Rev. Dr. Otis Moss III | "Raising Cain and Mourning Abel" 6PM 05/03/26

1:11:47 Cain was very angry. May the Lord add a blessing to the reading and hearing of God's holy word. You may be seated in the presence of the Most High God. I'd like to, for the time that we have together, for us to deal with this idea, for this topic, for the short time that we have at this moment, to deal with this idea of raising Cain and mourning Abel. Raising Cain and mourning Abel. If you would be so kind as to turn to your neighbor, even if your neighbor doesn't want to look at you, just look at the side of their head. That's all right.

1:12:38 Look at your neighbor. Just look at him. Smile at him. And say, neighbor, oh neighbor, we are called to raise Cain. I'm going to find another neighbor, maybe the same one, I'm not sure. And say, neighbor, oh neighbor, don't forget, we are called to mourn for Abel. For Abel. Raising Cain and mourning Abel. Beloved, for those who are familiar with the aural and oral urban polyrhythmic art form known as hip hop, you may know for those who are aficionados of the genre from the 90s, remember that there was an iconic figure by the name of Tupac.

1:14:10 I use the word iconic, because Tupac was more than just a hip-hop artist, But he was also an icon for a generation, a poet, and also a voice speaking for those who were voiceless.

1:14:34 He was young, brilliant, and taken from us way too early. Those of that generation, Tupac is an icon. For another generation, there is another person who was birthed and raised on the West Coast, a person who has roots in East Africa, Eritrea to be exact, whose birth name was Eramus Ashtegon, whose name literally means God will rise. He became, because of the kind of culture of where he was raised, he became involved in what was called the Rolling Sixties Crips, but eventually left that life to become one of the most iconic hip-hop voices on the West Coast. His street name and popular name is Nipsey Hussle. Nipsey, before his untimely and tragic death, one person defined him as a hood pastor. He would bring together the Eritrean Orthodox Church spirituality mixed with urbanized Afrocentric street politics and old school hood hustle to young people who were walking down the wrong path in L.A.

1:16:26 In one interview, I remember listening to Nipsey Hussle and his story of his life arrested me. He said, and I paraphrase, he said, when I was in the life, when you were sent on a mission to find an op, you would pass a person, in his words, that was dressed like a square and you knew that that person was not in the life. He said I could tell by body language and facial expressions someone who was not a part of the culture that I was a part of. I could walk past a student, could walk past anyone, I could just look at them and tell that they were not connected to the life I was involved in.

1:17:29 He said this, he said, then I realized once I got out of the life and regained my consciousness, I realized that when I was sent on a mission, I was looking for somebody who looked just like me. I was sent to take out, to harm a person who looked like me. I was going to hurt, literally, myself. He went on to say that when you are blind and miseducated, you can't see the work that you are doing is destroying yourself. Nipsey, I believe, has insight, and I would suggest insight about these two brothers. One by the name of Cain and the other by the name of Abel.

1:18:29 Cain saw Abel as an op, the opposition. And as a result, murder becomes the result. And I've been raising in my spirit, meditating on the scripture, on why in this text. The traditional examination, Dr. Rice, I believe we fail so often. for the evangelical preacher will simply frame this as an act of sin with sin language, but never go any deeper than the act. It is an act, without a doubt, that is destructive to the human personality. It is an act that grieves us when we read it. It is an act of violence, an act of murder. It is an act that disrupts a family forever, but it's not enough to just simply frame it from simply just a sin act and not delve into the possible origins and meaning behind how this came about.

1:19:31 I must make this one statement. If you forget anything else that I say on today, I simply offer this that it may be dropped in your spirit. I have to tell you that Cain is a part of our family. Let me say it again. Cain is a part of our family. Cain is in our family. Cain is in our DNA. Cain is our brother. Cain is our son. Cain is our uncle. Cain is our cousin. Some of us married Cain. Some of us fell in love with Cain. Some of us helped raise a baby boy but never became a man who had a whole lot of Cain in him. Cain may be your father.

