NEW year, new you! Dry January! Veganuary! 30-day challenge! Something something marathon! Too many exclamation marks!
The first few weeks of January always feel like an endless barrage of self-improvement routines, resolutions, and an overwhelming feeling that we could all be better people if we just tried a bit harder this time round.
It’s exhausting even thinking about it.
After all, there’s only so many times that I can be told how much better I could be before I start to wonder what’s wrong with the current me, and if my whole year really is a write-off if I don’t earn a mail-order medal for pretending to walk the length of Hadrian’s Wall (I don’t know – it keeps popping up on Facebook).
I wonder if we sometimes think of church in the same way: a nice idea, perhaps, but we really don’t need even more people telling us what we should be doing better and making us feel bad for not knowing all the right words to the hymns.
And if that’s what church was, I’m not sure I’d want to go either.
Churches aren’t places for perfect people. In all the years I’ve been involved with one church or another, I’m yet to meet anyone who’s reached that pinnacle.
We’re all flawed, but that’s okay, because the thing that really holds a church together is not the people – it’s Jesus.
And the amazing thing about Jesus is that he sees all of our flaws and failings and loves us anyway. Yours, mine, everyone’s.
And, of course, he sees all our good bits too; the moments of generosity and kindness and honesty.
One of my favourite stories of Jesus sees him confronted with a woman accused of adultery, for which the punishment of the time was death by stoning.
Jesus doesn’t ask if the accusations are true; instead, he challenges the accusers: “Let the one who has never done wrong throw the first stone”.
The angry crowd melts away, leaving the woman alone and unharmed.
In this moment, the woman’s faults aren’t important; Jesus, as always, leads with compassion and grace.
As with so many of the Jesus stories, he subverts expectations by putting people first, regardless of what others might think of them, or even what they might think of themselves.
The story might be 2,000 years old, but the truth at the heart of it remains – nothing separates us from the love of Jesus.
He doesn’t love us more if we’re resolutely hitting the gym every night, nor does he love us less if we’ve barely got off the sofa all week.
He doesn’t love us more because we go to church, nor does he love us less if we’ve never even cracked open a Bible.
Jesus just loves.
If you should happen find your way to one of his churches this year, know that you too are loved and welcome. And if you don’t, don’t worry - you’re loved anyway.
Dave Poulson
Associate Pastor
Crediton Congregational Church