Citizens with the Saints

Mark 6:30-34, 53-56

Now, the Star-Bell Sneetches had bellies with stars.
The Plain-Belly Sneetches had none upon thars.
Those stars weren’t so big. They were really so small.
You might think such a thing wouldn’t matter at all.
But, because they had stars, all the Star-Belly Sneetches
Would brag, “We’re the best kind of Sneetch on the beaches.”
With their snoots in the air, they would sniff and they’d snort
“We’ll have nothing to do with the Plain-Belly sort!”
And, whenever they met some, when they were out walking,
They’d hike right on past them without even talking.

            In case you are unfamiliar, that is an excerpt from “The Sneetches” by Dr. Seuss.  If you have read it before you know how the story goes.  There are Sneetches with stars on their bellies and other Sneetches without.  These two groups are very divided.  They will not play together, because they are different from one another.  They are not welcomed by each other.  Throughout the story they learn a lesson, as the dividing wall is torn down between them.

            Have you ever felt like a Sneetch?  Have you ever felt like you didn’t fit in?  Like you weren’t welcome?  Maybe you have been told you are too big or too tall.  Maybe you hair is too curly or too straight.  Maybe you sing off key or don’t make enough money.  I think it is safe to say that we each have encountered moments when we haven’t fit in, when we have felt like sneetches without stars on our bellies.

            Then there are larger dividing walls in our world today, and I am not talking about the orange cones that separate us from the oncoming traffic in constructions zones.  There are the haves and the have nots.  The democrats and the republicans.  Those who are non-Christians and those who are Christians.  The Americans and the non-Americans.  Those who are east river and those who are west river.  The young and the old.  Those who shop at Target and those who shop at Goodwill.  The people who support war and the people who don’t.  Those who are un-educated and those who are educated.  The rich and the poor.  I know I could go on and on, but you get the idea.  And I would venture to say that most of us probably know what it feels like to be on the inside and on the outside of these dividing walls.  Neither place is enjoyable or peaceful.  And if I may be blunt, this is not what God intended.  No, God intended a world of peace and welcome.

On Tuesday I took a bit of an adventure to a new place.  Well almost every day that I have been here has included an adventure to a new place, but on this particular day I went to Outlaw Ranch.  One thing you should know about me is that I LOVE CAMP.  I spent several summers attending camp as a camper and then working for Lutherans Outdoors at camp.  Yet, I had never been to Outlaw.  So, I hopped in my car on Tuesday and headed to camp.  One of my favorite parts of camp is that everyone is welcome.  It doesn’t matter who you are, what you look like, or where you have been.  It is always a place of welcome.  A place where all are welcome...no exceptions.

In our text from Ephesians today we hear the same welcome.  We hear that Christ has broken down the dividing wall.  He has purged us of our hostility.  He has created a place of peace.  He has brought reconciliation to all.  And then the text says “You are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are citizens with the saints.”  We, too, are citizens with the saints.  We are individuals created by a God who loves us very much and desires for us to be in healthy relationship with each other.  Our differences make us unique, but they do not divide or separate us from others.  Just as we are loved by God just as we are, God calls us to welcome and love everyone just as they are…with no exceptions.  In doing so, we recognize that we are no better and no worse than anyone else.  We are all citizens with the saints, created, claimed, and called by the same God and Lord of all.  Through the death and resurrection of Jesus the walls of hostility have been torn down and we have been reconciled to one another.  We have been made citizens with the saints.

That is the theme of the youth gathering in New Orleans—Citizens with the Saints.  Shortly after the last youth gathering in 2009, which was also in New Orleans, people talked about how that year Lutherans had entered through the front doors into the homes and lives of the people of New Orleans.  They said we were going back to New Orleans in 2012 because then we would be entering through the back door as friends, no longer as strangers.  From what I have heard so far, the gathering has been a great learning experience and an important piece of the faith journeys of our young people.  There are about 37,000 people attending the gathering this year.  They all come from a variety of backgrounds, places, and life situations.  One youth from Oregon said this in her reflection after the first day of the gathering, “New Orleans is a safe zone for this week, I don’t have to justify or prove myself to anyone because people here just get it.”  I would guess that others would say the same.  Not only is the gathering a place to have fun in an awesome city, it is a place where faith is experienced and all are welcome.  I hope when our youth return from New Orleans you will listen to their stories and share in their experiences. 

My even bigger hope and prayer is that together we can make South Canyon become a place of peace, a place where no one has to justify or prove themselves.  A place where all are welcome.  I know I haven’t been here very long, but I think that hospitality can always be improved.  Eventually I hope that our sense of welcome spills over beyond this place, into our daily lives, and we become beacons of peace in our city and our world.  May we truly live as citizens with the saints.  That we can throw aside our differences and live in peace.  That we can learn the same lesson that the Sneetches learned.  Here’s how it ends.

But McBean was quite wrong. I’m quite happy to say.
That the Sneetches got really quite smart on that day.
The day they decided that Sneetches are Sneetches.
And no kind of Sneetch is the best on the beaches.
That day, all the Sneetches forgot about stars and whether
They had one, or not, upon thars.

Amen.