Garments of Salvation
I have been camping out in the scriptures looking at clothing, covering, garment imagery and I thought over the next year or so I would share some of these observations in hopes that it prompts you to pray, and to pray for your pastor and his family and maybe pray for this ministry.
People have always loved clothes. Wardrobe selections worn in the past and what folks currently wear is fascinating. What generations have worn is representative of people and cultures. Clothes can, but don't have to, say a lot about the person. It can say somethings based upon the people perceiving the clothing and their previous experiences or prejudices, but they may or may not have been the intention of the person wearing the actual clothes. For instance, people who live in Texas have a common saying about folks who dress the part but are not the part, “All hat, no cattle.” But maybe the person wearing the button snap shirt, cowboy boots, the right kind of Wranglers and yes, a cowboy hat simply likes how each piece of clothing feels, serves their needs and they simply like the way they look in those clothes. They are not pretending to be legitimate cowboys, but they are appropriating the cowboy “uniform.” Is this disrespectful, is this phony, or is it mimicking a way of life that folks admire and give all sorts of romantic idealism towards? All of us are guilty of judging a book by its cover. Our clothing, garments, get ups, costumes, uniforms, outfits, in short “Garb” can say quite a bit about our station, our feelings, our jobs, our emotions, our respect or lack thereof. What does this have to do with preachers, their wives, the elders they serve with and their wives? The writers of Scripture used different metaphors to explain the relationship between God and His creation, one prominent metaphor is clothing. Starting with being clothed with glory, freedom, and peace in the garden of Eden to fig leaves, garments of skins, all the way through the history of redemption ending with the saints’ robes and the second coming of Jesus dressed in robes dipped in blood the authors of the Bible tell our story using the picture of clothing, garments, robes. They even use the actions associated with the garments, primarily putting them on, and taking them off all of which allows us to understand one another better as followers of Christ. I want to explore with you these pictures making special application to the office of elder and by extension their wives so that we might better serve these under shepherds. This will not be an exhaustive word study for all the different words for clothing nor will it cover every picture in the Bible, but I think the categories I am laying out will illuminate the human condition before and after the fall, and God’s use of coverings to reveal himself and the plan of redemption to us.
Greater Tuna a play about the third smallest town in Texas, “where the lions club is too liberal, and Patsy Cline never dies” was written by Jaston Williams, Joe Sears and Ed Howard. There are 20 characters and only two actors with a total of 43 costume changes in 95 minutes. This may seem like a lot but consider your own lives, while the costume changes may not be as robust, the number of characters you play is probably pretty close to Tuna’s numbers. You will always be an image bearer, a child, maybe an only son or daughter, a first, middle or last child. That child carries remnants of figuring who they are or want to be. For instance, I grew up in Fort Lauderdale, Florida in the Evangelical sub-culture of Coral Ridge Presbyterian church. I grew up in a fairly conservative home with two parents that at times lacked creativity, they named their cat, “Kitty” and their dog, “Puppy.” So, I was always trying on new personas, surfer dude, preppy, cowboy, punk rocker, jock. Each of these came with a certain set of garments, get ups, markers of identity. Let’s continue with you, you were someone in grade school, middle school, high school, if you went to college that carries with a whole plethora of “costume” changes. Then maybe you get involved with a group via work, church, athletic teams, clubs and the like. Each of these carries with it a certain garb, sometimes more formally expected and other areas the expectation is less formal but expected, nonetheless. Maybe you get married, at least for one day there is a costume change, with the robes of nuptial bliss being a more long-term costume change. Most young couples, sometimes the man sometimes the woman have problems letting go of the garments of single life. They have a hard time leaving and cleaving. Then if you have children, you get a whole new wardrobe, one that rarely fits perfectly. Then you may become grandparents and finally the clothes of the parent fit perfectly. Somewhere in there, for the preachers reading this, you changed clothes for the garb of a pastor, preacher, scholar, leader, counselor, prayer warrior, shepherd. These clothes are both permanent for most of us, and yet they cannot be separated from the rest of our varied closet. Throw in some crises of cancer, death, disease, mental illness, church politics, rebellious children, divorce or marital difficulties and you have got yourself way more than 43 costume changes.
