Bread – Clothing

Readings for Tuesday, December 15 as
    designated by the Book of Common Prayer:
    Zech. 2:1-13; Rev. 3:14-22; Matt. 24:32-44
    Psalms 45, 47, 48
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As the nation gathers to celebrate the birth of Christ and, in some circles, the "Holiday Season," several categories of gifts are being purchased.  One of these is clothing.  Clothing is important.  It keeps us warm, it conveys something of who we are, it advertises, it makes statements, and it is necessary for something we don’t talk about very much.  It is necessary to hide our shame.

There is a tendency to equate shame with embarrassment.  We are taught that we should not be embarrassed about "who we are," which is why in part our clothing becomes almost non-existent on the beach or when we want to show that we are different or that we are in control.  But shame is much deeper than embarrassment – shame goes to our underlying sense that we have done something seriously wrong.  Shame means "a painful feeling of having lost the respect of others because of improper behavior, incompetence, etc. … dishonor, disgrace." (Webster’s New World Dictionary 1976).

And we know we are ashamed.  And we know why – Adam and Eve were disobedient to God and that disobedience, that original sin, resides in us.  We know that we have done something seriously wrong.

In today’s reading from Revelation, Jesus tells the people of the church to buy their clothes from Him – "I advise you to buy from Me … white garments, that you may clothe yourself, and that the shame of your nakedness may not be revealed…"  Rev. 3:18 (NASB).

Good clothes, clothes which really cover our shame, have two characteristics.  The first is that the clothes come from Jesus Christ Himself and no-one else.  The second is that they are white.  White clothes convey no worldly message, advertise nothing, promote no cause — they cover the shame and, because they are white, it is really easy to see when they are dirty and need to be cleaned up.

So there are two types of clothes to be bought this season.  The first are the clothes of the department store, useful for our needs in the world.  The second are the white clothes from Jesus Christ, useful for our needs for eternity.

Which ones are you buying for yourself?

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