Week 2: The Sin of Your Sister Sodom

“The Destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah” – Pieter Schoubroeck

“As I live, says the Lord God, your sister Sodom and her daughters have not done as you and your daughters have done. 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. They were haughty, and did abominable things before me; therefore I removed them when I saw it.” -Ezekiel 16:48-50

If you’re looking in the Bible for the quintessential example of a city that “got it wrong,” look no further than the story of Sodom and Gomorrah in Genesis 19. The legacy of Sodom certainly continued in the Biblical tradition, for in the above text, the Lord – speaking through the prophet Ezekiel – references the legendary sin of Sodom to describe the even greater sin of Jerusalem in turning away from the Lord. Sodom obviously continues to to captivate the popular imaginations of church and culture to this day – particularly by those who would point to the fate of Sodom as the Bible’s definitive take on homosexuality.

However, while Sodom is used as a negative example over 50 times in the Old and New Testament, only once in the entirety of Scripture are we explicitly told what sin Sodom has committed that is so grave as to warrant God’s judgement. (One must remember that God is bent on destroying Sodom for its sin even before the story of egregious inhospitality and attempted rape recounted in Genesis 19.) That one instance, the passage from Ezekiel quoted above, names Sodom’s sin: the city “had pride, excess of food, and prosperous ease, but did not aid the poor and needy.” These, Ezekiel argues, are the haughty and abominable things that Sodom did that caused the Lord to rain down fire and brimstone upon the city. It seems that it was not homosexuality but rather wealth inequality that brought God’s judgment on the city.

That news doesn’t bode very well for most modern-day Presbyterians — or even for most modern-day North American Christians! Our authors this week will take a step back from last week’s stories and reflect on the theological implications of urban ministry and the issues we encounter in the city, from inequality to homelessness to violence to the need for ecumenical and cross-cultural collaboration and witness. Check back each day to hear what different voices are bringing to the conversation!

Building Urban Communities, Dr. Deborah Kapp

In my office, I have a print of a painting by the African American artist Horace Pippin, who is one of my heroes. The picture is titled “Holy Mountain III,” and it is one of three scenes Pippin painted that depict the promises found in Isaiah 65:17-25. In this picture, which is dated on the day the US bombed Nagasaki, a black shepherd stands in a field with little children, snakes, lions, lambs, and all other manner of creatures who shall one day lie down together safely on God’s holy mountain. Camouflaged among trees in the background are images of falling bombs, lynched men, small white crosses, and other reminders of the horrors that humans can inflict upon one another. I keep this picture to remind me of Pippin’s courage, the resilience of his vocation, the faith he painted, and the hope he had for flourishing human community. Continue Reading

Why Urban Ministry Stinks: A Love/Hate Relationship, Rev. Rosario Picardo

The work of urban ministry is a love/hate relationship for me. You have to hate it enough to love it so that your heart breaks for it. I’ve seen urban ministry glamorized a lot recently; it appears to be the “trendy” type of ministry to engage in these days. In light of that, I want to be clear: This work is not sexy, and it is not cool. Of course, it bears saying that, all ministry is difficult, but I want to argue that urban ministry, in particular, stinks! And it’s not the fact that I’ve had my car stolen, my tires slashed, my house robbed, my wife threatened, or people in my face wanting fight before a worship service; it’s the fact that this work is slow and has fewer “success” stories than I care to admit. Continue Reading

Revelation in Davidson,  Rev. Emily Rose Proctor

My own conversion to Christianity – and the beginning of my call to ministry – included Christ’s words in Matthew 25, “Whatever you do to the least of these who are members of my family, you do unto me.” I have since experienced the presence of Christ in many people whom society might consider “marginal” or “expendable.” So when I read about the “Homeless Jesus” statue in Davidson, NC, and then heard the Christian woman’s angry reaction to it, I felt a deep need to respond. My challenge as a Christian was to try to do so with compassion. Continue Reading

‘Haves’ and ‘Have-Nots’: The Unity of the Gospel and our Common Need for God’s Compassion, Jordan Burge

Urban ministry is often typified by a focus on those who live in depressed socioeconomic conditions. This type of ministry is almost always associated with conditions of poverty and Jesus’ preferential option for the poor. In reality, however, cities are a mixture of ‘haves’ and ‘have-nots.’ This is increasingly the case in gentrifying areas. For example, in the past ten years the Northern Liberties-Fishtown-Kensington area of Philadelphia has seen a rapid influx of young, college-educated adults move in alongside the working-class families that have been there for over a century. This creates a unique opportunity for the church to foster community that transcends socioeconomic divides. Continue Reading

Of the City, By the City, For the City: On Christian Witness and Mission, Dr. Amaury Tanon-Santos

The “city” has been an important image in Christian theological and popular imagination since its inception. Holy Scriptures point to the creation of the world centered in an idyllic garden, yet redemption on the cross and the restoration of the created order is narrated to happen in a city. American Christianity developed mainly out of cities. Christian ministry and life in the United States, and indeed around the world, has a significant urban focus. Certainly, not all Christians live and worship in cities, yet there is a particularity to the challenges and opportunities of the urban contexts that seems to call on the imagination, passion, and commitment of Christians in very creative and sometimes consuming ways. Continue Reading

Revival and Reform: Reflections on Ecumenical Dialogue in Urban Ministry, Will Roberts

I currently live and work at Richmond Hill, an ecumenical retreat center and intentional community in Richmond, VA. Richmond Hill was originally a Catholic convent established in Richmond’s historic Church Hill neighborhood after the Civil War. As the Union army advanced on Richmond, the Confederate army set fire to the Shockoe Bottom neighborhood, setting ablaze warehouses full of liquor and gunpowder. The fire burned for days and leveled the city. After these catastrophic events, the Catholic Diocese sent a group of nuns from the Order of the Visitation of Monte Maria to come and pray for the healing of Richmond; they established the convent and prayed from 1887-1987. Continue Reading

Read more articles in this series.

The Advisory Committee on Social Witness Policy (ACSWP) is bringing a resolution to the 221st General Assembly (2014) entitled “The Gospel from Detroit: Renewing the Church’s Urban Vision.” Click here to see the full text of that resolution.