My Brother's Keeper (blog)

Extending eight miles out from the coast of Cape Hatteras, shifting sandbars known as the Diamond Shoals are hazard enough for ships navigating along the Outer Banks of North Carolina.  Catching the Labrador and Gulf Stream currents, which converge at the Cape, means sailing close to these barrier islands where storms, common in the region, make this a risky business.  Gale force winds and heavy seas can sink a ship, or drive and smash it into the shoals.It's estimated that more than 1,000 vessels and countless lives have been lost in what is known as the "Graveyard of the Atlantic".While browsing an Outer Banks gift shop last summer, I found a reprinted copy of an Annual Report submitted by the U.S. Life-Saving Service in 1895.  Members of the Service (which preceded the Coast Guard), patrolled the Cape even at night by the dim light of a lantern, and in doing so navigated their own perils - ocean swells, gullies of quicksand and fragments of wreckage washing ashore.  It was a "dreadful watch...made necessary" by the shoals, the "terror" of seafarers (p. 2).  The report's author recounts (in dramatic detail) how on April 4, 1881, a group of Service members risked their own lives to save surviving crewmembers of the A.B. Goodman, who had managed to climb the masts and wrap themselves in the topsail of their sunken schooner.The most poignant words of the report might be the author's account of how, just before going out in their rescue boat, the Service members drew up simple wills and left their personal effects behind:  "to have quietly resigned the certainties for the chances of existence in such a case and under such circumstances - was more than noble..." (p. 6)The Service members' job was to save lives, and they did it nobly.  I've been tossed around enough in ocean waves to wonder if I would be willing to give up my own safety for the chance of rescuing another person that way.In a recent sermon message, SHLC's new Intentional Interim Pastor, Jon, compared everything we are going through right now as a nation and world to a storm (click here to listen to the message).  We're all navigating this together - with God's help!  Who is patrolling for those in peril in this dark storm?  As I think about that, I hear God's question to Cain (in Genesis 4:9) in a new way:"Where is your brother?"Abel was in fact dead, killed by Cain in a jealous rage.  The same self-centeredness that had motivated Cain to withhold the first fruits of his garden now made it impossible for him to offer up the truth to God, and instead Cain deflected it with his own question:  "Am I my brother's keeper?"God had warned Cain about the hidden peril of sin which he had been born into (vs. 6-7), and about the need to navigate carefully.  But in the storm of his anger, Cain hadn't been able to see the love in that warning.We are not just dealing with a global pandemic right now, but also with sharp divisions among us about many different things.  Feelings of anger are like a storm-churned current that many of us are trying to navigate.  I struggle at times, and in my anger I start to lose sight of God's love and mercy.Psalm 139 reassures me, so beautifully, that God never loses sight of me:"You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar.  You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all of my ways.  Before a word is on my tongue you, LORD, know it completely..." (vs. 2-4)The Psalmist testifies that God "searched" (vs. 1) and knew him, which to me says that God doesn't wait for us to come to him but rather that He comes out to us.  He's out patrolling (if you will) and knows exactly where we are at all times.  We can't escape God's love!"Where can I go from your Spirit?" the Psalmist asks God.   "Where can I flee from your presence?  If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.  If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast" (vs. 7-10).Cain's punishment for murdering his brother Abel was to be "hidden" from God.  Banished from God's presence, Cain would be a "restless wanderer" for the rest of his days (Genesis 4:14)."My punishment is more than I can bear," Cain lamented (vs. 13).This time he spoke the truth to God.  Not one of us can bear the punishment for sin - death and eternal separation from God.  In talking about murder, Jesus said that "anyone who is angry with his brother will be subject to judgement" (Matthew 5:22).  My anger reveals to me that I share in the same sinful nature as my brother Cain and that my sin merits the same consequences.  Try as I may, I cannot navigate the landscape of my life safely on my own.  I cannot save myself from the storms that arise around and in me.  The reality of my sin and its consequences made someone else's "dreadful watch" and saving act necessary.Only God's Son, Jesus Christ could bear the punishment for sin and keep us safe in this life.  More nobly than the U.S. Life-Saving Service members on that dreadful night at the Cape, Jesus gave up life with God in heaven for not just the chance, but for the certainty of our existence as dearly loved children in God's Kingdom.  Born into our turbulent world, Jesus lived blamelessly among us and then died on the Cross as the punishment for our sin - once and for all of us.  His glorious resurrection made rescue certain for all who believe in him.By God's grace, and through faith in Jesus, we are forgiven and saved!  In Jesus, we enjoy peace with God and a secure hope of eternal life in His presence.Jesus is the ultimate Life Saver!  And he is our Life Keeper.  Drowned with him in the water of Holy Baptism, we are brought back up with him also, into new life as new people.  We repent individually (daily!) and are forgiven by God for Jesus' sake.  We confess and are absolved of sin together, each week in worship.  Jesus is at work in these, keeping us safe and secure by the power of his love.God's saving love in Jesus changes us, it changes our hearts and minds.  It changes Cain's question and ours into a bold statement:  "Yes, I am my brother's keeper (and my sister's too)!"  God's love in Jesus opens us up to new questions:  "Where is my brother spiritually right now?"  "Where is my sister emotionally?"  "What are their needs?"  "How can I help?"ReferencesTreasury Department Office of Life-Saving Service. (1895). Annual Reports of the Operations of the United States Life-Saving Service: Sixth District.N.A. (2013). Annual Reports of the Operations of the United States Life-Saving Service: Sixth District.  Ohio River Trading Company.