Selling Used Cars And Abating The Wrath Of God.



The Destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, John Martin

Genesis 18:20-32

 

And the Lord said, “Because the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and because their sin is very grave, I will go down now and see whether they have done altogether according to the outcry against it that has come to Me; and if not, I will know.” Then the men turned away from there and went toward Sodom, but Abraham still stood before the Lord. And Abraham came near and said, “Would You also destroy the righteous with the wicked?" Suppose there were fifty righteous within the city; would You also destroy the place and not spare it for the fifty righteous that were in it? Far be it from You to do such a thing as this, to slay the righteous with the wicked, so that the righteous should be as the wicked; far be it from You! Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?” So the Lord said, “If I find in Sodom fifty righteous within the city, then I will spare all the place for their sakes.” Then Abraham answered and said, “Indeed now, I who am but dust and ashes have taken it upon myself to speak to the Lord: Suppose there were five less than the fifty righteous; would You destroy all of the city for lack of five?” So He said, “If I find there forty-five, I will not destroy it.” And he spoke to Him yet again and said, “Suppose there should be forty found there?” So He said, “I will not do it for the sake of forty.” Then he said, “Let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak: Suppose thirty should be found there?” So He said, “I will not do it if I find thirty there.” And he said, “Indeed now, I have taken it upon myself to speak to the Lord: Suppose twenty should be found there?” So He said, “I will not destroy it for the sake of twenty.” Then he said, “Let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak but once more: Suppose ten should be found there?” And He said, “I will not destroy it for the sake of ten.”

Little known fact: I used to sell cars. It was back in 2005 and it lasted for about a year... Yes, I know that you're judging me. It was a tough job with long hours and angry customers. I was officially a new car salesman (of Toyotas, then Acuras) but I was allowed to sell used cars as well. Selling cars is tough because of the negotiation factor. Negotiation makes selling used cars even tougher. Have you ever wondered why you can negotiate a cars price but you rarely are allowed to negotiate the price of other products? There are plenty of products with a sizable markup (like restaurant food). Cars inherited the negotiation aspect to their sell from their transportation ancestor: horses. Horse trading involved a lot of negotiating, speculation on value and trade ins. This being the case, horse traders got a bad reputation and the wrath of customers. The wrath of customers came from the perception of an unjust and unfair deal. Wrath is a curious and misunderstood emotional response. Wrath seems to be an emotion in response to an offence. It is usually followed by vengeance. So over a hundred years past the glory days of the horse trade auto dealers are still visited by the wrath due to horse traders.

I brought up my auto industry past because in Genesis 18 we find Abraham doing something familiar to it: negotiating. Abraham and God's negotiations center around haggling over a price. Abraham is attempting to negotiate the price of God's wrath. The surprising detail in this story is that God is open to negotiations. God is willing to hear Abraham's best offer. Keep in mind that this is the second half to last weeks reading where the three presumed angelic visitors announce that Abraham and Sarah will soon conceive a child in their elderly years. So the good news was that they were gaining a son: the bad news is that they might be losing a nephew... and a niece in law... and their two daughters. God's planned to destroy the city-states of Sodom and Gomorrah, which happened to be where Abraham's beloved nephew Lot resided. You and I know that everything about your perception of a given people changes when your family member is one. The people of Sodom and Gomorrah were not just the heathen city folk to Abraham and Sarah, they were his family members...or at least four of them were. It is so easy to blindly judge the sins of others without concern when we don't have "a dog in the race." But when its your son, daughter, nephew or friend you see the humanity in those "other" people. To Abraham Lot was not just any inhabitant of Sodom and Gomorrah, he was "one of the good ones." And that is what he started out with when he negotiated with God, in essence he said "but Lord what about the good ones?" Being reasonable God agreed that his wrath could be abated for the righteous ones among the wicked in the city... but there had to be some. Abraham started at fifty and God agreed to settle at fifty. Abraham kept marching God's price down and God kept agreeing that these were reasonable numbers. It was like the scene on the Cosby show where Heathcliff and Theo go car shopping. Heathcliff Huxtable (Bill Cosby) writes down his offer on a sheet of paper and slides it over to the salesman (who is played by a young Sinbad) who writes down his counter offer. The difference is that God always agreed to Abraham's terms and never countered. So God and Abraham settle on ten righteous people. Only ten righteous souls would be good enough to save Sodom and Gomorrah from destruction. If we fast forward beyond the selected verses, the angels do visit Sodom and Gomorrah and are not able to find ten righteous people but Lot's family are allowed o escape before destruction occurs. Sending judgment upon cities and nations for being unjust is not unusual for God to do in the Old Testament. Nineveh, Babylon and even Jerusalem (amongst others) would be preached to about the impending wrath of God. In the story of Noah God set to destroy mankind and all of humanity with it for humanities vile behavior. God only finds one man (Noah) who is just and just like Lot his family is saved from destruction. Similarly God later found himself in another round of negotiations when he Mankind's sinful nature proved to grievous to save it from damnation. In this story again he found one man who was just, holy and without sin. But this time everything changed, because God had a family member in this group. God's Son was part of Humanity. Christ had given up his majesty in glory to take upon human flesh. In doing so he would take upon humanity's judgment. So Christ negotiated with God that instead of humanity reaping the punishment of its sin, he alone would taste the bitter cup of God's wrath. When we could not sit at the table and  negotiate lower terms with God, Jesus was offered as our trade-in. 

