Churches are not
perfect. And that lack of perfection, of
course, hinders our ability to show Christ to the world. I've often said that most people in our
community have no problems with Jesus, it’s the church that bothers them – the
hypocrisy that is all too visible in Jesus’ imperfect followers. My standard answer to those who decry the
hypocrisy of Christians is to say that the church always has room for one
more. After all, Christians have not
cornered the market on hypocrisy. How
many people in business, in politics, in the marketplace, say one thing yet do
another?
But this criticism of the
church by outsiders gives me hope that at least those who are not following
Jesus are at least paying attention. If
I’m talking about you, then I applaud your ability to see the disconnect
between who Jesus is and the failings of church people to be like him. At least you are seeing the uniqueness of
Jesus and that’s a good place to begin in discovering who he really is.
The truth is that followers
of Jesus never get it quite right. This
was true with his early disciples, arguing about which one was the greatest
among them, wanting places of honor, not grasping the servant heart of
Jesus. Still, what they did get right
was that they kept following him. And,
after all, that is what it means to be a disciple --- to be a follower.
Sure, there are plenty of
followers who are straggling along at the rear of the pack, getting off the
trail sometimes because they barely see Jesus up ahead. Still, somehow they dust themselves off when
they fall, and get back at it, or as I like to think, Jesus picks them up and
points them again in the right direction.
These are not sterling examples of Christian discipleship but they are
following, and that really is all that Jesus asks.
And then, you have to admit,
there are those who seem to follow so closely, who are right on Jesus’ heels,
that it is as if we see the heart of Jesus shining in them. There are the saints recognized around the
world, like Mother Theresa. But there
are saints who live in your neighborhood --- the woman who picks flowers and
visits the sick every week, the retired man who instead of playing golf every
day, spends time at the Christian ministry sorting clothes, or shelving food
supplies. You know who they are. These folks may not be perfect, but they are
further along in living the servant life than most of us.
Yea, given the uniqueness of
Jesus, it is hard to explain how some of his followers can be so shabby. But it is equally hard to explain why there
are so many shining lights of goodness out there, and why wouldn’t we want to
be like them?
By the way, part of the
appeal of Jesus is that he measures perfection not by any objective standards
of moral behavior. Rather, he measures
perfection by our ability to show mercy, as he shows not only to those shabby
followers, but perhaps also to those who have never even made the effort. That’s why church is always a mixed bag
collection of people. We are all
following sloppily, and in need of mercy which Jesus offers in abundance. Come join us.
