Sin City // Rev. Michele Arndt // Oct 5 2025

Sometimes words and names have the ability to generate an immediate connotation. For example, simply saying “Sodom and Gomorrah” likely conjures up images of fire, sulfur, violence, sexual sin and maybe the odd ending of a human being turned into a pillar of salt. The mere mention of this city can be used as shorthand for wicked living or warnings to steer clear of serious punishment exacted by God’s wrath.But the story of Sodom and Gomorrah is far more complex than jokes about judgment or extreme statements about a sinful city. While we generally attribute the sin of the city as sexual in nature, the words of the prophets in scripture reveal there is something else that is of grave concern to God. In Matthew’s gospel, Jesus makes a strong statement about Sodom and Gomorrah, but it is not about its sexual sin. What Jesus says suggests that while the sexual sin isn’t off the table, it may not be the main dish. Church, may we come humbly to this text and hungry to hear the lessons it has for us.