Rolling Out The Welcome Mat

This year, the focus of out youth ministry is on service, and in particular, serving those who are less fortunate than us. It got me to thinking, would a poor and needy person feel welcomed and loved in today's church? Does today's church focus all of it's energy on helping the needy overseas, while ignoring those in our own community?

I began to wonder how a church would react if a homeless person decided to drop in on a Sunday morning service. What if their clothes were little more than rags, and they smelled as if they hadn't showered in weeks? What if their breath smelled of stale alcohol, or they bore the scars from many years of drug abuse? What if they showed multiple tatoos or piercings, which seemed vastly out of place with our regular Sunday attire? Would these people be welcomed, or forced to slink into a vacant pew at the back of the sanctuary, where the only acknowledgement of their presence is the looks of self-righteous disgust from those around them, although not to close? After all, it is to these types of people, the tax collectors, the prostitutes, the drunks, and other "sinners" that Jesus chose to associate with. If a church claims to follow Christ's example, then, does it not make sense that we should also do what we can to help those less fortunate than us, whether it is through actual monetary aid or simply by providing them with a listening ear? I know these are a lot of questions, but I believe that they are valid ones.

In his book Searching For God Knows What, Donald Miller writes in regards to Jesus' return: "But what if the guys playing the horns turned out to be a few men playing on a street corner in a small town in Arkansas, and what if the horse Jesus rode in on wasn't a Kentucky thoroughbred, but a beligerent donkey? And what if Jesus, after He got here, frequented homeless shelters and bars and ate and drank with the kinds of cultures evangelicals have declared war against?" And what if, when He came like a thief in the night, He came very quietly so that nobody noticed, and what if, crime of all crimes, He was ugly and when He went on CNN producers were uncomfortable with His appearance and only shot Him from the waist up..."

I think that this very effectively conveys Jesus' attitudes towards those deemed outcasts by society. From what I have learned about the character of Jesus, I don't think that I would be all that surprised if the above scenario took place upon Jesus' return. I think that it is the duty of the church to pick up where Jesus left off, and care for the needs of everyone, not just those that society says are worthy of our time and energy.