Who Goes to Church?

Then Jesus told this story to some who had great confidence in their own righteousness and scorned everyone else:  "Two men went to the Temple to pray.  One was a Pharisee, and the other was a despised tax collector.  The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed this prayer: 'I thank you God, that I am not a sinner like everyone else.  For I don't cheat, I don't sin, and I don't commit adultery.  I'm certainly not like that tax collector!  I fast twice a week and I give you a tenth of my income.'

"But the tax collector stood at a distance and dared not even lift his eyes to heaven as he prayed.  Instead, he beat his chest in sorrow, saying, 'O God, be merciful to me, for I am a sinner.'  I tell you, this sinner, not the Pharisee, returned home justified before God.  For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted."   Luke 18:9-14

I think the Church needs a new PR campaign.  It seems to me that the wrong message has gone out to the world about who is in the Church.  (Let me take a minute to clarify that the Church refers to the people who claim belief in Jesus, while the church is any number of buildings where people meet to talk about Jesus, have AA meetings in the basement, and Cub Scouts on Mondays.)  Too often, we are seen as the Pharisee standing in front of a TV camera declaring some righteous and others doomed to hell.  Too often, we are thought to be sharing one semi-functioning brain and unaware of what is really going on.  Too often, we are portrayed as a little club with unknowable rules of order.

Let me shed some light on the Church.  We are a Body made up of many parts, with differing looks and opinions and interests, but with Jesus Christ as our Head.  We are represented on every continent, and our Bible has been translated into 531 languages, with parts of it translated into 2,883 languages. The Church comprises of men and women (and if you're struggling to identify your gender, take heart because Paul said there is no more male or female but all are one in Christ), young and old, and every color imaginable on the beautiful spectrum of skin colors available.  The Church has doctors and lawyers, teachers and coaches, students and retirees, managers and custodians.  The Church has members who are described as liberal and conservative, born-again, evangelical, Catholic and Protestant, Presbyterian, spiritual, Baptist (although I can't say if the Westboro Baptists are part of this...), Calvinist, Weslyan, theological, permissive and legalistic.  We are families and foster parents, adoptive parents, and not parents at all.  We are married and single and desperate for love and not interested.  We are healthy and ill, mentally and physically.  We live with disability, we are able-bodied.  We are a diverse People, but we are one Church.

On the inside, we are all the tax collector.  We are sinners, and we bring our sinful, imperfect selves to church, where sometimes we pray for mercy and sometimes we make a big mess.  But I would rather be in Church with people who are willing to let their outsides match their insides.  For instance, this is me:  I desire to be right, I love to talk, I smile...a lot, I like to learn new things, I struggle to control my anger, and I love to spend time with kids.  All of this comes with me to church (and Church), and I think it's obvious that sometimes I am not a fun person to have as part of the Body.  But I'm here, and there's a place for me.  There's work to be done, and often God likes to use the weak and sinful among us to do His greatest miracles, because His glory shines all the brighter when His Church isn't perfect.  The Church is comprised of doubters and those of great faith, often one person bearing both descriptors simultaneously.

So why is there a disconnect between what we experience at church and who is the Church?  Why is church dry or inaccessible or unwelcoming when the Church is capable of life and growth and action and is available to everyone?  Is it because we gather on Sundays and act like the Pharisee?  Is it because we show up thinking that it isn't okay to be real or honest or that other people expect us to put on our "church face" because they can't deal with who we really are?  What is the point of church?  I want to return home justified before God, not buoyed by the tinny applause in my own head for how great I am.

What if we walked through the door and admitted the truth?  What if we admitted that we are all idolators and immoral, that we are liars and cheats and drunks and adulterers, that we are nothing without the grace of God and the redeeming blood of Jesus?  Would we be less tempted to link arms and block out the "undesirables"...the lesbians and the homeless and the autistics and the weird charismatic girl and the old lady who sings off key and the felons and the strippers and the addicts?  Would we see them as covered by the same blood that washes us clean and declares us a Bride, without a spot or wrinkle or any other blemish, holy and without fault?  Would people stop being afraid to come to church because they are so terrified of the Church?  Would we finally stop being known for our looks or our professions or our family names, but instead be known by our fruit?  Would we be described as loving, joyful, patient, kind, good, faithful, peaceful, gentle, or self-controlled?

I see us, Church, for what we could be.  I see a huge smile on the face of Jesus as he looks down at his arms and legs and rock-hard abs, as he flexes his joints and muscles and sees us all working together, following his commands.  I see holes in the Body being filled by those we once tried to cast out.  And the blood of Jesus, running over all of us as we embrace who we are called to be.