Come Just As You Are

            When I hear the word “forgive”, bitter, resentful feelings boil up in side of me.  I’m sure this is true for all of us.  If we are in a situation in which we need to forgive, whether it is another or yourself, obviously something occurred that brought anger or sadness to your life.  Forgiving is without doubt not an easy task.  It takes an immense amount of effort, and humbling to be able to forgive.

Last Sunday I arrived at church, a little late like always, for choir practice before mass.  Because I was late, the group had already begun practicing and sounds of praise and joy filled the church.  I walked through the congregary and opened the beautiful, wood double doors and entered the church.  Directly in front of me, bowed down prayer before the altar, were three people of who I had never seen before, as well as one sitting patiently in the pew a few rows back.  These people were visibly in a rough situation and appeared to be homeless.  For the past few weeks I had seen this same image as a came into church, so this day I paid no mind to them, and walked to the rest of the choir to begin practicing.  As we worshiped God through song, I could see the people become fully engulfed in the spirit.  They lifted their hands in praise and released emotions that proved that the Holy Spirit was running through them.  As an observer of this occurrence, it was a beautiful sight to see people, who just stopped in because they were probably trying to keep warm and have shelter from the oncoming storm, be moved by the Spirit.

            As mass time approached, the three before the altar relocated and joined their friend in the pews.  You could tell that they were still emotional and moved, and you couldn’t help but feel for them.  Mass started and the altar servers filed in, followed by the lector, and then Father Anthony.  Throughout mass, the four people who I had seen so visibly in touch with God earlier were surprisingly not participating at all.  When it came time for Father’s homily, he approached the stand and proclaimed, “Jesus said, come before me just as you are.”  He then went on to explain that we need not alter ourselves or be ashamed to come before God because of our “unworthiness”.  He will make us clean.  He will make us worthy.  He wants us just as we are.

            This spoke wonders to me because I had witnessed the broken hearts begin to be mended just an hour prior.  The people were not too ashamed of their brokenness or hurt to enter into our Father’s house and ask for forgiveness.  I believe that this lesson reigns true in all aspects of our lives.  We oftentimes are burdened by the decisions of our past and thus we feel unworthy of forgiveness.  Of course we make mistakes; we’re human!  The difficult, and probably most important, part is being able to humble ourselves, yet still be brave enough, to ask for forgiveness.  So, just as the broken and lost wanderers entered the church that day, practice forgiveness in every aspect of the word, and come just as you are anyway!

Love Always,

Kylie K.