He should have stayed in Zoar...

“The sun was risen upon the earth when Lot entered into Zoar.” (Ge 19:23)

From Scripture, we have been apprised of two underlying truths about the human condition and the temporal existence assigned to us:

• the world lies in wickedness. (1 John 5:19)
• nothing new ever happens. (Ecclesiastes 1:9-11)

Demythologizing the Beats...

What a difference a decade makes. In the mid-1950's, I was happily growing up in what sociologists defined as a NUCLEAR FAMILY: dad, mom, son (that would be me) and daughter. Dad worked, Mom was the homemaker, my sister and I went to school.

Our TV was black and white. We watched all of the cool stuff that we were allowed: Mighty Mouse, Romper Room, Howdy Doody, Roy Rogers, Mickey Mouse Club, The Lone Ranger. Everybody was in bed by 10:00 o'clock. Partly, that was because there was nothing on... I don't mean like, "we surfed 657 channels and there was nothing on". I mean, "nothing on" as in just a test pattern and a monotone signal.

At the same time that I was growing up in this wonderful, insulated world in the Milwaukee area (Thank you, again, Dad and Mom!), the scene in San Francisco was roaring and catching fire. Pivotal moments were happening, like the SIX GALLERY READING in October, 1955. That was where Alan Ginsberg read his infamous poem, "Howl", for the first time.

Fast forward to the late 60's... I was reading, among many other things, a little Ginsberg, some Kerouac, more Gary Snyder and Alan Watts... the energy emanating from the San Francisco scene... a pantheon of literary giants... Zen Buddhist scholars and devotees... music like we had never heard before.

The Beats of the post-war 40's and 50's were an influential catalyst for at least two generations, theirs and mine.

Although far from a universal occurrence, homosexuality was present and did not seem to be residing in anyone's closet. However, it merely felt like part of a broader philosophical picture.

I would have characterized the Beats as passionate about living, discovering, experiencing, expanding. They were erudite, intense, bold, extreme. Ginsburg, for example, was openly gay, enthusiastically Buddhist. Kerouac couldn't tolerate people who were not "mad to live":

The only people for me are the mad ones, the ones who are mad to live, mad to talk, mad to be saved, desirous of everything at the same time, the ones who never yawn or say a commonplace thing, but burn, burn, burn, like fabulous yellow Roman candles exploding like spiders across the stars, and in the middle, you see the blue center-light pop, and everybody goes ahh... (On the Road)

Looking back now from inside the grace of God, they serve as a healthy reminder of what it means to live decisively and passionately "without God" (Eph. 2:12).

What I was drawn to was not new; it just seemed new to me at the time.

Decrying Lot's decision...

The sun rose on Sodom for the last time. Lot knew this, and yet he lingered. The angels grabbed him and his family and rushed them out: "Escape for your life...escape to the mountain" (Ge 19:17). Lot stopped to negotiate! He needed a town closer than the hills for refuge. Amazingly, his request was granted (Ge 19:20-22).

From the ancient writer, Jerome:

Zoar is spared, not for the unworthy reason which Lot suggested—because its minuteness might buy impunity,[...] but in accordance with the principle which was illustrated in Abraham's intercession,[...] that the righteous are shields for others.

Our presence on earth counts for more than what we appreciate at times. This is a powerful thread of truth in the Bible:

• Potifar's household was blessed while Joseph lived in it; (Ge 39:5)
• The nation of Israel was spared for the sake of "a very small remnant" (Isa 1:9)
• Our world woke up again this morning -yet another stay of execution- because we believers in Christ are still here (2Th 2:7).
• The little city of Zoar was not destroyed because Lot needed it.

But Lot being Lot, he was not thinking about the welfare of the citizens of Zoar. He was saying, "my daughters and I are a minority sub-culture in Zoarian society" (ok, he probably didn't say that). And, for sure, he was not talking about how to "contextualize his Hebrewness" in the city that God had given him. He simply never got past being afraid (Gen 19:30). Subsequently, he and his girls moved up to a cave in the hills. And we all know how well that turned out...

Wherever God lets you live after rescuing you from destruction, your presence there is vital. The place may strike you as ungodly, degenerating, overwhelming, even dangerous. But rest assured:

There is nothing new going on; it may just seem new to you.

God has already anticipated every contingency. Far from being afraid, far from panicking about losing ground as the encroachment of an increasingly godless agenda snowballs out of control, we might do better to view current trends as water settling after a refreshing Spring rain: what if things might simply be returning to normal?

Regardless of the extent to which its founding principles and freedoms have produced genuine spiritual fruit, the phenomenon that is the United States must be viewed as an historical anomaly. For so, so many through the course of history, basic human rights and freedoms were at best a pipe dream. A fair trial by a jury of one's peers: what was that? The rule of law: are you kidding? Freedom of conscience: what are you smoking? Ask a panel of persecuted, destitute, and martyred saints from nearly any period in Church History about what "normal" meant.

But wait: maybe getting back to "normal" is a good thing.

We have abundant historical precedent for believing that in the darkest times God's people shine the brightest. The Gospel lives! The testimony for Jesus Christ marches on!

In addition, the talk seems a bit more urgent these days about how to "contextualize" our Christianity... something that has been asked of foreign missionaries in the modern era, more or less ever since the Judsons built their first zayat in Burma in 1819. Along the way, they had to lose shoes, chairs and pulpit. But it was through the zayat that their first real convert, Maung Nau, appeared.

I almost want to say, "It's about time!" What's good for the goose, is good for the gander. Good timing for a reality check inside of US borders: what should  “...I am made all things to all [men], that I might by all means save some.(1Co 9:22)” look like in your family, neighborhood and church?

Wherever your Zoar is, it is time to dig in and make a home there. Whatever its cultural makeup, your presence is a force to be reckoned with. How does that verse go again? If God be for us, __________? (Ro 8:31)

As we analyze and reflect, let's not forget: talking about how we should talk about Jesus is never quite as fruitful as... just talking about Jesus. If we did that above all else, I think a lot of the other wrinkles would get ironed out along the way.