I am not always a fan of the Huffington Post. Sometimes their religion writers seem to be adherents of an ethereal McChurch—scrambling terminology, reporting on all the denominations but grossly misunderstanding the Catholic faith. This time, though, HuffPo hit the nail on the head.
I loved this column, written by a blogger who calls himself the Unappreciated Pastor. In fact, I friended him over on Facebook so that I won’t miss his pearls of wisdom. He’s not a Catholic, I think, but his reflection has a universal application. Especially in these days after the Christmas and Easter Catholics have settled in for a long winter—read this and reflect.
I’m sure you’ve heard a lot about me. I have no shortage of critics. Perhaps you have heard that I am…
Boring
Shallow
Cheap
A waste of timeYou’ve heard that I am full of:
Hypocrites
Clowns
Greedy people
The self-righteousMaybe you have visited me before and discovered:
Horrible music
Passionless singing
Dry preaching
Rude congregantsMaybe you needed me and I was:
Too busy
Too “righteous”
Too broke
Too blindMaybe you joined me and found I was:
Distant
Demanding
Dull
PreoccupiedMaybe you tried to serve in me but were caught off guard by:
Business meetings
Committees
Teams
BureaucracyMaybe you left and were surprised that nobody:
Called
Cared
Noticed
Invited you backPerhaps your experience has driven you to:
Speak negatively of me
Swear to never come back to me
Proclaim that no one needs me
Believe you’re better off without meIf this is true, I have something to say to you:
I’m sorry
I was wrong
I blew it
I made a huge mistakeBut remember, I never said my name was:
Perfect
Flawless
Complete
ArrivedMy name is church. I welcome the:
Hypocrite
Dry
Self-righteous
ShallowI welcome the
Sincere
Passionate
Forgiving
SelflessI cannot shut my doors to the people who make you:
Angry
Uncomfortable
Impatient
Self-consciousBut I would remind you that we couldn’t always worship in the same room. In the Old Testament there was a division between the:
Gentile
Jew
Man
WomanIn order for us to all worship in the same room Christ was:
Shamed
Beaten
Killed
ResurrectedWhich is far worse than being:
Bored
Uncomfortable
Embarrassed
IgnoredSo why not come back to church and let all of these messed up people:
Challenge you
Sharpen you
Strengthen you
Humble youI can’t promise you that the people will be great. This is church. It’s not:
Heaven
Paradise
Beulah Land
The Celestial cityCome back.
God wants you here.
The body needs you here.
The world needs your witness here.
You belong here.Hello, my name is church.
I miss you.
I love you.
I’m sorry.
Can’t wait to see you.