Dear Friends,

All Christians are Hypocrites! 

   This is one of the most frequent reasons people don’t want to go to church or have much to do with Christians. Much as we would like to pretend otherwise, too often Christians are hypocrites. Outsiders see Christians who act pious in the pew on Sunday, then forget it all by Monday. We preach one thing then do the other. We insist others act one way while we act another. We say they will know us by our love, but act in ways that are hurtful and mean. Jesus called out religious leaders of his day as hypocrites because they acted the same way. But the question is, are all Christians really hypocrites? Of course not. But like everyone else, Christians do sometimes act in hypocritical ways. And that includes me.

   As Christians we know better. We know others hold to us to a higher standard. We know our actions matter and our failures give others cause to wonder about our faith and God. As Christians, we try to get hypocrisy out of our lives. When I was a child my parents corrected my ways and gave me loving guidance on the right path. Now it is Jesus who guides and corrects my ways.

  That is why I regularly pray with St. Patrick: “Christ be with me, Christ within me, Christ behind me, Christ before me, Christ beside me, Christ to win me, Christ to comfort and restore me, Christ beneath me, Christ above me, Christ in quiet, Christ in danger, Christ in the hearts of all that love me, Christ in the mouth of friend and stranger.”

   So yes, Christians are hypocrites. But mostly they are ordinary people with an extraordinary God, who love their families and their community, while trying to make a difference in the world.

And I can live with those hypocrites. See you in church.