Church for the well-dressed?

Jesus welcomed everyone into his fold. He welcomed sinners, wounded, sick, poor, rich, and so on. Does our Church welcome any kinds of people? I suppose ideally most of us would agree that we welcome everyone into our churches. Let us imagine that a beggar who is bruised, smelly and half-awake from his night's ordeal of sleeping on the pavement walks into our church. If such person sits next to on the pew, almost in contact with our formal and scented costume, how do I react? Do I welcome him with a smile or do I slowly switch pew? Can I be comfortable to sit with him for the next one hour? 

I went to a certain church which was filled with the aroma of the incense and the faithful dressed in their Sunday best and dapper. Everyone was so much filled with the spirit of worship with some of the fine musicians in action. As the service progressed, a man wheeled in on his wheelchair. There hung on his wheelchair many plastic bags. He seemed mentally sound and came to praise God just like anyone of us. He was trying to wheel himself to the front of the church at which point ushers with beautifully decorated sashes intervened his procession and was taken out of the church. As he was wheeled out of the church, he looked upset, but I witnessed sad eyes. His right to worship was denied by so-called righteous faithful in the church. 

Another incident happened when I was preaching in certain church. I was full of spirit as I preached on the Gospel. Suddenly, there appeared a man haphazardly dressed and was nearly high with alcohol. I was stunned as he made his way right towards the pulpit. I was not petrified but I was apprehensive that he might interrupt the service. Someone from the congregation wanted to yield him out of the church but I asked him to let the man in the church. He interrupted my preaching but when he realized that I was not reacting harshly but only look at him with pity and compassion, he remained quiet throughout the service. I am still pondering what would have been going on in his troubled mind when I allowed him to sit in the pew right in front of me. 

Our churches need to open its doors to welcome these kinds of people so that church truly embodies Christ in this world. Christ loved and embraced poor without any inhibition. Humanity is flawed hence we go to church to ask God to help us in our flaws. If we prove to be righteous and better than others, we are hypocrites. Jesus chose flawed Peter to be the foundation of the church. So, flaws in the society must increase the intensity of our preaching and prayer. This way we can truly welcome Jesus into our church. In so far as our church has no poor, ignorant, beggars, smelly people, drunkards, drug addicts, depressed, gays, lesbians and sinners, our church has no Jesus in it. Probably, he is with them on the streets, hospitals, care homes, bars and wherever these flawed people are. Time has come for the church to stop pretending to be the church of the poor and begin to be one. Time is ripe for the church to fill its pews with broken people who are need of God's assistance.