No one is asking me for fashion advice. I’ve never really cared for clothes, and I became even less inclined to participate in style when I realized that it continually changes. You mean to tell me I need new clothes not just seasonally, but also according to the whims of teenagers and Frenchmen? No thank you. In fact, after a recent week among the monks of Christ in the Desert Monastery in New Mexico, I had almost resolved myself to radically simplify – maybe just jeans and a black t-shirt every day like Steve Jobs. Then I remembered that this would not be acceptable to my wife, as my outfit often serves as merely an accessory to her own. I have already made vows, after all.
So, I don’t fuss over clothes. But over a decade ago I was teaching through Colossians and I got to the part in chapter 3 when Paul says we are to clothe ourselves with Christ. That sent me down a rabbit trail where I discovered that in some ways, the whole Bible is a better story about clothes! From nakedness and shame in the garden to the resplendent glory of wedding garments in the new creation, what characters wear (or don’t) often says something about the grace of God that is our everything. You can’t even feast in the Kingdom without the right robes!
The thing I find most interesting about this theme right now is that the function of clothing has shifted in our little corner of history. There has certainly always been a sense of fashion and pride in appearance that is enhanced by a wardrobe, but the primary function of clothing has much more often been to communicate and even to aid in one’s vocation. I know what you do by what you wear; you’re able to do it better because of its cut and design, its features, and maybe even colors. These days, however, clarity of purpose has been eclipsed by the illusion of self-expression.
As we wrap up this Resurrection of the Dead series, we will imagine together what it was like for the disciples to be “clothed with power from on high” on that very first Pentecost Sunday. Is there a connection to the end of 1 Corinthians 15, when we are all “changed,” having “put on” the imperishable? I have a hard time not seeing it.