1:20:23 Cain is not some television character, shout out to power, but Cain lives in Chicago. hangs out in Washington Heights, sleeps in Chatham, drops by dinner in Roseland, goes to school in Inglewood, parties in Hyde Park, has friends on O Block, gets coffee in Lawndale, plays football in Lincoln Park, has a favorite spot to eat in Little Village, has a girlfriend in Rogers Park, and is trying to talk to another sister in the South Loop. Cain has a part-time job in Albany Park. Cain is part of our community and is a part of our family. Why this word, this story of violence? I believe that we have to examine Genesis once again. the retelling the retelling from the jewish perspective from the midrash the midrash method of interpretation for in the jewish tradition there are a variety of ways to examine scripture unlike the evangelical tradition that says there's only one way to look at scripture within the jewish tradition they say that god is too big to have one interpretation and the midrash the midrash from the jewish tradition scholars give a different perspective in reference to this idea of Adam and Eve.

1:21:49 Adam and Eve, Adam and Eve, man and woman. So often within America, we talk about the fact that God took the rib from Adam and crafted Eve. But within the Midrash tradition, within the Jewish tradition, there is another way of framing it, the word tezelah, which means that we interpret and translate as rib, but also in Hebrew is translated as half. Not a part, but a half. And in the Midrash tradition, that Adam and Eve, Adam, human, humanity, that Adam and Eve were created simultaneously, that Adam was facing one way and Eve was facing the other way. Adam was looking west and Eve was looking east. They could not face each other and God had to cut them in half.

1:22:48 So they could then face each other with intimacy. Gives a different meaning from a rib to a half because the idea of co-equality of Adam and Eve, that literally they are the same person, but now they have to face each other because humanity is one of the only things that God created that when we are intimate with each other, we are able to look in each other's eyes. No other creature is able to do this. This separation made us different from other creatures. Adam and Eve, they are created and given this responsibility in this space known as the garden. the evangelical will tell you that it was Eve's fault. No, it wasn't.

1:23:41 No, no, no, no. It was Adam's fault. It was... I tried to place everything on Eve, but when you look at the midrash, when there is co-equality in reference to both, you cannot blame one or the other. But in terms of understanding, it is Adam and Eve are given exile out of the garden. Exile, exile, pushed, banished, forced out of the garden. That they are forced out. the prototype of humanity, the prototype of Israel, of the challenge of living responsibly, accepting the sacred gift that God had given them. And that is the responsibility of all. Can we handle what God gives you to handle? Or do we mishandle what God has given us to handle? They have been exiled.

1:24:38 That brings us to the story of Cain and Abel. Cain kills Abel. It's a tragic story. He kills someone who looks just like him, like Nipsey Hussle stated. But look at the text. it says that Adam and Eve produce these children. They are present but not present. We do not hear their voice. We do not hear their intervention. We do not see that there is a deeper relationship with them. We see that Cain has this relationship with his brother and that something happens in this text that just messes with me.

1:25:34 Cain has a relationship, is communicating with God. He's talking with God. He has a relationship with God, but still makes a decision that's destructive to his family. Just because you talk to God sometimes Thank you. does not prevent you from making decisions that can be destructive to you and your family. It's a conversation with God. It says here that Abel gives an offering, and God accepts the offering. We do not know why. If anyone tells you that they do, it is pure speculation. We do not know why.

1:26:27 Cain gives an offering. God does not accept the offering. It says Cain is angry. Wait a minute. The person he should be angry with is God. But since he can't do nothing with God, he turns his energy, his anger on his brother. In other words, Cain is dealing with some stuff inside, some unrealized, untreated trauma that he's unable to express. And he expresses his trauma by harming someone who looks just like him. Let me see if I can explain it this way.

1:27:24 that Cain is in a home without healing and untreated trauma. When you are in a home where trauma is never treated, the story can be seen from the vantage point of living in a household where the trauma of the previous generation is never addressed. He saw that his parents were exiled, There were some issues that happened. No one talked about it. And now when an issue comes up in his life, he doesn't know how to deal with it. But since he can't deal with it, he allows it to come out and he harms his own brother. Adam and Eve had their own issues.

