Jesus teaches us that God prioritizes the befriending of outcasts over having nice worship services.
Matthew 9:12-13 9 As Jesus was walking along, he saw a man called Matthew sitting at the tax booth; and he said to him, "Follow me." And he got up and followed him. 10 And as he sat at dinner in the house, many tax collectors and sinners came and were sitting with him and his disciples. 11 When the Pharisees saw this, they said to his disciples, "Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?" 12 But when he heard this, he said, "Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. 13 Go and learn what this means, 'I desire mercy, not sacrifice.' For I have come to call not the righteous but sinners."
Do we ignore Jesus' teaching that God wants us to prioritize demonstrating his loving kindness to outcasts rather than having nice worship services for ourselves?
Note: Jesus' quote 'I desire mercy, not sacrifice' is from Hosea where the Hebrew word for "mercy" (hesed) is associated with "covenant love" or the demonstration of God's loving kindness, which, according to Hosea, is more important than "sacrifice" or ritual. So we could interpret it: "God's priority is that we worship him by demonstrating his loving kindness, rather than by participating in worship rituals." In the original quote, Hosea comdemns the formal worship of his day, because it had lost its center (its demonstration of God's love to those in need). Now Jesus applies this to the Pharisees because they were more concerned about ceremonial purity, than about loving outcasts (tax collectors and sinners). Our ministry, like Jesus' ministry, should be characterized by loving kindness to those in spiritual and physical need - not having nice worship services.
Note: I don't really like the word "outcasts" and prefer "marginalized."
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