Sinners In The Church

In Matthew 22:1-14, Jesus tells a parable about the Kingdom of Heaven. He teaches about a King who wanted to celebrate the wedding of his son. He invited the most prestigious guests, but they refused to attend after multiple invitations. Jesus says of the king, "then he said to his servants: 'The wedding banquet is prepared, but the invited guests were not worthy. Go, then, to the crossroads and invite everyone you find to the wedding feast.' The servants went out at once into the streets and gathered everyone they found, good and bad alike, so that the hall was filled with guests."

I have a tough time when people tell me they don't go to church because they don't do anything bad and don't see why they need to go. It's always worse when they add "I see the people that go to church and they're all bad people! I know who they really are!" First of all, ALL of us are sinners and therefore there is not one among us that has the right to pass that kind of judgment upon anyone else. And second of all, if this is your attitude about why you don't go to church, then guess who the guest was that refused to attend the wedding banquet?

God has called each and every one of us to enjoy His banquet and many of us fail to attend but instead put those down that do attend. "Oh, so and so is doing this, I don't know what he's doing in a church," or "I'm not even half as bad as the people there, so why should I go?" This is just like when the pharisees got angry and they complained about Him eating with sinners - Jesus didn't come for the healthy. He came to heal the sick and if you feel that you're not a sinner and feel yourself more righteous than others, you better take a closer look at your life for I don't know a single person that does not need healing from Jesus Christ.

Everyone that attends church, whether good or bad, whether honest or a total hypocrite, is there because God invited ALL to attend. He knows what He's doing and He knows what He has planned for everyone in there, and I'll tell you one thing, you may feel like a better person than the people in there, but God is more likely to work in those that make the effort each Sunday than in those that don't. Don't worry about anyone else in there, only yourself and where you stand with God.

Today's Prayer:
Lord God, please grant that I may not pass judgment upon anyone else, especially those that go to mass to find You. Forgive me for my shortcomings and help me see everyone as You see them. In Your Name we pray, Amen.