Over the years
the church (universal! not local!) has gotten a bad rap.
Honestly, most
of the time it deserved it.
But, and this
is coming from someone who had one of those bad experiences with a church, don’t
let 1 bad experience ruin church for you.
Here’s the deal—the
church as wonderful as it is—is still a community of people, who, are you ready
for this…are HUMAN like you and me.
The church will mess up. There is no getting around
that. The church has, is, and will probably let you down at some point.
Unfortunately, this is the very real possibility when living with other people.
Why then would
someone, say a pastor, commit their life to serving God through God’s church?
Here is why
there is hope in the church because as broken as the church is, it is also quite
beautiful—like a mosaic. And it is beautiful because you are beautiful. Your
story is one the church, the community of faith, needs in order to be that city
on the hill scripture invites us to be.
This is why I love
God—this is why I can’t give up on my faith:
God didn’t give up on humanity and God will never give up on humanity.
Plus—how did
God come to us?
In a child—a human
being—fleshy, bloody, and all the other fluids that come with being a human.
Oh friends, we
are better because of you. And when you aren’t with us, we lack something. We are
incomplete.
Don’t give up
on us. Don’t give up on God.
But also, don’t
think you are alone in your doubts and struggles about the church. I’ve been
there. And many more are and will be there.
Here is the
good news—the church, with Gods help, with YOUR help, can make a difference in
the lives of many.
So, friend,
come. Come share your story with us. Come and teach us about love, faith, hope,
and joy. Come.
You are welcome
in this place.
I leave you
with a beautiful quote one of my parishioners shared with me today. It is from
Kathleen Norris’ book Amazing Grace.
“The
church is still a sinful institution,” a Benedictine monk wrote to me when I
was struggling over whether or not to join a church. “How could it be
otherwise?” he asked, and I was startled into recognition of simple truth. The church
is like the Incarnation itself, a shaky proposition. It is a human institution,
full of ordinary people, sinners like me, who say and do cruel, stupid things.
But it is also a divinely inspired institution, full of good purpose, which
partakes of a unity far greater than the sum of its parts. That is why it is
called the body of Christ.”
And so we pray,
Come, Lord Jesus, come….
