“I believe in God but not in the institution.” This is what people who do not want to come to church sometimes use as an excuse; it is their argument. Funny they say that because Jesus did believe in the institution. Some people may point out the scourging in the temple and other passages in the Gospel where Jesus was against the institution, however, they have selective memories to advance their argument. Overall, Jesus was against false practices within the institution but not against the whole. 
    I read an interesting book that went in depth about the stance of Jesus and the institution, and it made an argument that Jesus was not against it. We need to remember Jesus was a practicing Jew. He went to the synagogue Sabbath after Sabbath. People from his congregation knew him. He was so well-known that he was invited to read the scroll from the prophet Isaiah. When He said that this passage had been fulfilled in Him, they could not believe it because he had been coming to their synagogue since childhood. 
   Later, there are many times when Jesus is seen living his faith at the temple. If we are to follow the synoptic gospel accounts, he      observed the Passover with his disciples. Jesus even “instituted” the Eucharist. So, if Jesus was not against the institution, why should we be against it? When someone says, “I don’t go to church because I don’t believe in the institution,” they are contradicting the practice of Jesus. They are robbing themselves of the  wonderful opportunity to be fed by the rich and pure food of the  Eucharist. When someone says, “I don’t go to church because there are so many hypocrites,” they fail to acknowledge that, in the banquet of the Lord, there will be good and bad people. Are they going to deprive themselves of being well-fed and go without the sacraments? As the Psalm states: He will set a table before us (the Eucharist) and anoint our head with oil (Baptism & Confirmation). 
   God continues to invite us time and again, yet many still reject His invitation. Hopefully, they do not regret it at the end of their life, being reduced to silence with their faulty argument. Let’s face it, some people need a perfect excuse why not to come to church because God is not a priority in their life. God continues to summon, and it is time to take the invitation seriously. For those who have relatives and friends, and even themselves, who continually use this argument, it is time to leave whatever we are doing and accept God’s invitation to the banquet, before it is too late and we are cast out!