PROPER 7C - Zechariah 12:8-10, 13:1; Psalm 63:1-8; Galatians 3:23-29; Luke 9:18-24 -

24 June 2007 - A sermon preached by The Rev. Peter A. Munson for St. Ambrose Episcopal Church, Boulder, Colorado

 

Putting On the Clothing of Christ

 

INTRODUCTION - Retail clothing sales in U.S.

 

Do you think that we are a little bit concerned with what we wear in the United States? According to U.S. Census Bureau estimates, retail clothing and clothing accessory stores totaled almost $215 billion in sales in 2006. Care to guess what the highest month in total sales was? Right. December, with over $31.6 billion. Next highest month? November, with over $19.5 billion. Want to guess the third highest month? If you were thinking “back to school”, you’d be right. August, with almost $18 billion. By my calculations, this comes to approximately $700 per year for every man, woman, and child in our country.

 

Again, $215 billion for total sales at clothing and clothing accessory stores. Almost $40 billion of that was from exclusively women’s clothing stores, and $10 billion was from men’s clothing stores. $27 billion was spent just at shoe stores. That compares to about $16.6 billion at book stores, and $37.6 billion at beer, wine, and liquor stores.

 

(Statistics found at www.census.gov/mrts/data/html)

 

We obviously care about what we wear. Otherwise we would not be conscious of changing styles; we would never stand in front of our closets wondering what we should wear; we would never go out and buy something new for a special occasion; we would never comment on another person looking good in a particular outfit; and our two teenaged-children would not have such strong opinions about what they will or won’t wear..

 

WHAT ELSE DO WE “WEAR”?

 

As we go through life, there are other things we put on, other things we wear besides clothes.

 

In our earlier years, we might be focused on acting in a certain way - we put on various personas, if you will - in order to please or get what we want from other people. Those people can be our parents, our peers, perhaps a girl or boy, or a young man or woman whom we hope will be attracted to us.

 

Perhaps at some point we become more comfortable wearing a certain role. Perhaps it is college graduate; perhaps it is wife or husband or mother or father that we put forth as our most prominent clothing; perhaps what we prefer to wear and show to the world the most is the specific job that we do.

 

Other times we may be more focused with putting on a title. Perhaps “doctor” or “reverend” or Ph.D. or CEO or President or Vice President of the company is the clothing that we prefer to wear.

 

For some of us, after we have lived a while, and worn these different types of clothing - the persona, the role, the job, the title - there may be a sense of dissatisfaction, an awareness that the clothing does not feel right, that there is a different kind of clothing still out there that must be right for us. A clothing in which we’re not so worried about what other people think. A clothing which is less of a cover-up, and more the type of clothing that says something about who we really are. A clothing that is more authentic. Perhaps at such times we think about how we can shed some old clothing, and - by changing our clothing - become something totally new.

 

PUTTING ON CHRIST

If you ever find yourself in that situation, then the New Testament has some words for you to consider.

 

In today’s lesson from Galatians, Paul writes, “As many of you as were baptized have clothed yourselves with Christ.”

 

To the Christians in Rome he wrote, “... put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires.” (Romans 13:14)

 

The writer of Ephesians put it this way. “You were taught to put away your former way of life, your old self... and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to clothe yourselves with the new self, created according to the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.” (Ephesians 4:22-24)

 

What does clothing ourselves with Christ look like? The writer of the letter to the Colossians speaks to that. “Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have stripped off the old self with its practices and have clothed yourselves with the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge according to the image of its creator, where there is no longer Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave and free; but Christ is all and in all!” (Colossians 3:9-11)

 

He is saying that life in Christ gives us a whole new identity, a whole new self. And in addition to that, we can stop trying to hang labels - clothing labels, if you will - on other people. Because baptism into Christ brings down the dividing walls. We all become one in him.

 

The writer of Colossians continues to tell us what putting on Christ looks like. “As God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience. Bear with one another and, if anyone has a complaint against another, forgive each other; just as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. Above all, clothe yourself with love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in the one body. And be thankful. Let the word of God dwell in you richly; teach and admonish one another in all wisdom; and with gratitude in your hearts sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs to God. “

(Colossians 3:12-16)

 

This is what putting on the clothing of Christ looks like. It is not about personas or roles or titles. It is about character traits and doing the things that Jesus did. It is about:

 

* Being compassionate

* Being honest

* Being kind, humble, meek, and patient

* Being part of a community where we bear each other’s burdens

* Forgiving one another, as we have been forgiven by God

* Seeking and holding onto the peace of Christ

* Being thankful

* Being grounded in God’s Word

* Being discerning and wise and teachable

* Being grateful for God’s grace, love, and forgiveness

* Singing and praising God

 

Above all, we are told, it is about clothing ourselves with love.

 

We might add a few things, from what we have learned of Christ.

 

To put on Christ is to understand and live out this truth - that real power is found in serving other people.

 

To put on Christ is to discover a certain balance in life - between loving God, self, and others, between working, playing, and resting, between speaking and listening.

 

To put on Christ is to never give up on anyone.

 

To put on Christ is to be open to growth and to the transforming love and guidance of God.

 

To put on Christ is to live with a constant sense of expectancy, being on the lookout for how God is going to make his presence known in our world and in your life - this day, and every day.

 

To put on Christ is to welcome all people, and respect the dignity of every human being.

 

To put on Christ is to be aware of opportunities that are given to us by God, so that when others are dissatisfied, and wondering what else they can wear, we can suggest to them that they try on Christ.

 

GOOD NEWS

When we put on Christ, we discover some things. We discover that this kind of clothing never wears out, and that nobody can take it from you. This kind of clothing can be misplaced, I suppose, but never really lost. To put on Christ is to wear clothing that always fits, no matter how you change.

 

It’s the kind of clothing that will get you through life - whether you are 15, 35, 55, or 75.

 

It’s the kind of clothing that, if it’s out of style, well... in those times it’s all the more important that you wear it.

 

It’s the kind of clothing that will always catch someone’s eye, will always be striking to someone.

 

It’s the kind of clothing that protects and warms and brings comfort, even when we are facing all sorts of challenges and trials.

 

Paul says some other things about it. He says when we put on Christ we become children of God. Now that’s a title worth having! Paul also says something quite radical. He says that when we put on Christ, the distinctions between us - Jew or Greek, Baptist or Episcopalian, Protestant or Catholic, male or female, parent or child, slave or free, doctor or laborer, black or white, American or Haitian or Korean or Nigerian, gay or straight, married or single, Northerner or Southerner, Westerner or Easterner, first generation or seventh generation, conservative or liberal... these distinctions and any others that we tend to focus on fade into the background, as we begin to recognize that what unites us is way bigger than what divides us, and that what unites us is Christ, and being common heirs of God’s promise of salvation.

 

Jesus himself says, in effect, “Don’t sweat losing that old clothing - those old masks, those pretenses, roles, and titles that you thought were so important. Go ahead and take off those old clothes - get rid of them, lose them! Put on me, the Lord Jesus, and you will find life, salvation, healing, and meaning.” (See Luke 9:24-25)

 

CONCLUSION

 

There are many articles of clothing that we will wear in our lifetime. There are many personas, roles, and titles that we wear, too. But if the clothes you are wearing don’t seem to fit too well... if you want to feel right in your own skin, and become the person who God intended for you to be, then God is waiting, right next to you. It’s as if he’s standing right next to you in the dressing room, or next to you as you look into your clothes closet.

 

And he is saying, “Are you ready to be baptized? Are you ready to reclaim your baptism? Put me on. Try me on. And you’ll never have to worry anymore about what you are going to wear.”