(Please read this Scripture passage first, before the homily.)
Isaiah called the rulers of his people Princes of Sodom, and he called the people, people of Gomorrah. What was going on there? Before you think bad of the people, think the worst of them. Isaiah was not speaking of sexual behavior or inclination. He was speaking of the sin of the people of Sodom and Gomorrah, the sin of inhospitality, of not welcoming the angels that came to visit Lot.
Hospitality was a prized virtue in the time of Isaiah. Travelers faced many dangers on the road and when they would come to a town, they would hope and expect that someone would invite them in and give them shelter. Otherwise, they would have to camp out in the main plaza and face possible attacks on their lives or their belongings. The Israelites knew the law and need for hospitality because they had been travelers for many years before they had come to their homeland.
Look to the end of the reading. The prophets accused the people of practicing injustice, not justice, of wronging the orphan and widow instead of supporting them in the needs. In the reference to Sodom and Gomorrah, he was accusing them of not welcoming strangers in their midst. It was because the people did not respect the weaker members of society, and more, did actively take advantage of them, that Isaiah scolded them.
Today, we who read this blog, cannot welcome all the people who try to cross borders into our country. We individuals cannot redress the total evil of society. We can, however, welcome the people who come to us, and we can work to erase the evil in our lives. We all have people we do not like, such as road hogs or people different from us in speech, in accent, in manner of living, in comportment, in education, in ideals or in politics. We have a responsibility to welcome these people into our lives.
We make a mistake if we shift the blame of Isaiah from ourselves over to an abstract society. When we do this, we can find it easy to blame the others because we have conveniently removed ourselves from them. It is easy to blame abstract things or absent people for the evils of society, but it is much harder to charge ourselves with the sinful behavior in which we have a part, because we belong to the society in which we live.
In what ways, then do the words of Isaiah call us to repent? How are we like the people and princes of Sodom and Gomorrah? How do we do injustice instead of justice? How do we mistreat the visitor, the orphan and widow as they come to us, and those who are different from us? What does Isaiah say to each of us personally?