Come as you are?

Well, not long before we have another 'Back to Church Sunday' (B2CS), the theme of which this year is 'Come as You Are".

A great slogan because it refers to not dressing up for church, something that used to be all the rage when I was a choirboy- and still is for those who come on their 'official' outings and 'special' days I suppose. Having been in churches where once a year the mayor, accompanied by all the other mayors from the region, the councillors and other 'worthies' all dressed up and piled in to their specially reserved places of honour at the front. I used to bristle as I thought of the words of James chapter Two, verses two to nine:

"Suppose a man comes into your meeting wearing a gold ring and fine clothes, and a poor man in shabby clothes also comes in. If you show special attention to the man wearing fine clothes and say, "Here's a good seat for you," but say to the poor man, "You stand there" or "Sit on the floor by my feet," have you not discriminated among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts?

Listen, my dear brothers: Has not God chosen those who are poor in the eyes of the world to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom he promised those who love him? But you have insulted the poor. Is it not the rich who are exploiting you? Are they not the ones who are dragging you into court? Are they not the ones who are slandering the noble name of him to whom you belong?

If you really keep the royal law found in Scripture, "Love your neighbour as yourself," you are doing right. But if you show favoritism, you sin and are convicted by the law as lawbreakers."

I can hear people moaning that the service is a 'special' one and therefore this isn't the case and the rest of the time we're really welcoming and you can sit wherever you want and this is perhaps valid, but it demonstrates an underlying value that might require some looking at.

'Come as You Are' is good because it means that we want people to come without  pretending to be whoever or whatever they're not. An excellent invitation, for so often those who come to church will put on their 'holy' faces and their 'Sunday Best' but Sunday best behaviour and Sunday best clothing are not what God wants - He wants honest people in clothes that fit and living in lives that support who they are and from this he will make them holy people clothed in righteousness and living lives that reflect who He is.

Hallelujah!