020 in Hiroshima

Maria K