So why is God so judgmental? Why is every corner of the Old Testament covered with stories of God's wrath? After studying and comparing the Old and New Testament, an early Christian bishop named Marcion (pronounced "martian") decided that the God presented in the Old Testament was different and inferior than the God presented in the New Testament. Marcion was excommunicated and labeled a heretic. It is easy to see where Marcion erred. At first glance, the depiction of God in both testaments does seem different but when one tales a deeper look you see countless instances of kindness, grace and mercy, that we usually think of as a New Testament thing, emanating from the God of the Old Testament. We also see judgment and a focus on justice, things we think of with the Old Testament God, in the New Testament. Christ is such a "nice guy" just because he is personal revelation of God that humanity was too spiritually young in the Old Testament to notice. It's that principal or stern teacher that you had as a kid that you see again in adulthood and realize that he was actually a nice guy all along. But as a child he had to instill discipline in you. You had to learn before he could befriend you. So the question still begs: "Why is God so judgmental?" An answer may lie in today's painting "The Destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah" by the English Romantic era painter John Martin. And seriously, what gets more romantic than holding your beloved tightly and whispering gently in their ear." Hey baby, you're going to Hell" (which was actually "pillow talk" for the Great Awakening evangelist Johnathan Edwards)? Yes, yes, I know that Romantic painting had less to do with Valentines Day chocolates and more to do with the depicting grandeur of nature... it's like Valentines Day chocolates for tree huggers, hippies and John Denver fans... but back to John Martin. John Martin should be known as "the painter of God's wrath" because he made a career of depicting it. If it was a depiction of God's wrath or a picture about the forewarning of God's potential judgment, John Martin had paintings for either occasion. John Martin's painting about the demise of Sodom and Gomorrah mixes painterly abstraction in its depiction of nature and realistic representation of people. It features Lot and his family fleeing from the fiery abstracted swirls of paint that have consumed what once was their city. This crimson and ochre inferno represents God's destructive wrath upon the remaining inhabitants of Sodom and Gomorrah. God's wrath in itself represents the abstract notion of Justice and like the painting it encroaches upon real people. If wrath is an emotional response to an offence, then God's wrath is kindled against offences against Justice. All throughout the Old Testament God seeks vengeance against societies that were unjust, corrupt, blood thirsty, idolatrous (especially when that idolatry led to blood thirsty practices), lacked humility and had no love for the poor and down trodden. Most of the time these were Gentile cultures and God would use Israel as an agent to punish them. Several times it was Israel and God used Gentile nations to punish his children... then He would send another Gentile nation to punish the Gentile nation who just finished beating up His kids. God as the universal standard bearer and enforcer of Justice. In that role He used the Old Testament times to teach the nations of the Earth about the concept of Justice. 

