Summertime is nearly upon us, and some of the wonderful signs of summer are being seen all around. People are out jogging more. Convertibles go around with the tops down. Children go off to school wearing shorts. Golf leagues and softball leagues are getting started. For many of us, summertime is a more relaxed, casual, and playful time of year.

One thing that is especially characteristic of the days of summer is a more laid-back, informal attitude towards dining. People come to picnics and cookouts, backyard barbecues in a various state of dress -- or undress: golf shirts; wild, loud, plaid Bermuda shorts; T-shirts with all manner of strange pictures or sayings on the front; sandals; flip-flops; bathing suits; hair tangled from salt water, legs covered with sand from the beach, sweaty from softball games, whatever. Summertime is a great time for "come-as-you-are."

That reminds me a bit of the text found in John 21:1-14 which describes one of the Risen Lord's appearances after his resurrection, a "Come As You Are" party of sorts. The disciples had been out all night fishing in a boat. No doubt they were sweaty and tired. Probably they smelled pretty bad: fishing boats are smelly. Their faces no doubt were dirty, and their hair was all messed up from the wind and the waves. Peter was dripping wet after having impulsively jumped into the Sea of Tiberias and waded to shore.

But there's no hesitation, no standing on formality in the Risen Lord's invitation or welcome. It's "Come and have breakfast!" (And what more intimate and informal meal is there than breakfast?) "Come and have breakfast! And come as you are!"

In this little invitation, I see an echo of all the great invitations of Scripture. God is always inviting us into fellowship with God's Self, into deeper love and closer communion. And God's invitation is always gracious and open, with no restrictions attached. With God, it's always "Come as you are."

"Ho, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and he who has no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without price" (Isaiah 55:1, RSV).

"Come to me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest" (Matthew 11:28, RSV).

"I am the bread of life; he who comes to me shall not hunger and (he) who believes in me shall never thirst ... and him who comes to me I will not cast out" (John 6:35, 37b, RSV).

"Come to him, to that living stone, rejected by men but in God's sight; chosen and precious; and like living stones be yourselves built into a spiritual house ..." (1 Peter 2:4-5, RSV).

"The Spirit and the Bride say, 'Come.' And let him who hears say, 'Come.' And let him who is thirsty come, let him who desires take the water of life without price" (Revelation 22:17, RSV).

That's the kind of God we have -- open and generous and loving; more willing to provide for us spiritually than we are to receive.

And who does God invite into communion? Perfect people who never make mistakes? Self-righteous and sanctimonious "saints" who are above all moral reproach?

Let's look at the Biblical evidence: Jesus invited Matthew while Matthew was still collecting taxes (Matthew 9:9, RSV). In those days, tax collectors were notoriously greedy and dishonest.

Jesus offered the living water of eternal life to the Samaritan woman at the well: a woman Jesus knew to have had a checkered past and who was currently "living in sin" (John 4:7-30, RSV).

Jesus offered forgiveness and understanding and compassion to the woman caught in adultery. He even defended her at risk to himself against her attackers (John 8:1-11, RSV).

Jesus offered the "Good Thief" paradise as he hung on the cross (Luke 23:43, RSV).

Does that mean that Jesus was a "moral wimp," condoning sin because he happened to love sinners? Of course not! It's just that Jesus knew that love and acceptance is a more powerful change agent than belittlement, put-downs, condemnation, and fear.

Jesus never said, "Stay as you are," to anyone. But he did say, over and over again, "Come as you are." It's not so much that any of us need to change our whole life to moral perfection before we are welcomed by God. It's more like we come to God in humility with all our sins and imperfections and then we start to change. Or put another way, you don't have to "get good" before you are invited to be God's friend. You have God as a friend and then you begin to "get good."

Master preacher Martin Copenhaver writes: "All of God's parties are come-as-you-are parties, which is another way of saying that God's parties are be-who-you-are parties. We don't have to try to look like everyone else, or like everyone else expects us to look -- respectable, buoyant, all-together. We can come to this party as people whose lives are unpolished, torn" (Library of Distinctive Sermons, V. 2, Questar Publishers, Inc., pp. 47-48).

I want to introduce you to a beautiful and touching piece of music. It's a song written by Sr. Deidre Brown and recorded by Fr. Paul Gurr titled "Come As You Are." It sums up what I'm trying to say.

Come As You Are

Come as you are
That's how I want you
Come as you are
Feel right at home.

Close to my heart
Loved and forgiven
Come as you are
Why stand alone?

No need to fear
Love sets no limits
No need to fear
Love never ends
Don't run away
Shamed and disheartened
Rest in my love
Trust me again.

I come to call sinners
Not just the virtuous
I come to bring peace
Not to condemn
Each time you fail
To live by my promise
Why do you think
I'd love you the less?

Come as you are
That's how I love you
Come as you are
Trust me again
Nothing can change
The Love that I bear you
All will be well
Just come as you are.

(from Come as You Are by Paul Gurr, Spectrum Publications, P/L, P.O. Box 75, Richmond Victoria, Australia 3121. Used by permission. Tapes available through "The Healing Touch Wellness Center," 251 Pawtucket Avenue, Warwick, R.I. 02228)

What a beautiful presentation of Christ's invitation. To that gracious invitation, I think we can only respond with the timeless words of Charlotte Eliott's beloved hymn:

Just as I am, without one plea
But that thy Blood was shed for me ...
And that thou bidd'st me come to Thee,
O lamb of God, I come, I come!