Late one night Tony Campolo wandered into a cafe where the only other customers were a group of prostitutes. He overheard one of them say that tomorrow was her birthday. So the next night he came back with a cake and a sign that read, “Happy Birthday, Agnes.” When Anges saw the cake and the sign she was flabbergasted. Her eyes moistened and she started to cry. Tony prayed for Agnes that her life would be changed. When he finished, the man behind the counter said, “What kinda church do you belong to anyway?” Tony replied, “The kind that throws birthday parties for prostitutes.”
“Later when Jesus was eating supper at Matthew’s house…a lot of disreputable characters came and joined them…”
— Matthew 9:10 (MSG)
Lord Jesus, help me to be a friend of sinners. In Your holy name I pray. Amen.