The two angels came to Sodom in the evening, and Lot was sitting in the gateway of Sodom. When Lot saw them, he rose to meet them, and bowed down with his face to the ground. He said, ‘Please, my lords, turn aside to your servant’s house and spend the night, and wash your feet; then you can rise early and go on your way.’ They said, ‘No; we will spend the night in the square.’ But he urged them strongly; so they turned aside to him and entered his house; and he made them a feast, and baked unleavened bread, and they ate. But before they lay down, the men of the city, the men of Sodom, both young and old, all the people to the last man, surrounded the house; and they called to Lot, ‘Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us, so that we may know them.’ Lot went out of the door to the men, shut the door after him, and said, ‘I beg you, my brothers, do not act so wickedly. Look, I have two daughters who have not known a man; let me bring them out to you, and do to them as you please; only do nothing to these men, for they have come under the shelter of my roof.’ But they replied, ‘Stand back!’ And they said, ‘This fellow came here as an alien, and he would play the judge! Now we will deal worse with you than with them.’ Then they pressed hard against the man Lot, and came near the door to break it down. But the men inside reached out their hands and brought Lot into the house with them, and shut the door. And they struck with blindness the men who were at the door of the house, both small and great, so that they were unable to find the door.

The depravity of empire is something we are currently experiencing while watching the fall of the great American Empire. Casting back to a fantasy about the glory days of the United States of America, Donald Trump seeks to create nostalgia for a better time that can be recaptured if the people are just willing to follow him down a dark path.

With growing income inequalities that have exploded since the neo-liberal ideology burst onto the scene in the 1980’s with Ronald Raegan, Margaret Thatcher and Brian Mulroney, the gulf between the haves and have-nots has grown. Income has stagnated for most but the 1% who continue to see their incomes and wealth grow. Housing has simply become unaffordable to most and that dream of your own home disappeared in the economic meltdown of 2009.

Since the 1980’s, American consumerism has gone from consuming the world’s goods and services to now consuming itself. The American Empire is literally tearing itself apart with school shootings, daily gun violence and a political system meant to castigate all opposition rather than encourage dialogue and collaboration.

The thing is, none of this is particularly new as we see from our passage from Genesis. Empires rot at their core, even when founded upon the highest ideals. And as individuals seek the next sensation they stoop to even lower levels. Even the offer of two young virgins to rape is not enough to satiate the men of Sodom anymore. They require the two strangers staying in Lot’s house.

Lot for his part is far from a hero, after all, he just offered his two daughters for gang rape. Yet, this is the place that angels of the Lord have come after Abraham had bargain so convincingly with God. If 10 righteous men could be found God would spare the city. Alas, even Lot is suspect as to his righteousness.

Yet, even in the depths of all the bad decisions that Lot must make, the angels of the Lord rescue him from the mob. They blind the men of Sodom and Lot’s life is spared.

Is this a story of redemption? Is this a story of Judgement and punishment? Or is this a story that reminds us even in the midst of all the bad decisions we make while trying to good, God is still with us?

As we watch the fall of the Great American Empire, I pray it is the latter.