Sometimes it seems useful to imagine God as a force or a concept. But God is a person, with a personality. He is more than human but he is similar in that He senses pleasure and displeasure. He experiences joy, love and anger. Anger is usually dangerous and wrath is mostly sinful... for human beings. It is not for God. This is because God is the only being that can remain fair in His anger and just in His wrath. Justice is an attribute of God. God ordains (most of) human government as his ministers of Justice. Human Justice at its best is an effort to mirror the divine notions of justice, fairness and peace among humans. When human government doesn't do this it is unjust. Notice that I didn't make an argument for religious government. One of the things that encouraged me to further study the intersection of biblical Christianity and Art criticism a few years back was my discovery of the works of the Christian theologian, art critic and philosopher Francis Schaeffer. I was a huge Schaeffer fan... now I didn't necessarily as free with all of his conclusions about Art but I was thrilled that their was another Evangelical who knew anything about Art... at all. Another group that was influenced by Schaeffer's thoughts are the Religious Right/Moral Majority of politics (I lean more politically Left myself, but I'll try and shy away from unnecessary political discussions). Francis Schaeffer became friends with the controversial theologian and philosopher R.J. Rushdoony. Rushdoony (an accused racist) was the forefather of Christian Reconstructionism: the movement that espouses that Christians should encourage the instatement of Old Testament law as the Law in the modern world. This includes the death penalty for a ridiculous amount of offences. Should Christians advocate  for this legal revolution? If they should then their would be New Testament biblical precedent for it. There isn't. RJ Rushdoony and Christian Reconstructionist's advocacy of Old Testament interpretations of contemporary laws actually conflict with how Jesus practiced the Law. We often don't think of one aspect of Jesus' role as a rabbi: in effect Jesus was a lawyer. When we hear stories of Jesus' interactions with a young lawyer about the nature of one's neighbor or his disagreements with the Pharisees, they all surrounded Biblical Law. Religious law (Old Testament/Torah) had real life and death consequences in Jesus' time. The most prominent example of this was the story of the woman who was caught in adultery and was about to be stoned to death (as is legally prescribed for such an offence). Jesus dismantles the angry mob by inviting those without sin to cast the first stone. Jesus prevented this death sentence from being executed. Christ also scribbled something on the ground that the Gospel writer doesn't reveal the content of... maybe he wrote Deuteronomy 32:35 where the Lord declares that "vengeance is" His alone to exact. No one knows what Jesus wrote, but we do know how Jesus practiced the law. Jesus looked for the overall concept behind the Law: he preached following the Spirit of the Biblical Law. He never advocated usurping  the Roman laws of the empire that ruled his part of the world at that time. Later St. Paul would go further in Romans 13 and advise Christians on living in a non-Christian culture. The Roman Empire was far from a neutral secular state, but was very religiously pluralistic... at times it was very antagonistic to Christianity. Paul's advise was to be obedient to authorities, pray for them and be a model citizen. So what about cases (like the Nazis) where government in evil and unjust. Well the Apostles (in their legal run ins with authorities in Acts) would advise us to obey God rather than man...but we can still be a good neighbor even when we can't be a good citizen. A just government isn't necessarily a Christian one or religious one. A Christian government doesn't always turn out to be a just one. God call individuals to be Christians, not governments. In this aspect Lot is a foreshadowing of the New Covenant Church era. God doesn't save nations or cities. He saves individuals. Governments have to rule over many types of individuals with different beliefs, sins, thoughts and practices. A government is not a just one when it forces someone to accept Christianity, abstain from work on a religious day or pray in school. A government is just when it gets those different people to live in peace and not abuse each other. This is where Christians can change societies. They save the societies that they live in by recognizing what general God honoring concept (that also benefits the general peace and good) can be introduced to their city/national law. A good example of this is William Wilberforce's efforts to end slavery in the British Empire. His belief in the evil of enslaving fellow human beings was informed by his Christian belief. God saves individuals: Individuals save nations and cities. They save cultures by working for justice. A just society escapes the wrath of God.