1:28:19 Banished from the garden. Challenges of disobedience before God. and there was some dysfunctional stuff going on. I heard this quote and it blessed me to say this. I say this to you. You are only sick as your secrets. Secrets are often the source of our trauma and shame is the fruit of the trauma.

1:29:01 And secrets will keep you sick. And when we normalize trauma and think trauma is functional, we are walking down a road where we can end up harming people we supposedly love. Let me say it this way. When you've been dysfunctional so long that you think other people who are functional are dysfunctional. and you are mad with the functional people trying to correct your dysfunctionality, but you've been so dysfunctional, you don't know what functionality is, so you're angry with the functional people for calling out your dysfunction because you don't know your dysfunction because you think your dysfunction is functional, so you end up angry with everybody who's functional calling out your dysfunction.

1:29:58 When we normalize trauma, it is author and teacher Jason Williams, who wrote a powerful book, The Man the Moment Demands, stated this about boys, specifically black boys. Many of our boys are emotionally incarcerated. They're raised in homes with secrets and silence, and they have not been taught how to manage and handle their emotions. They've been lied to and told that men don't cry. Man up. Be quiet. Learn how to take it. or told when they're nine you're the man of the house and they never seen a man in the house They're told by a wider society that their manhood is wrapped up in their physicality.

1:31:04 And when this type of teaching is wrapped around, in the words of Brittany Cooper, is wrapped up in patriarchy, then you have males masquerading as men, and many times somebody will die. And we will look at the obituary of women and children who have been harmed by this. And I believe this word speaks to us, for we are still called in this moment to raise Cain and also mourn Abel. In order to raise Cain, we have to confront our own emotional incarceration. All of us are products, an amalgamation of parents and teachers and churches and communities and mentors and schools. And we are a mix of the good and the bad, the mix of trauma and triumph.

1:32:04 Cain's parents were silent. Cain heard about the challenges, but no one gave him the context. Monica said something I will never forget. It was brilliant. She said, I never forgot this, that she said, children are excellent observers but terrible interpreters. They can see, but they don't know why. Unless somebody tells them. And that is the centerpiece of a play that became a movie known as Fences. My favorite poet and also playwright is August Wilson. and in that play, Fences, the movie you had Viola Davis and you had Denzel Washington. But on Broadway, when it first came on Broadway, it was James Earl Jones and Mary Alice that were in these roles.

1:32:59 And it was the story of Troy Maxim and his son, Corey. Troy was a man who dealt with trauma and he said he was never going to be hurt again so he would build fences around his house, but he also built a fence around his heart, a fence around his soul, and a fence around his mind. And he found out that after he built the fences, he kept things out, but he also incarcerated himself. That he could not deal with and build a relationship with his wife and his children because he had a fence with no gate. And if you ever had the opportunity to meet August Wilson, if he signed a copy, a copy of one of his plays or a book or any type of autograph, he always signed it the same way.

1:33:56 May all your fences have gates, that you will never be incarcerated by your acts. And an interviewer came to August Wilson and said, what is your play about, Fences? And he said, my play is simply this. I love what Wilson said. It is simply this. If you know this, this is the whole play. He said, the play is about when the sins of our father visit us, we do not have to play host. We can vanquish them, banish them with the forgiveness as God is in largeness and laws. You do not have to play host to the trauma of a previous generation. You do not have to carry what somebody else brought into your life. The sins of your father can be banished. You no longer have to be held hostage by luggage you didn't pack.

1:34:51 And Cain was struggling, dealing with things that he could not speak about. And he looks at Abel as if Abel is the enemy. how often is it I speak only to probably about two people in here that some of us carry some stuff you carry some luggage you didn't pack you carry some things that around around your on your shoulders that you did not in any way place there and I'm here to let you know the Lord wanted me to let you know you don't have to play host anymore. You don't have to sit down with the mess that somebody else passed on to you. You don't have to be what somebody else told you you're supposed to be.

