“The church is filled with hypocrites!” I often hear this accusation from people who do not attend Mass regularly. I simply nod my head in agreement, knowing that I myself, is the biggest hypocrite of them all. The bad witness of Christians is a great mystery when you think about it. We profess that we are following the “narrow way” of Jesus Christ, who is God made manifest in the flesh. Who calls us to love heroically by the laying down of one’s life, in the manner of his own bloody example of the cross of Calvary.  We often fall short of this high heavenly standard. Our non-Christian family and friends intuitively see the disharmony of such a life. They say, “You worship Jesus on Sunday, yet during the other days of the week, your life resembles more like Satan.” 

“You wouldn’t want me in your church, Father, if you knew what I have done.” This is another common rationale that I come across for why they do not go to Mass. This type of person is closer to the Kingdom of God then they realize. The throbbing heart of Christianity is not perfection but humility. We can mistakenly believe that our lives have to be in complete order before we even dare to approach Jesus Christ. This is absolutely false. Jesus Christ wants people who are tired of trying to satisfy the eternal thirst with the saltwater of the earth. 

In the Gospel reading this Sunday, we see this merciful dynamic firsthand: “Jesus said to them, "Amen, I say to you, tax collectors and prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God before you. When John came to you in the way of righteousness, you did not believe him; but tax collectors and prostitutes did.” (Cf. Matthew 21:31-46). Tax collectors and prostitutes were the biggest sinners of their day. Not only that, their sins were laid to bare for all to see. Everyone knew they were sinners. Yet, it is precisely these people who became the first disciples of Our Lord. When you live in darkness for so long, the light of Jesus Christ pierces more sharply. These tax collectors and prostitutes had what the “chief priests” did not – humility.  We are a work in progress. We can easily believe the lie that we have to be perfect before we can even walk into a church. Not here at St. Mary’s. We want sinners, who desire to be saints.