fat rams

 The Old Testament reading from Sunday talked about the fat and lean sheep. And justice between them. Justice is a concept that runs through the scriptures a lot, and this passage is no exception. Wanting and desiring justice between the lean and fat rams, and looking to elevate the lean, while pushing the fat aside. 

This is the same concept that runs right through the Magnificat, which is a constant thing that I see posted. Look: Here's the picture from twitter!

This image shows up all the time: Mary representing the overturn of the existing order. Cast down the mighty, send the rich away. Yeah! Tax the wealthy, raise up the weak and the suffering. Bring justice to this world, and have the wealth of the wealthy consume them.

But here's the thing - I've mentioned this on this blog before, but the only real wisdom to be found in the prequel trilogy from Star Wars is when Qui Gon Jinn, in a miraculous escape through the planet core says the line "There's always a bigger fish."

The way we think about how justice should be meted out by the Lord God is that the rich should be sent empty away, and the rich, by the by, are people who happen to be richer than us. And that's the issue right there, isn't it? Everyone I've ever seen posting that image of Mary recommending that the rich be sent empty away, are all posting that image from North America, and usually from the United States of America. Before I discuss any further, I'm aware that there is horrendous poverty and misery in North America, and that wealth is disproportionate, and so on, but I want you to consider that the wealth gap that we talk about between the 1% and the rest of us, all that does is to get us in the mindset that the wealthy are those who are above us, and they would say that the wealthy are those above them, etc. In the end, it turns Elon Musk and Bill Gates into the Hitlers of wealth. As Hitler is to morals, Elon Musk is to wealth. I may be lazy, rude, have no respect for authority; I may drive over people and beat up my kids, but Hitler's the bad guy, because he's worse than me. I may have stocks, bonds, savings, 2 cars, a garage to put them in, so much food that I throw it away or use it for decor, but Elon Musk is rich. Therefore, he should be cast down from his throne. Mine is just ducky, though.

It's an imperfect measurement, but in Canada, where I live, the GDP per capita is $57, 812, which is 24th in the world. The US of A is in tenth spot at $76, 027. Burundi is clocking in at a cool $856. Per person. There, 1 in 10 children die before the age of 5, and life expectancy is 60.1 years. A full 5 years before you're planning on taking that cruise you've been talking about, if you lived in Burundi, you'd likely be dead, and the only cruise you'd be taking is over the river Styx. 

So, if you want God to cast the mighty down from their thrones, where should he start, and why shouldn't it be with you? There will always be some excuse, why the rich are actually over there somewhere, but if you can say that there's a bigger fish, then so can the fish that are bigger than you. Ultimately, it comes down, as it always does, to grace. For these are words that should make the human heart tremble. If we truly recognize that we are wealthy, which we are, and we are fat while others are lean, then we have to expect a righteous God to smite the wealthy including us. Why wouldn't he?   

And this is the core problem of the Christian moral state: When we read the scriptures, when it talks about how there is good or evil, right or wrong, we are always always tempted to view ourselves positively. That's an issue that is part of not only the Christian perspective, but the global one. When we view media, we identify, typically, with the hero, not the villain. We view ourselves as the main character almost every time. And in the stories that we watch, we view what the heroes do as valid, because they're the heroes. They can kill, maim, torture, despoil, whatever, as long as they come out on top at the end. Because they're the good guys. Bad guys are known by the fact that they stand in opposition to the hero, good guys are known by how they assist the hero. That's pretty much that.

And we view ourselves in that light as well. Good guys are good because they're good to us, bad guys are bad because they oppose us. A referee is good when his calls go in the direction of our team, a referee is bad when his calls go against our team. A cop is good when he pulls over speeders in your neighborhood, and a cop is bad when he pulls you over when you speed in your neighborhood. God is a good God when he lifts you up, and he's a bad God when he humbles you. This is all pretty much standard theology for standard Christians. 

But if you want God to enact justice against the fat rams, who thrust with side and shoulder, then you're asking God to enact justice against you. And this is supposed to be a great leveling, ensuring that we are committed to the notion that we are people who don't live externally to the moral system, but are in and part of it. If God is just, which He is, then he is going to seek justice on this earth. And it is profoundly unrealistic to expect God to start everywhere else instead of with us. Rather, his justice is for the world, and if he seeks justice then he can, and should, start with the injustice that we exhibit. Which we clearly do. 

So what to do? Gosh, you know, it's like we're a people of grace. When it talks about seeking the lost sheep, seeking the lost coin, and whatnot, it's talking about us. You're not the sheep in the fold, you're not the coin in the purse, you're the lost and wandering you know. It really does us no good for us to focus on massaging out the sins that we don't have. What on earth do you think that Jesus is all about? He's all about forgiveness of sins. If you look through the Bible and don't see yourself in any of the sins, then you won't see yourself in any of the grace either. But if you look through there, and you see yourself as the fat ram who actually has been shoving the lean sheep aside, then you'll really start looking for that savior. Because you'll need him. 

And that savior has promised to search for you like the shepherd looking for the lost sheep, or the woman looking for the lost coin. Far from casting you into the outer darkness, he seeks you out. You, who are fat and happy, who have clearly thrust the poor aside, who don't think about the root or consequence of your largesse, he seeks you out. The verses that we read on Sunday are to remind you that you need to be found, and honestly to stop running.