1:35:48 I'm just speaking to the two people who need to be set free today to know that you no longer, you can banish the trauma of what somebody passed on to you. You are a child of God, and God has something unique for you. You do not have to live out the story or the script that was written for somebody else. You've got another story. It is not their story. God has already written a new novel for you. This is the challenge of raising Cain. Here it is. I must tell you that we are responsible for raising Cain, but we are also responsible for mourning for Abel. We hold these two tensions together, these two forms of death.

1:36:45 One is a physical death, and another is a spiritual death. We have performed the funeral rites of Abel and we weep for the pain of the acts that were caused by Cain. This is not simple church rhetoric I offer today, but the church is also responsible to raise Cain. Nobody else is going to raise Cain. We as a community are responsible for Cain. This world wants to destroy our Cain's enables. Some are asking, how do we raise Cain? I'm here to let you know that Cain is a community project. No child is ever raised alone or in isolation.

1:37:43 It literally takes a village to raise a child. But we live in a culture that does not, not only like our children, we live in a culture that wants to destroy our children. We live in a culture where it is dangerous to raise our children, especially in a culture that does not affirm who they are. A market-driven techno-capitalist culture. People want access to our children's minds and to their bodies. bodies, the level of exploitation that we witness on social media, the messages that are presented by our government, and this disdain they have for human flourishing and black thriving. So, Reverend, how do we raise Cain? We raise Cain with the Freedom School.

1:38:38 We raise Cain with the Rites of Passage Program. We raised Cain with a church school. We raised Cain with mentorship and tutoring. We raised Cain by any means necessary. There was a time where there was no option about coming to church. If you live in my house, you come into church. You're going to be in church school. You will be in Sunday school. This is not an option. This is a part of how we will save your life.

1:39:16 And truth be told, many of us are here because we didn't have an option to come to church. Somebody said, you going. As long as you black and you living in my house, you live by my rules, you going to show up. We have to see the value in Cain and Abel. Okay, let me help you out. We have to see the value in Cain and in Abel. Restoration is the goal. But restoration does not mean that you have acceptance without accountability. It doesn't mean you excuse Cain for what Cain did.

1:40:23 Cain has to be some accountability. You just don't excuse it. You know he didn't know what he was doing. Yes, he did. He knew exactly what he was doing. Had no business doing it. There has to be some accountability. And we cannot try to step in and excuse a grown cane. You can't show up at Cain's job, Cain's school, and try to excuse what Cain did. Say that, pastor.

1:41:24 Cain did it. Now you can hire him a good lawyer. but there has to be some accountability in reference to the actions. But look at this. God wants to restore Cain. Okay, you missed it.

1:41:49 God is still talking to Cain. You missed it. God saw Cain kill one of his children. but still is in conversation with Cain. You still missed your shout. No matter what you may have done, does not disconnect your communication with the God we serve. Cain did it. And God says, I'm calling you to account. And God says, the blood of your brother is calling from the ground as a result of what you have done. It shall be difficult for you to till the ground.

1:42:48 And you shall be a wanderer. And this is where Cain asked for mercy. Not justice. He says, look. If people know what I done did. they're going to treat me like I treated my brother. Now, most people will say eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth. But not God. God places God's hand on Cain. You missed your shout. Even though he is messed up, even though he done some dirt, Even though he was with the Eden Street Crips, even though he was doing this, God still put God's hand on Cain and said, I'm putting a mark on you.

1:43:51 Hold up, you missed your shout. Anytime God puts a mark on you, it may hurt, but it's still a blessing. anytime God places God's hand on you it may be painful but it still will bless you and I don't know if anyone here knows what I'm talking about that sometimes God will place God's hand on you you don't want God to do it but it blessed your life anyhow God puts a mark on Cain, says nobody will touch you because they will know I put my hand on you. Because God is restoring Cain. And now Cain will have a different life. but he will always have the mark of the memory of what he did.

