Stars on Thars

 He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous and regarded others with contempt: 10 “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 11 The Pharisee, standing by himself, was praying thus, ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other people: thieves, rogues, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. 12 I fast twice a week; I give a tenth of all my income.’ 13 But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even look up to heaven, but was beating his breast and saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’ 14 I tell you, this man went down to his home justified rather than the other; for all who exalt themselves will be humbled, but all who humble themselves will be exalted.”   Luke 18.9-14

                One of my favorite Dr. Seuss books is "The Sneetches". It's such a fun book to read aloud. Like many of the Seuss books, the hearers begin to laugh at the silliness and then at the end they are hit head on by the truth of the tale. I have used this story in sermons and teaching all ages as well. Those exalted Sneetches with stars on their bellies, believing themselves to be so superior to those who have no star on "thars". The class distinction is so evident, thanks to that physical marking. One day a man comes to town with a machine. He tells the starless Sneetches that he is able to put stars on their bellies so that they will be just like the snooty Sneetches who already have them. Those starless Sneetches line up, hand him their money, climb on a conveyor belt, go through the machine and come out with stars on their bellies!!! Now they look just like the other Sneetches and they can be special, too. This doesn't sit well with the original starred Sneetches. The man tells them that if they pay his fee he can remove the stars from their bellies and they will once again be special. They line up, hand him their money, climb on the conveyor belt, go through the machine, and come out with no stars! Now the dynamic changes once again and the snooty Sneetches are the ones without stars. Ah, but the newly starred ones decide to approach the man who tells them he can remove those new stars, if they will pay him. They line up, hand him their money, and, well you know the rest. Chaos breaks loose as Sneetches line up, pay their money, climb on the conveyor belt and get stars removed or added, all in an attempt to make themselves special. At last, completely broke, bellies looking like war zones with stars, no stars, two stars, parts of stars; they fall down and try to remember who was who when the whole mess began. The man takes the bags of money along with his machine, and happily heads out of town.

                We are owned by our possessions. We define ourselves by what we have, who we know, and how we are able to live. Yet, no matter what some of us have, it is never enough. We want more. We want more than anyone else, and we want more because we want that shiny star on our bellies. The latest figures I saw evaluated wealth in this way: the wealthiest 2,153 people in the world own more wealth than the poorest 4.6 billion people in the world. In the USA alone, 1 in 7 children goes hungry every day. Millions of families are one paycheck, one disaster from bankruptcy. This economic nightmare has led to an outrageous rise in homelessness, hunger, and death due to lack of healthcare. Each day more people find themselves with cardboard signs on their bellies asking for help. Right now, Yemeni children and adults look as skeletons from starvation because Saudi Arabian leaders want what Yemen has. Because the USA leaders want the money that Saudi Arabia has, we are helping them to starve and commit genocide in Yemen. The same story is true with Palestine and Israel. Israel wants what Palestine has, even as it was given to Palestine in 1948 as compensation for taking a huge part of their land to create a new home for Israel, with the hope that all the Jewish people would go there to live and stop bothering other nations. We are helping in the death and destruction there as well.

                Every week, “pastors” step into pulpits and preach that wealth comes to those who pray for it and willingly give that congregation as well as that pastor, their money. For an “offering” sent to a tv “preacher”, one can purchase miracles of healing and wealth. Those charlatans then return to their multi-million-dollar estates, drive their usuriously expense cars, or get into their private jet and travel. Meanwhile, the people who are enabling it climb into their used cars, go home to their old homes, and travel by bus or economy class on a plane. Misquoting Luke 6.38, these preying preachers tell their flock that Jesus says by giving they will receive wealth. That is not the meaning of that passage at all. Firstly, Jesus is teaching about forgiveness and our need to forgive others without judgement. He is telling the disciples that in forgiving others, we too will be forgiven. The measure of forgiveness we offer is the measure of forgiveness we will receive. We are to be generous in our forgiving, and in return God will bless us with forgiveness. Those we forgive, and those who see our practice of forgiveness, will be more ready to offer forgiveness to us when we need it. Jesus often used hyperbole when teaching. By exaggerating, he was able to make the point that others would hear and smile.

            Our love of money, and our greed, have turned us into selfish humans who place a dollar value on everything and are reluctant to share anything. We want to take Jesus literally, except when we don’t. Taking Jesus literally generally happens when it benefits us. Ignoring Jesus’ teachings generally happens when the benefit might be for someone else, or when that ignoring allows us to feel superior to others. Greed will breed anger and hostility, because it grows inequality. Inequality doesn’t mean no one has more than anyone else. Equality means that every human being is seen as important and valued. Every human being is worth a good life. “Enough” happens when we willingly set aside our own greed, our fear, and share with others. Jesus teaches that what we truly need is love, patience, compassion, sharing.

Are we ever going to reach the place where we will give all that we have for the benefit of all of us? Therein lies one of the ways that the Kingdom of God will truly be made manifest in this world. Jesus taught that the Kingdom is among us, the Kingdom is near to us, the Kingdom is at hand. When will we trust that those words are true? Or will we, like those Sneetches, continue to chase the right of power and position?  May listen, and learn, before we destroy this world and one another.