The cause of one another

 

Isaiah 1: 10-17 (The Message)
New Ark United Church of Christ, Newark, DE
August 7, 2022

Photo of two white mugs, each with a packet of hot cocoa inside.  The mug on the left reads "mine";
the one on the right reads "yours".

Right off the bat, Isaiah gets our attention with the infamous cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, and with good reason. Isaiah is calling out the southern kingdom of Judah, devastated by an Assyrian invasion, for its corruption and offences against God’s law. Isaiah is calling out nations, faithful people, and their leaders who behave like Sodom and Gomorrah did. Sodom was a fertile, lush, wealthy city, the best place to live. Now Sodom is the Dead Sea. The Hebrew scriptures say that Sodom was not only destroyed but wiped off the face of the earth, and why? Toxic Christianity would have us believe it’s because of homosexuality and violent men who wanted to sexually assault household guests, but no, that was not the sin of Sodom.



The sin of Sodom was that they would not share their wealth, their land with anyone who was not from Sodom. They believed that what was theirs was theirs and what belonged to others, belonged to others. The Mishnah, the earliest rabbinic literature of Judaism tells us that there are four kinds of people. There are some who say, “What’s mine is yours and what’s yours is yours.” These are the saints, the ones who are willing to disrupt their lives for anyone, no matter what, generous to a fault. There are others who say, “What’s mine is mine, and what’s yours is mine”. When the scriptures refer to wicked people, this is who they’re talking about. This is how racism, White supremacy, all of humanity’s violent history began. There are people who say, “What’s mine is yours, and what’s yours is mine.” This is world we want to live in, where everyone shares, everyone cooperates, and yet it’s a pipe dream. We know human nature. We haven’t gotten to a place where we can trust each other like that.



The fourth type of person says, “What’s mine is mine and what’s yours is yours”. You live your life; I’ll live my life. Sounds rather sensible, doesn’t it? This pretty much sums up a lot of American culture today, the average person on the street. But Sodom took it a few steps further. Not only did they not want to share what they had with anyone new, they would not let people immigrate nor would they share with strangers passing through, even going so far as to make it illegal to offer hospitality, to give to charity, or to help an immigrant or foreigner. They took away the choice, the ability to do good. In truth there are some places where that sounds exactly like American policy and law and in other places, it’s what happens by default.

Tweet by Kashana Cauley that reads "I don't think our plan to have a society made up of 300 million rugged individualists is going well."

For this reason, God is angry at anyone who behaves this way, who removes the ability to do good. Not only that but those who spend their resources on lavish worship, who spend more time in meetings talking about justice rather than doing justice. At times we imagine this angry God as an old archaic God. What if this God who is still speaking to us from an ancient text is a young God? Not only a young God but a disenfranchised one. The God of Isaiah is the God who schooled Jesus. Jesus was a millennial in his time. The generations who are most angry and impatient with too much talk and too little action are millennials and Gen Z, the largest cohort leaving religion behind but still actively seeking and working for a better world.



For the last hundred years or so, every generation has protested and disrupted the one that preceded it. We make some headway, we reach a tipping point, and the ball of progress rolls back. It feels like the reality we are being groomed for is to accept that some people’s lives will be unjust, will fall apart, and we’re supposed to be okay with that. What’s mine is mine and what’s yours is yours.

Theologian and civil rights leader Howard Thurman wrote, “The movement of the Spirit of God in the hearts of [people] often calls them to act against the spirit of their times or causes them to anticipate a spirit which is yet in the making. In a moment of dedication, they are given wisdom and courage to dare a deed that challenges and to kindle a hope that inspires.”



The spirit of our times has those of us who are working for change, who are fighting against injustice, and those who suffer from the trauma of racism, poverty, being misgendered, discrimination—the spirit of our times has us fighting each other. We have turned suffering into a competitive sport when we are all hurting and it’s hard to keep our hearts soft and ready to listen. We have lost the ability to hear each other’s pain. How do we think about the future when we are grieving and lamenting our losses in the present? We hold our wounds close to our chest but also right beneath the surface. This young God is justifiably angry, righteously angry at us, and it’s hard to not get defensive or turn away, to fight or flee, but instead to listen.



Isaiah is saying the same thing that we love to hear from the prophet Micah: With what shall I come before the Lord? What does God require for worship but to do justice, love mercy, and move through life humbly with God. What’s mine is yours and what’s yours is yours. In other words, I am willing to disrupt my life for you.

Poster with muted rainbow colors with these words: "I choose love. I choose inclusion. I choose empathy. Compassion. Equality. Dignity. Diversity. I choose community. Kindness. Integrity. Honesty. Respect. I choose justice. I choose facts. Peace. The planet. I choose humanity. I choose love."

Once again, that’s what this Table is all about. With his very life, Jesus said that what is his is ours and what is ours is ours. “Take, eat. This is my body broken for you. Take, drink. This is my blood poured out for you.” These are the gifts of God for the people of God. We learn to trust one another by disrupting our lives for each other. Like prayer, this Table is the beginning of ethical, moral action, a reminder to prioritize those who suffer as much if not more than we do. When we join in solidarity with the marginalized, we are stronger against those who plot to thwart democracy with theocracy, against greed and corruption, and the temptation to center ourselves.



To paraphrase first century rabbi Hillel the Elder: who will take up the cause of one another if not us? And if not now, when? May we have the “wisdom and courage that dares a deed that challenges and kindles a hope that inspires.” Amen.

Benediction – enfleshed.com



Go forth in the name of the Creator,
who calls you inherently beloved;
the Sustainer, who breaks bread into enough;
and the Redeemer, who labors with us towards liberation.