1:44:52 He can't get rid of the mark, but he can change his life. See, a lot of us want to be restored without scars. I'm sorry. Sometimes you can't be restored without scars. There's got to be some residue of what you've been through, of where you've been. Okay, let me see if I can help you out. Monica, I remember I was telling you that we had a conversation with an amazing sister by the name of Brenda Palms. Brenda Palms is on the west side of Chicago. She runs a program called Sweet Beginnings. Brenda Palms' program is to work with sisters and brothers who are returning citizens.

1:45:53 were coming out of incarceration, and Sweet Beginnings teaches them to be beekeepers so that they end up harvesting honey. And the honey that they harvest can be found in every store in Chicago now. It's called Bee Love. And you can find their sweet honey. This is West Side Honey. shout out to the West Side this is West Side honey they make something sweet and the people who harvest it are people that society said should be thrown away but Brenda Palms she's a believer she believes that God I can restore anybody.

1:46:51 But I'm here to give you something that shouted me when I talked to Sister Palms. She said, you know, we make honey in Lawndale. And do you know, because we have all these bees in Lawndale, somebody always asks us, well, how do the bees make honey because they're in Lawndale? Because I don't see a whole lot of flowers. in Lawndale. So where are they going to get the nectar to make the honey? And Sister Palms always drops the mic. She says, well, you see, bees see flowers and weeds as the same thing.

1:47:38 Because flowers and weeds have the same nectar inside. They're not looking at the outside. They're looking at what's inside. So when you taste our honey, our honey comes from what you thought was a weed, but actually has some sweet nectar. The next time you eat some clover honey, ain't nothing but a weed. But you're busy looking at the outside. but the bees look at the inside. You missed your shout. I know somebody else who's not looking on the outside but's looking on the inside and knows the nectar that you have in your spirit. His name is, do you know his name?

1:48:32 His name is, can you say his name? His name is. Well, I got to get out of here. But can I share one more thing before I get out of here? Jumping up on the piano there. that restoration cannot be restored without scars. And what is inside of you, God is looking to pull out of you. But remember, I started with Nipsey Hussle, talking about the West Coast and the gang culture in the West Coast. Well, there's a person by the name of Father Greg Boyle. who works with some of the Rolling 60 Crips and other brothers and sisters who are involved in gangs.

1:49:33 And the group he organized is called Homeboy Incorporated. And what they do is they have a rite of passage program, working with people who were formerly in gangs that they can come out of the gangs. But what they do is, in order for you to come out of the gang, You've got to get your tattoo removed. And the removal process is a painful process. You can get your tattoo removed. But I read what Father Boyle said. He said, we can remove it, but there will always be a scar after you remove it. We can't do anything about the scar because the scar tells the story of where you used to be. The scar tells the story of how God has moved in your life.

1:50:29 Oh, I'm talking to a few people here today. I'm here to let you know that I know some of you have had some things removed in your life, but there's still a scar of where you've been. There's still a scar of the pain you caused. But thanks be to God. We serve a God who will remove some of the things that reminded you of what you used to be and says there's something sweet inside of you. Good day, Trinity. May the Lord bless you real good. Is there anybody in here? Are you thankful that we serve a God? A God who looks on the inside and not on the outside. A God who will restore.

1:51:24 We are called as a community to raise Cain, to mourn Abel. We're called to recognize that restoration comes but will leave a scar. you do not have to play host to the sins of your father you do not have to play host to the sins of someone in your family you do not have to invite them in you no longer have to carry the luggage that you didn't even pack If it comes on your doorstep, return to sender. raising Cain and mourning Abel this is the call of the church in this moment and this summer there will be some Cains organizing a youth takeover in Chicago it is our responsibility to make sure that we are doing the work to raise the canes,

1:52:50 mourn the ables, and build new possibilities and relationships for our young people. The door of the church is open. We welcome you. we invite you to be a part of Trinity United Church of Christ. To be a part of this community. We believe that God has the power to restore.

1:53:33 We invite you this day. We welcome you. We invite you today. Doors open to you. We invite you to be a part of this community. We welcome you.