They called to Lot, “Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us so that we They called to Lot, “Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us so that we can have sex with them.” – Genesis 19:5

Today’s Scripture Reading (July 10, 2018): Genesis 19

Sodom and Gomorrah. Just the mention of the names of the cities brings to mind the argument over same-sex attraction and gay marriage. The overwhelming Christian message is that God destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah and the cities of plain because of the presence of same-sex sexual interaction. How do we know that homosexuality is wrong? Well, just look at Sodom and Gomorrah.

But the problem is that that message is wrong. Oh, you can make a case that God opposes same-sex sexual interaction. But the problem is that Sodom and Gomorrah cannot be part of the argument, because same-sex sexual interaction is not what the story of Sodom and Gomorrah is all about. The story of the destruction of the cities of the plain is about a lack of hospitality. It is about not welcoming the visitor and the stranger and not accepting “the least of these.” Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed because the leaders of the cities were xenophobic, they feared the stranger.

And if you wonder if that could be true, let me remind you that two other Jewish leaders agreed that the sin Sodom and Gomorrah is about the stranger, the weak and the needy – Ezekiel and, wait for it, Jesus. Let’s start with Ezekiel:

‘Now this was the sin of your sister Sodom: She and her daughters were arrogant, overfed and unconcerned; they did not help the poor and needy. They were haughty and did detestable things before me. Therefore I did away with them as you have seen (Ezekiel 16:49-50).

Jesus seems to agree:

If anyone will not welcome you or listen to your words, leave that home or town and shake the dust off your feet. Truly I tell you, it will be more bearable for Sodom and Gomorrah on the day of judgment than for that town (Matthew 10:14-15).

Maybe in the wake of the United States practice of separating children from their parents at the southern border (June 2018), there is maybe no more relevant verse in the Bible than this one. Even the defense of the practice in the U.S. was identical with that of Sodom and Gomorrah. The United States defended their practice of separating children from their parents by saying that they wanted to stop illegal immigration. If you know that your child is going to be taken from you, maybe you will decide not to come.  The reason behind the men calling out the visiting men for sex was not that they were same-sex attracted. They wanted to stop people from coming to their cities. What better way to stop illegal immigration than to rape the men who tried to visit. The message would get out, and the visits would stop.

In the end, God stepped in and stopped the visits to Sodom and Gomorrah by destroying the cities. And Jesus reminded us of the importance of the stranger. ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me’ (Matthew 25:40).

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Genesis 20