Sodom and Gomorrah
Today’s first reading gives the familiar story of Abraham’s negotiation with God on behalf of the people of Sodom and Gomorrah. God’s representatives have just visited Abraham and given him the unexpected news that he and his wife Sarah will have a son within the year. Now God turns to addressing the outcry which has come to Him from many sources against these two cities of the plains. We know that God will not find even ten righteous people in Sodom and Gomorrah.
Only Lot, Abraham’s nephew, and his two daughters will escape. Lot’s wife does not survive; she stops to look back and is turned to a pillar of salt. Certainly, the impression is one of iniquitous behavior so appalling that nature itself cannot bear it. Yet millennia later, Jesus will say to the people of Capernaum, “For if the mighty deeds done in your midst had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day.” (Mt. 11:23)
This brings to mind several points for our consideration. First, Abraham shows a deep concern about what will happen to these two cities. Perhaps he was merely worried about Lot and his family. Or perhaps Abraham hoped that some human souls could be salvaged. In any case, he pursues his request humbly but persistently, until the narrative suggests that he dare press no longer. Mercy, not vengeance, motivates Abraham.
Light in the Darkness
Secondly, Jesus observes that even the great sinfulness of Sodom and Gomorrah will be met with more leniency than the refusal of the residents of Capernaum to accept the reality of the Messiah’s presence among them. He suggests that the people of those cities had a possibility of recognizing God based on the signs He worked. On the other hand, the particular hardness of heart which caused many of God’s own people to turn away from the Son of Man and from their own salvation left no opening for a relationship with Him.
The world around us can seem (and often is) an evil, threatening place. Behavior once thought unacceptable is common. Violence and hostility have become the solution of first resort for many. Our values and beliefs are challenged and denied. The pandemic has brought many unsettling changes and some will probably be permanent. Still, if we, like Abraham, draw near to the Lord and ask His help in finding those persons who share our love for Him and for justice, we can be lights in the darkness that seems to be all around us. Unlike Abraham, we can rest in the surety that those who seek the good are there to be found.
God calls us to cultivate a sense of community with all people of good will. And to work with them in ministering to the many around us who are in pain. In so doing, we can be the sign of “the light that shines in the darkness and the darkness has not overcome it” (Jn. 1:5), the light that remains in the face of the most terrible sin and the most intractable hardness of heart.