God's wrath enforces the fair deal. When God exerts vengeance it is an act of restoring justice and equity. Does that mean that we as Christians should all work in law enforcement? It is an honorable notion but no. Some are called to serve in this area and we should pray fir them. We should all, however, be enforcers of justice by utilizing God's greatest tool for justice. God's most powerful tool in exerting His wrath against injustice was not laws, judges or armed soldiers. God's weapon of vengeance against injustice and unrighteousness is Love. From Abel to Zechariah, the World had persecuted and murdered so many of God's innocents, prophets and holy men that He gave his Son Jesus, to be persecuted and murdered. God gave His Son to be sacrificed by sinful human hands on the altar of God's wrath. Jesus suffered as our scape goat (no really, that phrase has religious significance). Like a scapegoat humanity's guilt was placed upon him and left us... in a theological contrast to Lot. Lot left his home in Sodom and Gomorrah to escape from God's judgment of humanity. Jesus left his home in Heaven to embrace God's judgment of humanity. He embraced the judgment and an absorbed it into himself. That's what Love does: it takes injustice, sin and hurt and overcomes it. Justice is what is pursued (through earthly or divine means) when we fail to treat others out of love. Loving God with your whole being and loving your neighbor as your self is the central message of both the Old Testament law and Jesus' New Testament ministry. Everything about God's view of justice is centered around love...because God is Love. And that is non-negotiable.

The Sound of Freedom




Symbolic negro History, main panel of mural at Fisk University, Aaron Douglas

Galatians 5:1 &13-18

Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage...For you, brethren, have been called to liberty; only do not use liberty as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” But if you bite and devour one another, beware lest you be consumed by one another! I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.

A thousand pardons, ladies and gentlemen! I apologize for my late post. While you were not hearing from me, I was busy doing some hearing of my own. I wonder if you heard what I heard.

Have you ever heard the sound of a painting? I haven't... but I've seen the movement of the sound waves. Now please spare me the story of that time back in the 60's when you got to kick it with Hunter S. Thompson on a road trip and you and your new buddy consumed questionable substances that had you seeing sounds and hearing colors. Ain't nobody got time for that (my obligatory Sweet Brown reference)! This is the story of the 20th century painter Aaron Douglas. During the Harlem Renaissance painter Aaron Douglas came to be respected as the standard bearer of the era's visual arts' arm. He did illustrations for W.E.B. Dubois, Countee Cullen, James Weldon Johnson and other African American heavyweights of this period of black cultural flowering. He was so respected amongst intellectuals, writers and cultural critics that he was referred to as the 'father of African American Art." His Art blended the aesthetic of Art Nouveau and Art Deco with the narrative of the African American freedom story. In 1930 he painted a multi-part mural in the library of Fisk University entitled "Symbolic Negro History"... yeah, History painters are never good with titles. Sounds more like an Anthropological article. However direct the title was, the painting itself was pure poetry: a tapestry of cultural narrative that evokes memories of the National Black Anthem "Lift Every Voice and Sing." The power of this painting lies in the fact that it uses sound (or the symbol of sound) to tie the story together. In every panel there is an object or character that emits sound waves and move the story of African peoples along. From the building of the Pyramids to the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade to Emancipation to the Invention of Jazz to the construction of great American cities and infrastructure, this is a mural that marks the sound waves that made ripples in Time. The mural section that I feature at the top is extremely powerful because it centers on the preaching of this message of Freedom. Emitted by Quaker Abolitionists, Methodist Missionaries and Baptist slave preachers, the message that is embedded in the story of the Exodus from Egyptian slavery inspired the contemporary African American slaves that they should also be free like their ancient Hebrew counterparts. In painting this 34 years before the Civil Rights Act and social progress, Aaron Douglas was acting as his era's preacher, encouraging the young Black college students who would view his mural of their people's great past, hopeful future and eternal strength. He preached a sweet painting of prudence, hard work and self determination without malice towards others. He pictured the pictured the voice of Progress and it sounds like freedom.