I have the annoying habit of being transparent, and this is no mock humility it is annoying because all of us want to compartmentalize one another quickly and efficiently so we can, if I might be a tad bit judgmental, treat one another like objects rather than subjects. I was transparent last year in front of small group of folks, professional soul care jockeys for pastors and their wives. I was going through a hard time with some significant fears surrounding me and mine and instead of pretending like I had my s@#t together, I literally told this group that I absolutely did not have my s@#t together. There was some raw, confessions on my part about some hardships we had endured as a family some of which we will carry with us until Jesus comes back. Well, some of these fine folks were convinced that I needed to bare my soul to a professional counselor with the hopes, I gather, that I would stop being so transparent, or at least serve up my own little s@#t show with a smile. I acquiesced and met with the “professional.” Part of my problem or part of who I am is that if I am gonna go to a professional to fix something, I am not going to put lipstick on a pig. When I go to the dentist to get my teeth cleaned, I don’t brush beforehand, or floss-I never floss by the way unless something is horribly stuck. They have the know-how and equipment to get my teeth cleaner than I could ever do, and my efforts beforehand just to look like “I’ve been doing the right thing all along” is reminiscent of a wardrobe change Adam and Eve made post cosmic rebellion in the garden, fig leaves and hiding in the woods. Anyway, I show up for a 2-3 day intensive and I intentionally brought only t-shirts, overalls, and Birkenstock sneakers. I knew that this guy had met with hundreds of pastors and part of me wanted to see what he would do with this get up. I was kinda hoping that he would say nothing but alas it was too much for him. He mentioned it almost immediately and then kept mentioning it every day, and not in a good way. You see I was a problem to fix not a person, pastor, husband, father, grandfather, son, brother, friend, Christ follower. I was wearing overalls, I had exposed tattoos and when we took breaks I stepped outside for a smoke. He couldn’t let the overalls go, and I wondered to myself what garb do I have hang-ups with, what costume throws me from one anothering my brothers and sisters in Christ, my wife, my kids, my siblings, friends, enemies, and when they were alive my folks? Sometimes what we wear, both literally and figuratively says too much and sometimes actually most of the time we need to see past the garb to the person. It reminds me of some stories we will look at more in depth later, but they are Joshua the High Priest in Zechariah 3, Satan chomping at the bit for God to judge him by his clothing. Or the disciples of Jesus in John 9 asking Jesus about this blind man who had been blind since birth, asking in essence about his garb. Was he wearing the jacket woven on the loom of his own sin or was it a jacket made for him by the generational sinful threads of his parents and grandparents. The idea that the prodigal sons in Luke 15 could sport tracksuits of moral superiority or independent repentance void of any familial relationships is made ludicrous by the Father not accepting either costume and being nonplussed by their reliance upon them. Instead, he insists that they wear the capes of sonship.
The question you may want to ask yourself, is do I see me and mine including my pastor as wearing the capes of sonship, the kind of get up that makes the Father giddy with love and eager to throw us a party?
People have always loved clothes. Wardrobe selections worn in the past and what folks currently wear is fascinating. What generations have worn is representative of people and cultures. Clothes can, but don't have to, say a lot about the person. It can say somethings based upon the people perceiving the clothing and their previous experiences or prejudices, but they may or may not have been the intention of the person wearing the actual clothes. For instance, people who live in Texas have a common saying about folks who dress the part but are not the part, “All hat, no cattle.” But maybe the person wearing the button snap shirt, cowboy boots, the right kind of Wranglers and yes, a cowboy hat simply likes how each piece of clothing feels, serves their needs and they simply like the way they look in those clothes. They are not pretending to be legitimate cowboys, but they are appropriating the cowboy “uniform.” Is this disrespectful, is this phony, or is it mimicking a way of life that folks admire and give all sorts of romantic idealism towards? All of us are guilty of judging a book by its cover. Our clothing, garments, get ups, costumes, uniforms, outfits, in short “Garb” can say quite a bit about our station, our feelings, our jobs, our emotions, our respect or lack thereof. What does this have to do with preachers, their wives, the elders they serve with and their wives? The writers of Scripture used different metaphors to explain the relationship between God and His creation, one prominent metaphor is clothing. Starting with being clothed with glory, freedom, and peace in the garden of Eden to fig leaves, garments of skins, all the way through the history of redemption ending with the saints’ robes and the second coming of Jesus dressed in robes dipped in blood the authors of the Bible tell our story using the picture of clothing, garments, robes. They even use the actions associated with the garments, primarily putting them on, and taking them off all of which allows us to understand one another better as followers of Christ. I want to explore with you these pictures making special application to the office of elder and by extension their wives so that we might better serve these under shepherds. This will not be an exhaustive word study for all the different words for clothing nor will it cover every picture in the Bible, but I think the categories I am laying out will illuminate the human condition before and after the fall, and God’s use of coverings to reveal himself and the plan of redemption to us.
