A question asked repeatedly by people who are looking for a reason to not be a part of an organized religion…Why are there so many hypocrites in church? Many use this kind of thinking to claim the title spiritual rather than religious. Others use this thought process to persecute or belittle those who practice their faith. Still others will blame all the world’s problems on the hypocrites who say they want to go to heaven but live like hell here and now.

            So, it might be a good idea to begin this pondering by answering the age-old question of why there are so many hypocrites in church. The answer is not difficult, nor is it complex. In fact, the answer to this question is obvious. The reason there are so many hypocrites in church is because the church is full of people. the church is populated by flawed, wounded, broken people. The church is filled with people, both clergy and lay, who live their lives in fear. Afraid that they will not be liked or loved, afraid they may become sick or suffer, afraid they will get to the end of their lives having accomplished nothing of merit.

            The church is filled with hypocrites because despite the universal desire to be loved, to be good, to be holy, these things are hard to accomplish and take a lifetime. The fleeting success and pleasure that Satan and the world offer come with immediate gratification. Even the most die-hard Christian is tempted by the comfort and the wealth that promises to make us happy and our lives full. And so very often the very same people we see searching for the easiest path to happiness, we also see in church. We see our friends and our neighbors whose sins we think we know and at times we cannot help but wonder what the heck they are doing in church, who do they think they are receiving the precious body and blood of Christ.

            On more than one occasion, Jesus reminds his followers, then and now, that he did not come for the sake of the well or the righteous, he did not come for those who were perfect. Instead, Jesus came for sinners, for those whom our culture considers losers, and for those who try as they might, miss the mark often but hold on to their faith even though they are labeled hypocrites. Jesus came because being righteous is not easy and we need an example of how were to live our faith during all that is competing for our limited attention. He came because he knew that for many being good was going to be harder than being comfortable. He came because being generous was going to take more energy than being greedy. He came because it was going to take courage to be humble in a world that values power, that rewards ambition, and that measures success in dollars and possessions.

            Not only did Jesus come to us but he invites us to come to him. In Matthew’s Gospel Jesus speaks the words, “Come to me all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest…” He calls us to come to him in the Sacraments of the Church, most especially in the Sacrament of Reconciliation and the Holy Eucharist. When we miss the mark, Jesus offers us mercy in the Sacrament of Reconciliation, when we are weak or afraid, he offers us strength and courage in the Eucharist. 

            If we truly believe that Jesus is, “the way, the truth, and the life,” then we hypocrites must be where he is. We bring our imperfect selves to Jesus, we bring our temptations and our sins to Jesus, we bring our hopes, our fears, our successes to Jesus and through his grace, his love, his mercy, and his goodness he makes us whole and helps us to become holy. In the end the reason that there are so many hypocrites in church is because Jesus is there and to whom else should we go...