 

Have you ever heard the voice of God? I haven't... but I've seen the impact of his voice. Now I believe that Scripture is God's primary means of communicating with Mankind, however, I also believe that God has secondary means of communication. These include things like nature, reason, loving relationships, science, etc.... It's like the Bible is God's cellphone but these secondary means of Divine communication are His pager (because I like to imagine God as a Primeco phone salesman in 1997 wearing pleated khakis). One of these secondary communication methods that interests me the most is what Scripture calls "a living epistle" which pretty much means a living, breathing sermon. It is when God speaks to us through the lives others. I have friend who is a living epistle for me. The funny thing is that she'd probably never know that I think this. She is actually a former coworker that I haven't seen in about 3 or 4 years. Thanks to the magic of social media I can keep up with what she's doing. Her Facebook timeline and updates document how she is still working two jobs. One of these is overnight. Along with these she still takes classes and is marching on to eventually completing her studies in Criminal Science. Like everyone else she'll post Instagram pics of the latest hike that she and her boyfriend have conquered. Now all of these are admiral feats but  greatest thing she does comes once per year. It is when she posts that it is yet another year of her being sober. In the words of Langston Hughes, "Life for her ain't been no crystal stair." She probably doesn't think that she doing anything extraordinary. She probably longs for a life that is more noteworthy and monumental. But what she does everyday, even, in its monotony is a championship, because every time I face challenges I can scroll through my news feed and see her being victorious by being reliable to herself, open with others and persist ant in her struggle. That is the thing about life, you may never know that you are someone's encouragement. Your commitment to fight the demons of the past and deal with the daily grind of the present motivates others. It is a reminder that Jesus said "I will never leave you nor forsake you." Sometimes He is there in the inspirational journeys of our friends. It may look like everyday life but if you listen closely then you will realize that it is a sermon preached through life... and it sounds like freedom.

 

Have you ever heard the sound of freedom? I actually have. It sounds like the writings of a former Pharisaic Rabbi turned Christian Apostle. His name was Paul... after it was Saul. It sounds like him telling his Galatian parishioners that their notions of how to relate to God needed to evolve. Many of them were like just like him: Jewish Christians who were trying get a grasp on how being a follower of Jesus related to their religious upbringing. Specifically how were they to worship God? Were they required to still keep the 613 Mitzvot ( Commandments) of biblical law (including circumcision) or were they also allowed to practice the simplified spirituality that their Gentile (non-Jewish) Christian brothers practiced? The other Apostles jointly decided that Paul was to teach Gentile converts a life of worship that was devoid of many of the practices of the Torah (Old Testament). The idea was to take the overall message of Scripture, the general concept and apply it to your everyday living. Instead of making ritual sacrifices, a believers existence would be lived in as a sacrificial act. This notion was a revolutionary one: for Jews and Gentiles alike. Even the Gentile believers would have converted from religions where acts of animal sacrifice and/or some degree of personal bodily sacrifice/modification was common. Paul was teaching that the biggest sacrifice was to happen to our minds and bodily modification would occur in our hearts. So was there a general standard of Christian worship that would hold true for Christians of any stripe? Paul thought so. It was Love. The whole 613 commands of the Law were to be boiled down to one command, "You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” Ironically this wasn't a new concept: It is what Jesus taught, it is what Hillel taught and it is what the Torah taught. That is what true worship of God is and always was: Love. It may sound like an oversimplification of a complex issue but if you (like me) have ever felt alienated from God our your fellow Man it also sounds like freedom.        



So that is what the sound of freedom is. I guess it is more than one actual noise. It is at least three: the freedom from external oppression from others, the freedom from internal oppression from our own weaknesses and vices and finally the spiritual freedom to love. This chorus of Liberty is powerful enough to awaken us from bygone troubles and lull us into a peaceful sleep of God's rest. It is the harmony that is true religion: true worship of God. This sound of freedom is music to the Lord's ears.