Proper 11

I grew up in the 1970s. But my family’s sense of fashion was firmly entrenched in the 1950s. All my friends wore polo shirts with little alligators on them, along with Jordache designer jeans and white Adidas tennis shoes.  Me? It was no-name shirts from Sears, Wrangler jeans, and Converse sneakers.

Although the Reese family never seemed to notice, the fashion industry has captivated people for centuries. And if you look back in history, you’ll be amazed at some of the beautiful and stunning costumes that people wore in times past. In fact, in many museums, fashion has become a popular display – medieval gowns, knights’ armor, Viking attire, Victorian splendor.

Today, we continue to adore fashion. We read fashion magazines. We watch the runway. We elevate our favorite designers to the level of rock stars and movie moguls, and we laud their creativity.

In fact, we can get so caught up in our own fashion trends that we assume that in Jesus’ time, people just slapped on a robe, and it was a done deal. But that was not the case. Clothing was just as stylish in Jesus’ time as it is today.

Newly discovered dyes allowed makers of linen and lace to create lovely colors and patterns. Beautiful beads, string, scarves, and gems made for exquisite ornaments. While fishermen may have worn a simpler garb of linen tunic and drawn pants, others adorned themselves with clothes they loved, according to their means. The more wealth, the more color and gems. Cloth makers and seamstresses made a good living in Jesus’ time.

Then, as now, what you wore said a lot about you: The colors of your clothing, the quality of your tunic, if you wore a belt or a sash, a bag around your waist or a cloak around your body, sandals on your feet, an apron, or jewelry. Ornaments such as bracelets, anklets, earrings, rings, combs and hairpins, or even oils and perfumes lent character and individuality to the wearer.

If you were a rabbi or a priest, your clothing was different. Priests wore elaborate robes over their linen tunics, covering their body from neck to feet. The high priest’s garb was elaborately embroidered with a colored ephod laced with golden threads. Clasps were often laden with onyx stones.

Rabbis generally wore a white or plain linen seamless undergarment and head wrap. However, their robe or cloak, called a tallit, was unique. The tallit was a large squarish cloth made of wool, cotton, or linen. In its four corners were strung the traditional Jewish tzitzit, tassels or fringes made of several strips of thread. The Jewish tallit is traditionally white and blue.

This sacred garb, particularly the tzitzit, was said to have healing powers and to remind us of God’s presence. We might call this kind of garb a prayer shawl. The strings, knotted in white and blue (tekhelet, made from purple dye), reminded one of God’s holiness, providence, and authority. They reminded one of God’s commandments and our role as servant. The wearer of the tzitzit literally was clothed in holiness.

What does that mean to you, to be “clothed in holiness?” We find many phrases in scripture that refer to clothing as holy, especially the cloaks of prophets, rabbis, and priests.  We also hear metaphors in scripture: Clothe yourselves in righteousness. Be clothed in glory. Clothe yourself in humility. Put on the clothing of holiness. Put on the armor of Christ. Clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus. Put on the armor of Light. Clothe yourselves with the presence of the Lord.

These are some of the references to clothing as a metaphor in the scriptures. The relationship between what you wear and who you are is important, but the relationship between the character you “wear” and who you are is even more important.

Ever have that experience, where you look at someone, or you are around someone, and you just know that person is a good person? You get a good feeling being around them. You instinctively trust them.

That must have been the way the hemorrhaging woman felt when she reached for Jesus’ hem, his tzitzit, which she felt was surely exuding the power of God. It must have been the way many people felt as Jesus walked by them. Listen again to this morning’s Gospel:

“People at once recognized [Jesus as he arrived on the shore from his boat], and they rushed about the whole region, and began to bring the sick on mats to wherever they heard he was. And wherever he went, into villages or cities or farms, they laid the sick in the marketplaces, and begged him that they might touch even the fringe of his cloak: and all who touched it were healed.”

Jesus exuded the power of God.

Ever bring in some fresh flowers from your garden? I loved spring-time growing up in Nutley, New Jersey. My mother carefully nurtured her backyard hyacinths and would clip one at a time and bring them into the dining room. The scent permeated the downstairs. As long as those flowers were in our home, we could smell their fragrant scent, and were reminded of their beauty. That’s the way it was when Jesus passed by. Wherever he was, he exuded from his person the pungent fragrance of God’s grace, God’s love, God’s forgiveness, God’s healing power.

For us today, that power of Christ is evident in our prayers, in our rituals, in our sacraments, and in our personal time with God, what John Wesley called our “means of grace.” When we come into our personal space with God, when we feel the Holy Spirit around us and beside us, among us, and within us, we know it. And when we open ourselves up to the presence of God, the presence of Christ, we become filled with that sense of well-being, peace, love, and fullness that reminds us that God is working through us, that Christ is living His resurrection Life within us.

The closer we are to God, the more we can feel the Holy Spirit among us.

You all know what I mean. When you walk into certain places, whether churches or other sacred places, or when you come near to certain people, who spend their lives close to God, you can feel God’s presence in that place, with that person.

Likewise, when you walk into a place that is filled with hatred, anger, or envy, you can feel that, too.

Each place, each person, is filled with a spirit. And it’s not always the Holy one!

So what does it mean to be Christian?

It means that you seek to be a person who is filled with the spirit of Christ. That you exude Christ from your countenance, from your person, so that when anyone comes near you they know in their very souls that Christ resides in you. That’s a powerful witness.

So put on the clothing of Christ.  And carry God with you into the world.