The Wickedness of Sodom and Gomorrah (Isaiah's interpretation)

I know what you're thinking -- another discussion of God's wrath against homosexuals.  Isn't that what the story of Sodom and Gomorrah is all about?  Well, I'd like to suggest a different take.

This Sunday's lectionary selection from the Hebrew Bible or Old Testament is Isaiah 1:1, 10-20.  I was looking at this passage as I began to write my lectionary meditation for [D]mergent, and the true nature of Sodom and Gomorrah's wickedness stood out clearly -- and the word found here isn't easy to run from.  

In this text Sodom and Gomorrah stand in as analogies for the two kingdoms of Israel and Judah.  The prophet, speaking in the time of Uzziah in the 8th century BCE, pronounces judgment, and in doing so roundly rejects their "worship" and "piety."  God isn't impressed with their blood sacrifices and offerings of incense.  None of this really matters because God has issues with their behavior outside the "worship places."  Yes, God is concerned about matters of JUSTICE, especially when it involves the oppressed, the orphan, and the widow.  

Consider these words from the prophet:

   10 Hear the word of the Lord, you rulers of Sodom!

Listen to the teaching of our God, you people of Gomorrah!

11 What to me is the multitude of your sacrifices? says the Lord;

I have had enough of burnt-offerings of rams and the fat of fed beasts;

I do not delight in the blood of bulls, or of lambs, or of goats.

12 When you come to appear before me,*who asked this from your hand?

Trample my courts no more;

13 bringing offerings is futile;

incense is an abomination to me.

New moon and sabbath and calling of convocation—

I cannot endure solemn assemblies with iniquity.

14 Your new moons and your appointed festivals my soul hates;

they have become a burden to me, I am weary of bearing them.

15 When you stretch out your hands, I will hide my eyes from you;

even though you make many prayers, I will not listen;

your hands are full of blood.

16 Wash yourselves; make yourselves clean;

remove the evil of your doings from before my eyes;

cease to do evil,

17 learn to do good; seek justice, rescue the oppressed, defend the orphan, plead for the widow.  (Isaiah 1:10-17 NRSV)

What is the wickedness of Sodom and Gomorrah -- it's not what we've been led to think?  But these two cities had become for Isaiah's people, a byword for wickedness. 

Anna Case-Winters writes in her theological reflection in Feasting on the Word these words:

The particular wickedness of Sodom and Gomorrah -- contrary to popular assumptions -- is a matter of their greed and injustice.  The fullest accounting of the "sin" of Sodom and Gomorrah in the Old Testament is in the book of Ezekiel:  "This was the guilt of your sister Sodom:  she and her daughters had pride, excess of food, and prosperous ease, but did not aid the poor and needy" (Ezek. 16:49).  It is not until the Hellenistic period that sexual conduct is even alluded to in connection with these cities.  As the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah became bywords for injustice and divine judgment, Isaiah implies, the southern kingdom of Judah now mirrors their condition. (Anna Case-Winters, in Feasting on the Word,  Year C, Volume 3, p. 318).

According to the prophet, the nation's civil religion, in spite of all its offerings and piety, can't cover up its neglect of justice.  Indeed, their "piety" can even be referred to as an abomination!  So, are we, as a nation, comparable to the true Sodom and Gomorrah?  Remember, when interpreting scripture it is often helpful to look at how other texts use and idea or reference point.  When it comes to the story of Sodom and Gomorrah, perhaps we should look more closely to the words of Isaiah and Ezekiel.  And if you have questions, God seems ready for an argument (Isaiah 1:18)!

Oil, the Environment, and the Limits of Human Abilities

I've not written much about the tragic oil spill in the Gulf.  I do believe that it could have been prevented, but there have been a number of factors that have conspired to create this situation. 

First is our propensity to use oil and oil related products.  As Charlie Crist said on the Today show this morning, this disaster should be a wake up call to Americans that we need to change our habits when it comes to oil usage (and he's a Republican).  But consider how we drive -- how I drive.  I drive a small car, but . . . There are all the plastics we use, etc.  Oh, and he said that the judges decision to stop the moratorium on drilling was, to use his own words -- "ludicrous!"  (Again, he's a Republican).

Then there's greed.  Consider that this accident might not have happened had the companies used the same technology used in the North Sea deep water drilling, adding an extra layer of protection of a remote shut off system as required by Brazil and Norway, but not the US.  Yes, this has never been tested in real life, and there are questions of its usefulness, but we'll never know in this case because BP didn't want to spend the extra 500,000 and under the Bush Administration, it was decided not to require them.

As with the drug situation that compounds immigration, we as Americans are our own worst enemies.  We want what we want without the consequences.  But that isn't the way life works.  The more we push the boundaries, the more likely we're going to have trouble.  The reality in this case is that the only people who know how to fix the problem are the ones who caused it.  And as for the clean up, well, you can't really do clean up well until you shut off the source of the problem.

I saw yesterday that Kevin Costner has a partial solution to getting oil out of the water.  Let's try it.  Let's do what we can, but let's also remember the role we all play in the problem.  Americans say they want smaller government, but then complain when the government isn't there to save them.  Ironic, isn't it!

I'll not be saying a whole lot more on this issue, but the point I'd like to end on is simply this -- we often make the beds we sleep in!