Sodom, Gomorrah and ... Ukraine
Everyone has heard of the biblical events in Sodom and Gomorrah. But when you think about it, the story is not only and not so much about carnal sin. What is it about?
Sodom and Gomorrah
The Bible story recounts the events of those days in great detail. More than 3,000 years ago, in the heart of a lush and fertile valley, there lived a man named Lot. He was a virtuous man who was guided by principles of righteousness and compassion, even in a society full of sin and debauchery.
The fact is that the place where he lived was neither righteous nor pious. The cities of Sodom and Gomorrah were notorious for their moral decay. Their streets were rife with debauchery, greed, lust, and wickedness. Good was сcondemned and evil was praised.
One evening, as the sun set beyond the horizon, two travellers came to the doorstep of Lot's house. They were angels sent by God. Lot offered them food, water and a place to rest.
The moral corruption in the city was so great that as soon as word about the visit of the two travellers spread through the city, a crowd gathered at Lot's door, demanding that he surrender the strangers to them to be abused.
"We will know them," cried the furious inhabitants of Sodom.
Lot, guided by the laws of hospitality and moral principles, tried to dissuade the Sodomites from their intentions. As an alternative, he took the unprecedented step of offering the mob his virgin daughters, hoping to protect the angelic guests from harm. But this was to no avail.
Moreover, the sinners, extremely angered by Lot's intercession, shouted: "'Now we will deal worse with you than with them.’ Then they pressed hard against the man Lot, and drew near to break the door down." It ended with the angels striking the Sodomites blind, and when Lot and his family left the corrupt cities, the Lord destroyed the city: "Then the Lord rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the Lord out of heaven, and he overthrew those cities, and all the plain, and all the inhabitants of the cities, and that which grew upon the ground" (Gen. 19:24-25).
Why didn't the Lord destroy Sodom and Gomorrah immediately? As we can see, the Lord tolerates the Sodomites for a while. Why?
First of all, because the Creator of heaven and earth always, even in the most deeply immoral situations, gives humanity time for repentance. Not only time but also a situation in which people can make the right choices.
The choice is always man’s.
Remember how it was with Cain, who, driven by envy, decided to kill his brother: "Then the Lord said to Cain, “Why are you angry? Why is your face downcast? If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must rule over it.'" (Genesis 4:6-7)
In other words, even if sinful actions seem to have some justification in your mind, do not commit them; stop and rule over them. Otherwise, you will be cursed like Cain and the place where you live will be destroyed, like Sodom and Gomorrah.
Secondly, the Lord tolerates these cities for a while because the righteous Lot and his family lived there. And at the moment when further tolerance was impossible, when the residents of Sodom decided to defy all laws and go against all moral norms and orders, the Lord destroyed them, because there is always a consequence for sin, even if it may seem otherwise to someone.
And... Ukraine
Today, unfortunately, Ukraine is increasingly resembling Sodom. A country that not so long ago was considered Orthodox is sinking deeper into the abyss of sin.
Not long ago, the Ukrainian Parliament legalized cannabis, turning Ukraine into a market for the drug trade. There are discussions about legalizing pornography, and there is active promotion of sinful behaviour. In schools, children are being taught about sexual diversity.
From the perspective of traditional and ordinary morality, our state is rapidly distancing itself from the religion that gave rise to the Ukrainian people, Ukrainian statehood and Ukrainian culture. We are forsaking all of this in favour of a "sodomite culture" and "sodomite morality".
At the same time, the war against traditions is waged not only in the secular field but also in the religious sphere.
The authorities make decisions to ban the Church; with the help of law enforcement agencies, churches are seized, believers are beaten, priests and bishops are tried, and everyone who is in any way sympathetic to the Church is hated. And this hatred is actively supported by the state apparatus.
All this speaks of a purposeful and deliberate desire to erase the name of God from the consciousness of Ukrainians, turning us into sodomites who seek only to satisfy their passions. And it all started not today and not yesterday, but several years ago. This means that God could have done to Ukraine long ago as He did to Sodom and Gomorrah. But He tolerates.
Firstly, because He is waiting for repentance. He waits for the people to realize that the path towards the sin of Sodom leads to an abyss.
Secondly, because there are still righteous people living among us. There are still those who pray, serve the liturgy and ask the Lord to turn away His wrath.
The Ukrainian Orthodox Church today is Lot, who went out to meet the mad Sodomites and asked them not to raise their hand against the angels of God. But, as in the story of Sodom and Gomorrah, the citizens of Ukraine, as the inhabitants of these cities, want to attack Lot and "deal worse with him than with the angels". What does God do to them? He strikes them blind. And today those who fight against the Church are blind men who do not realise that they are doing their people and their country harm.
It may end the same way as it ended in the days of Lot...