Greater Tuna a play about the third smallest town in Texas, “where the lions club is too liberal, and Patsy Cline never dies” was written by Jaston Williams, Joe Sears and Ed Howard. There are 20 characters and only two actors with a total of 43 costume changes in 95 minutes. This may seem like a lot but consider your own lives, while the costume changes may not be as robust, the number of characters you play is probably pretty close to Tuna’s numbers. You will always be an image bearer, a child, maybe an only son or daughter, a first, middle or last child. That child carries remnants of figuring who they are or want to be. For instance, I grew up in Fort Lauderdale, Florida in the Evangelical sub-culture of Coral Ridge Presbyterian church. I grew up in a fairly conservative home with two parents that at times lacked creativity, they named their cat, “Kitty” and their dog, “Puppy.” So, I was always trying on new personas, surfer dude, preppy, cowboy, punk rocker, jock. Each of these came with a certain set of garments, get ups, markers of identity. Let’s continue with you, you were someone in grade school, middle school, high school, if you went to college that carries with a whole plethora of “costume” changes. Then maybe you get involved with a group via work, church, athletic teams, clubs and the like. Each of these carries with it a certain garb, sometimes more formally expected and other areas the expectation is less formal but expected, nonetheless. Maybe you get married, at least for one day there is a costume change, with the robes of nuptial bliss being a more long-term costume change. Most young couples, sometimes the man sometimes the woman have problems letting go of the garments of single life. They have a hard time leaving and cleaving. Then if you have children, you get a whole new wardrobe, one that rarely fits perfectly. Then you may become grandparents and finally the clothes of the parent fit perfectly. Somewhere in there, for the preachers reading this, you changed clothes for the garb of a pastor, preacher, scholar, leader, counselor, prayer warrior, shepherd. These clothes are both permanent for most of us, and yet they cannot be separated from the rest of our varied closet. Throw in some crises of cancer, death, disease, mental illness, church politics, rebellious children, divorce or marital difficulties and you have got yourself way more than 43 costume changes.
I have the annoying habit of being transparent, and this is no mock humility it is annoying because all of us want to compartmentalize one another quickly and efficiently so we can, if I might be a tad bit judgmental, treat one another like objects rather than subjects. I was transparent last year in front of small group of folks, professional soul care jockeys for pastors and their wives. I was going through a hard time with some significant fears surrounding me and mine and instead of pretending like I had my s@#t together, I literally told this group that I absolutely did not have my s@#t together. There was some raw, confessions on my part about some hardships we had endured as a family some of which we will carry with us until Jesus comes back. Well, some of these fine folks were convinced that I needed to bare my soul to a professional counselor with the hopes, I gather, that I would stop being so transparent, or at least serve up my own little s@#t show with a smile. I acquiesced and met with the “professional.” Part of my problem or part of who I am is that if I am gonna go to a professional to fix something, I am not going to put lipstick on a pig. When I go to the dentist to get my teeth cleaned, I don’t brush beforehand, or floss-I never floss by the way unless something is horribly stuck. They have the know-how and equipment to get my teeth cleaner than I could ever do, and my efforts beforehand just to look like “I’ve been doing the right thing all along” is reminiscent of a wardrobe change Adam and Eve made post cosmic rebellion in the garden, fig leaves and hiding in the woods. Anyway, I show up for a 2-3 day intensive and I intentionally brought only t-shirts, overalls, and Birkenstock sneakers. I knew that this guy had met with hundreds of pastors and part of me wanted to see what he would do with this get up. I was kinda hoping that he would say nothing but alas it was too much for him. He mentioned it almost immediately and then kept mentioning it every day, and not in a good way. You see I was a problem to fix not a person, pastor, husband, father, grandfather, son, brother, friend, Christ follower. I was wearing overalls, I had exposed tattoos and when we took breaks I stepped outside for a smoke. He couldn’t let the overalls go, and I wondered to myself what garb do I have hang-ups with, what costume throws me from one anothering my brothers and sisters in Christ, my wife, my kids, my siblings, friends, enemies, and when they were alive my folks? Sometimes what we wear, both literally and figuratively says too much and sometimes actually most of the time we need to see past the garb to the person. It reminds me of some stories we will look at more in depth later, but they are Joshua the High Priest in Zechariah 3, Satan chomping at the bit for God to judge him by his clothing. Or the disciples of Jesus in John 9 asking Jesus about this blind man who had been blind since birth, asking in essence about his garb. Was he wearing the jacket woven on the loom of his own sin or was it a jacket made for him by the generational sinful threads of his parents and grandparents. The idea that the prodigal sons in Luke 15 could sport tracksuits of moral superiority or independent repentance void of any familial relationships is made ludicrous by the Father not accepting either costume and being nonplussed by their reliance upon them. Instead, he insists that they wear the capes of sonship.
The question you may want to ask yourself, is do I see me and mine including my pastor as wearing the capes of sonship, the kind of get up that makes the Father giddy with love and eager to throw us a party?
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