Sex Workers and Sandal"s Church - No One Sin is Greater and Everyone Deserves a Seat in God"s House
I want you to imagine this.
You have two people applying for membership at your house of worship.
One is the neighbourhood's "man of ill-repute.
" He doesn't make it every Sunday and when he does the congregation wonders if he doesn't smell of alcohol or look like he is on drugs.
The other is the town's benefactor.
She keeps all the commandments.
She tithes 10% of her gross income to the church.
And she is keen on having eternal life.
Now honestly - and you don't have to tell me - which person would you really rather have at your worship services - plus at your business meetings and socials, prayer meetings and scripture studies.
In my faith tradition - I'm Christian - from the records we have about Jesus the Christ, whom we believe in and follow - he would have welcomed the one we see as a sinner with open arms - and the one we see as the saint, he would have said "Go clean yourself up first.
" What is happening here? Why does Jesus consistently accept the acknowledged sinner and always challenge those who are seen to be righteous? Hmm, I think I may have answered my own question here.
You may be asking if there is scriptural support for my assertion.
In a word - yes! Take the story in the Gospel according to Luke where two people went up to the temple area to pray - one was a religious leader and the other was a tax collector.
Now in that place at that time, being a tax collector was about as praiseworthy as being a prostitute.
The man of the cloth took up his position and said: "O God, I thank you that I am not like the rest of humanity - greedy, dishonest, adulterous - or even like this tax collector.
I fast twice a week, and I pay tithes on my whole income.
" But, we are told, the tax collector stood off at a distance and would not even raise his eyes to heaven but beat his breast and prayed, "O God, be merciful to me a sinner.
" Jesus says to his disciples, "I tell you, the latter went home justified, not the former; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and the one who humbles himself will be exalted.
" What really strikes me about this passage is that the tax collector - while he asks for mercy - does not say he is going to change.
At least not right away.
He has needs to meet, and likely even some wants that he enjoys as a result of his job.
But even if he were to instantly become as perfect as the religious leader - he would merely move from being up to his neck in sin to only up to his ankles.
You and me - we may think the difference between "them" (whoever "them" is) and "us" is an ocean's width and depth - but in the eyes of a perfect God - it's a wee stream.
So what do we take from this? Does this mean we can live a life of wantonness as long as we don't pretend to be perfect.
Nyet.
All of us are held to the highest standards of our religious Faiths - even though we fall short.
I love the way that Sandal's Church puts it.
SC has gathering called "Matthew's House" that particularly welcomes women and men from the sex industry: "Our belief is that no one sin is greater than another and that everyone deserves a seat in our churches should they want one.
It will take many of us coming together with sincere hearts and non-judgmental attitudes to change the current image of Christianity.
In order to make an impact we must reach out in the same way Christ did when he walked the earth...
with love.
" Do justice, love mercy, walk humbly with God - it's a winning invitation.
You have two people applying for membership at your house of worship.
One is the neighbourhood's "man of ill-repute.
" He doesn't make it every Sunday and when he does the congregation wonders if he doesn't smell of alcohol or look like he is on drugs.
The other is the town's benefactor.
She keeps all the commandments.
She tithes 10% of her gross income to the church.
And she is keen on having eternal life.
Now honestly - and you don't have to tell me - which person would you really rather have at your worship services - plus at your business meetings and socials, prayer meetings and scripture studies.
In my faith tradition - I'm Christian - from the records we have about Jesus the Christ, whom we believe in and follow - he would have welcomed the one we see as a sinner with open arms - and the one we see as the saint, he would have said "Go clean yourself up first.
" What is happening here? Why does Jesus consistently accept the acknowledged sinner and always challenge those who are seen to be righteous? Hmm, I think I may have answered my own question here.
You may be asking if there is scriptural support for my assertion.
In a word - yes! Take the story in the Gospel according to Luke where two people went up to the temple area to pray - one was a religious leader and the other was a tax collector.
Now in that place at that time, being a tax collector was about as praiseworthy as being a prostitute.
The man of the cloth took up his position and said: "O God, I thank you that I am not like the rest of humanity - greedy, dishonest, adulterous - or even like this tax collector.
I fast twice a week, and I pay tithes on my whole income.
" But, we are told, the tax collector stood off at a distance and would not even raise his eyes to heaven but beat his breast and prayed, "O God, be merciful to me a sinner.
" Jesus says to his disciples, "I tell you, the latter went home justified, not the former; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and the one who humbles himself will be exalted.
" What really strikes me about this passage is that the tax collector - while he asks for mercy - does not say he is going to change.
At least not right away.
He has needs to meet, and likely even some wants that he enjoys as a result of his job.
But even if he were to instantly become as perfect as the religious leader - he would merely move from being up to his neck in sin to only up to his ankles.
You and me - we may think the difference between "them" (whoever "them" is) and "us" is an ocean's width and depth - but in the eyes of a perfect God - it's a wee stream.
So what do we take from this? Does this mean we can live a life of wantonness as long as we don't pretend to be perfect.
Nyet.
All of us are held to the highest standards of our religious Faiths - even though we fall short.
I love the way that Sandal's Church puts it.
SC has gathering called "Matthew's House" that particularly welcomes women and men from the sex industry: "Our belief is that no one sin is greater than another and that everyone deserves a seat in our churches should they want one.
It will take many of us coming together with sincere hearts and non-judgmental attitudes to change the current image of Christianity.
In order to make an impact we must reach out in the same way Christ did when he walked the earth...
with love.
" Do justice, love mercy, walk humbly with God - it's a winning invitation.
