In
the early 1960s, racial tensions were at a great height, with sit-ins and
demonstrations taking place around the country to protest segregation. On May 6, 1960, President Eisenhower signed
into law the Civil Rights act of 1960.
Under the new Kennedy administration, the Equal Employment Opportunity
Commission was formed on in March of 1961.
In May of the same year, the first Freedom Rides took place in
Washington, DC. Violent white resistance
in three southern states prompted President Kennedy to dispatch federal
marshals to keep the peace. It was in
this turbulent year that Theodore Geisel (Dr. Seuss) published his lovely
little story, The Sneetches,
highlighting the pointless artificial separations we create between people who
are basically the same.
Now,
the Star-Belly 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.
Star-belly Sneetches left
Plain-belly Sneetches out of their children’s games, out of their social
events, out of every aspect of life, insisting that Star-bellies were superior
in every way. When a salesman came to
town, offering to put stars on Plain-bellies for only $3 each, everybody made
the change. But the originally-starred
Sneetches complained because they wanted to maintain their superior status. So, the salesman told them that it was no longer
fashionable to wear stars, and removed all their stars for $10. But then the newly-starred Sneetches wanted
to be like the newly-plain Sneetches, so they had theirs removed. And on and on it went.
Then, when
every last cent
Of their
money was spent,
The
Fix-it-Up Chappie packed up
And he
went.
And he
laughed as he drove
In his car
up the beach,
"They
never will learn.
No. You
can't teach a Sneetch!"
But McBean
was quite wrong. I'm quite happy to say
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.[i]
We’d like to say that history, or
Dr. Seuss, or somebody, has taught us a lesson, but today it seems we have the
same issues with who’s in and who’s out
as we did in the early 1960s. Some of
the “in” people have changed, and some of the “out” people have, too. Many of them have remained the same. But society and churches still resound with
voices of judgment and exclusion, rather than the radical inclusion taught by
Jesus.
In the twelfth chapter of John’s
Gospel, “Some Greeks who had come to Jerusalem for
the Passover celebration (v. 20).”[ii] Like many African-Americans in 1960s
America, who wanted equal rights, opportunities, and access—Many Greeks in
Jesus’ day wanted to be included in the religious practices of the Jewish
people. These “Greeks” weren’t
necessarily from Greece; this was a nickname among Jesus’ people for
Gentiles—anybody who was not Jewish.
These spiritually seeking outsiders were so attracted to the Jewish
worship of God that they were willing to risk becoming social and political
outcasts in order to find the truth. So
they came to Jesus’ disciple Philip looking for answers.
Most students of most rabbis would
have turned these Gentile seekers away, but Jesus was no ordinary teacher, and
Philip was no ordinary disciple. Nearly
every time we see Philip in the Gospels, he is bringing people to Jesus. First, he introduces Nathanael to the Master,
and then he is one of two disciples involved in bringing the boy whose lunch
would feed a multitude. So instead of
turning them away, Philip thought, “Perhaps Jesus would welcome even people
such as these.” Without another moment
of hesitation, he told Andrew about it, and the two disciples told Jesus.
It’s easy to picture Jesus’ welcoming
face as He meets these spiritual seekers, these “outsiders.” He trusts them by dropping truth about His
own death and calling them to abandon all their false priorities in exchange
for eternal life. Then He says a radical
thing: “Anyone who wants to serve
me must follow me, because my servants must be where I am. And the Father will
honor anyone who serves me (verse 26).”
In a land of Star-bellied Sneetches, Jesus told these Plain-bellies
that they were acceptable too, without having to change a thing. All that’s necessary is that they follow Him
and serve Him. Later, Jesus underscores
this radical inclusion by saying of His own crucifixion, “And when I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw everyone to
myself (verse 32).” In fact, in this same story, God speaks from the
heavens and many in the crowd only hear it as thunder. Only those with seekers’ hearts discern that
something supernatural has happened—might these observant people have been the
same Gentiles who came to Jesus?
Paul echoes this radical inclusion
when he says in Romans 10:12-13, “For
there is no difference between Jew and Greek: The same Lord is Lord of all, and
is rich to all who call on Him, for, ‘Everyone who calls on the name of
the Lord will be saved.” In addition
to ethnic or language differences, Paul adds gender and economic differences to
those things that God cares nothing about (Galatians 3:28). Romans 2:11 (GWT) says, “God does not play favorites”—and neither should we. To God, Sneetches are Sneetches—people are
people. And when churches and Christian
groups say, “all are welcome,” the should mean it—with no exceptions.
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