"O God, Be Propitiated Unto Me!"

In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Both Cain and Abel offered sacrifices to God. Both the Pharisee and the tax collector offered prayers to God. Yet, God honored the offerings of Abel and the tax collector, but not those of Cain or the Pharisee. Why is that? Both Cain and Abel brought the firstfruits of their labors. Both the Pharisee and the tax collector prayed in the temple at the appropriate times in the appropriate ways. Why did God honor one sacrifice and not the other?

 

Cain was the firstborn of the children of man. He was the first to open the womb of our first-mother Eve. The name “Cain” means “gotten”. At his birth Eve declared, literally, “I have gotten a man – the Lord.” He was given to follow in his father's footsteps as a farmer, working the soil and gathering the harvest. As Luther observes, Cain was probably the most honored eldest son there ever was, and he sets the pattern for the right of the firstborn throughout sacred history. Adam and Eve believed that Cain was the seed who would crush the head of the serpent and rescue them from sin and death, as God had promised them.

On the other hand, Abel was the second son. His name means “vanity” or “emptiness”. Since Cain was expected to be the Messiah who would save the world, no one cared what Abel did. He was given the dirty, smelly job of shepherding the flocks. He had a solitary, lonely life, always stuck in his older brother's shadow. After all, when your brother is the savior of humanity, what are you going to do that would compete with that? The child with no merit or worthiness in himself was given the short end of the deal all around.

Likewise, the Pharisee had the honor of being one of the upper crust of the Jewish people. He was privileged to pray regularly in the temple. He had the luxury to fast twice weekly, which was more than the Law required. He gave his tithes to the Temple. He lived a morally decent life, according to the Law of the Jews. He was one of God's chosen people, one of the firstborn of all the nations of the earth. He was in God's “in crowd”. He had a lot to be thankful for. And so he gave thanks that he was not like “other men”. He did not steal or fornicate. He did not cheat on his taxes or fudge his measurements. He did not skimp on his prayers or offerings. He gave thanks that he was righteous in the eyes of the Law.

On the other hand, the tax collector made no such claims. He was a traitor to his people. He made his living by taking the hard-earned wages of the Jews and handing them over to the good-for-nothing pagan Romans. Others considered him lower than a prostitute or drug dealer. Even if he did his job fairly and ethically, he would be hated for it. He had no claim on a privileged relationship with God, and he knew as much. And so, his only prayer was, “O God, be propitiated unto me, the sinner.”

How often do we want to be like Cain or the Pharisee! We want to be the favorite son, the savior of the world. We want people to think we're the best thing since sliced bread. We want God to look with favor upon us just because we are so darned neat. We want to lift up our eyes to heaven and thank God for not making us like those terrible sinners in San Francisco or Las Vegas or DC. We want a pat on the back because we spend our Saturday nights in the Bible instead of the Bluebird. After all, you are not a drunk or a fornicator or an abortionist or a thief. You are here, in church, instead of out in the field or home in your pajamas.

Cain offered a sacrifice that appeared to be as good as Abel's, but it was lacking in one thing – faith. Likewise, the Pharisee prayed what on its face is an acceptable prayer, but it lacked faith. Neither Cain nor the Pharisee could concede their need for atonement before God. The sacrifice of firstfruits and the sacrifice of prayer were given to show God yet again how neat they were, but not to beg for forgiveness and mercy. After all, why should the apparent savior beg for mercy?

However, Abel's sacrifice and the prayer of the tax collector did in fact show true faith and true humility in the face of their sinful condition. They offered the sacrifice of a contrite heart, which was reflected in the spiritual quality of their offerings, and therefore God looked upon them with favor. The tax collector did not even ask for mercy in the standard way, but implored that God's wrath toward him and his sin be appeased. Abel offered a sacrifice out of a broken and contrite spirit, and not simply to show God he was a good farmer and a neat guy.

Likewise, we also come before God with our prayers and offerings not like a cat proudly dropping a dead mouse on the back doorstep, but like that poor mouse in the face of the cat's onslaught. You are nothing special. You have no merit or worthiness in you, that God should respect you in your person or works. You are weak and lowly, frail and full of faults. You deserve no mercy, but only wrath and condemnation. You may be righteous at face-value, but your heart tells a different story. Therefore, beat your breast and beg that God be propitiated toward you.

And, wonder of wonders – He is! Our Lord Jesus Christ, in the fullness of time, offered Himself as the final, perfect sacrifice for the sins of the whole world. Upon the cross, Jesus died the death to sin once for all. He bore in His holy and innocent body the sins of the world, the sins of Adam and Eve, of Cain and Abel, of the Pharisee and the tax collector, and of you and me. In the death of Jesus, the wrath of God for sin was poured out and satisfied. The true Savior of the nations procured the salvation of man, not by His great life, but by His wondrous and awesome death. As through one man sin entered all men, so through one Man life once more flows to all mankind. By Jesus' sacrifice, God is propitiated toward us, and we can look to Him for all His gifts to us.

So, offer the sacrifice of thanksgiving. Take up the cup of blessing in the House of the Lord. Pray, praise, and give thanks to God our Father for His bountiful goodness. Rightfully thank God that you are not a lost and condemned sinner, and ask Him to keep you from all peril of body and soul. And trust that He will do just that, for Jesus' sake.

Come, bless the LORD, all you servants of the LORD,

who stand by night in the house of the LORD!

Lift up your hands to the holy place

and bless the LORD!

May the LORD bless you from Zion,

He who made heaven and earth!

In the Name of Jesus. Amen.