Ben Markeson was one of the three arrested Wednesday May 25th for “Illegally feeding the Poor” in Orlando , Florida.  According to the Orlando Sentinel , “On May 25, Orlando Food Not Bombs illegally fed a large group of homeless people, the police report states.”  The article includes words such as deliberately and intentionally in relation to breaking a city ordinance that only allows two such feedings a year per city park.  Food Not Bombs has provided both Breakfast and Dinners for years in the parks in Orlando. Very rarely does my mind ever gravitate to the words Judgment and Condemnation and Smiting these days.  Well at least not since I laid down the sword of Fundamentalism and picked up the cross of Jesus. But when I see things like this, my knowledge of the Bible and personal convictions kick into high gear.  God rarely destroyed entire nations for naught in the Old Testament, but when I think about Judgment my mind always seems to go back to the old Sodom and Gomorrah story found in Genesis 19. You know the part where God wipes these two cities from the map by fire?  Scary stuff.  I used to always think I knew why God did that. Back in the day I thought it was all about rape or homosexuality or just idolatry or something along those lines.  Truth is God doesn’t really say why... in the book of Genesis. However, later on we read in the book of Ezekiel ( a prophet who speaks for God) the exact reasoning as quoted below from the NASB version of the Bible:

⁴⁶ Your older sister was Samaria, who lived to the north of you with her daughters; and your younger sister, who lived to the south of you with her daughters, was Sodom. ⁴⁷ You not only followed their ways and copied their detestable practices, but in all your ways you soon became more depraved than they. ⁴⁸ As surely as I live, declares the Sovereign LORD, your sister Sodom and her daughters never did what you and your daughters have done. ⁴⁹ “‘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. ⁵⁰ They were haughty and did detestable things before me. Therefore I did away with them as you have seen. (Ezekiel 16:46-50)

What?   Did you see that?   Let’s read that last part again.

She and her daughters were arrogant, overfed and unconcerned; they did not help the poor and needy.  (Ezekiel 16:49)

So, God’s judgment – his wrath poured out on the nation of Sodom was because they were arrogant, overfed, and unconcerned and they did not help the poor and needy?  So God destroys the entire nation? Wow.  Well, don’t get to overwrought -- I mean that was the Old Testament.  I mean God has gotten much nicer since then and well the New Testament rarely, if ever, talks about these sorts of condemnations and judgments and Godly Smiting and such. That is unless you are referring to this little Jesus talk found in Matthew:

³¹ “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne.³²All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. ³³ He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left. ³⁴ “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. ³⁵ For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in,³⁶ I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’ ³⁷ “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? ³⁸ When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? ³⁹ When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’ ⁴⁰ “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’ ⁴¹ “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. ⁴² For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, ⁴³ I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’ ⁴⁴ “They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’ ⁴⁵ “He will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’ ⁴⁶ “Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.” (Matthew 25:31-46)

Is it me or does it appear as if God (well Jesus) is actually referring to “All the NATIONS?”  Nations.  Traditionally it seems as if this scripture has been applied to people, like individuals and it is usually used to try and evangelize folks with a little fear.  But, Jesus is not talking about getting saved here in order to fit in with the sheep.  He is not talking about dutifully proclaiming his name loudly among the nations.  He is talking about caring for the hungry, the thirsty, the naked and the sick.  He is talking about Food Not Bombs being a “Sheep” and the city of Orlando looking a lot like “Goats.” Not only that, but the Nation of the USA (Federal Court of Appeals), having ruled in favor of the Orlando court to uphold this statute, is also a “Goat” according to scripture. So, if anyone seems deserving of the hell-fire judgment of Sodom and Gomorrah, I fear it is us, and again, not for the reasons that many of the Fundamentalist Bible Thumpers are referring to in their fire and brimstone tirades.  But because our Nation is “arrogant, overfed and unconcerned; they did not help the poor and needy."  God Bless America. May we one day see the immense value in living with the lost, the forgotten, the hurting and the invisible.