Good Friday bonus edition

Extra! Extra! Read all about it!

Not my original work here. This has been circulating on the internet for a long time, but it’s always worth a fresh look.

A pastor transformed himself into a homeless person and went to the church where he was to be introduced as the new head pastor that morning. He walked around his soon-to-be church for 30 minutes while it was filling with people for service. Only 3 people said hello to him; most looked the other way. He asked people for change to buy food because he was hungry. No one gave him anything.

He went into the sanctuary to sit down in front of the church and was told by the ushers that he would need to get up and go sit in the back of the church. He said hello to people as they walked in, but was greeted with cold stares and dirty looks from people looking down on him and judging him.

He sat in the back of the church and listened to the church announcements for the week. He listened as new visitors were welcomed into the church that morning, but no one acknowledged that he was new. He watched people around him continue to look his way with stares that said you were not welcome here.

Then the elders of the church went to the podium to make the announcement. They said they were excited to introduce the new pastor of the church to the congregation. "We would like to introduce you to our new pastor." The congregation stood up and looked around, clapping with joy and anticipation. The homeless man sitting in the back stood up and started walking down the aisle.

That's when all the clapping stopped, and the church was silent. With all eyes on him, he walked up to the altar and reached for the microphone. He stood there for a moment and then recited, so elegantly, a verse from the Bible.

“Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’ Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you as a stranger and invite you in, or did we need to clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’

The King will reply, 'Truly, I tell you, whatever you did for the least of my brothers and sisters, you did for me.’”

After he recited this, he introduced himself as their new pastor and told the congregation what he had experienced that morning. Many began to cry and bow their heads in shame.

"Today I see a gathering of people here, but I do not see a church of Jesus. The world has enough people who look the other way. What the world needs is disciples of Jesus who can follow his teachings and live as he did. When will you decide to become disciples?”

He then dismissed the service until the following Sunday, as his sermon had been given.