What To Wear?

“Then Pharisees and scribes came to Jesus from Jerusalem and said, 'Why do your disciples break the tradition of the elders? For they do not wash their hands before they eat.'”  (Matt 15:1-2 NRSV)

Over the years I have heard a whisper or two about how someone dresses "for church" or how a child misbehaves in the church. Tradition has taught us that there are certain ways we should dress and act in "church." These are traditions that have come down through the generations. I'm thinking Jesus probably did not change clothes to go to the temple or to preach as he was traveling from city to city. During the time Jesus ministered, here on earth, one of the big "no, no's" was to not wash before you eat. There were whole rituals set up to ensure that hands were washed; rituals that were not to be broken.

We have the religious and we have the faithful. The religious might also be faithful; but, there are also those religious persons who will remind us of the Pharisees and scribes who faithfully accused and persecuted Jesus. The man-made laws and traditions certainly set them apart from other people; but, did they set them apart because of their faith in God or because of the faithfulness to man-made traditions and laws?

I remember, years ago at one of the congregations I was serving, one of the members dropped off her child for Worship. I invited the adult to join us; but, she said she couldn't come in because she was wearing a pair of those pants that sort of look like pajamas. Consider this, who exactly are you dressing for? Who are you afraid of offending? Man or God? Do you not pray at home, in the shower, in your pajamas, in the garden, in your running clothes, at work? Do you change clothes before you go before God to speak with Him, in prayer, on all of these occasions? Personally, I don't think God cares what we're wearing. Although, I really appreciate it when the congregation dresses for worship not quite as casually as they normally would; I am not so sure that God cares. 

It does seem that He did care about what those who were serving at his altar wore though. The description of the clothing to be worn by those who were ministering at the altar can be found in Exodus, chapters 28 through 39. 

I must admit that I have not always dressed for worship as others might wish. During, the winter that I was a snow-mobile trail boss in the U.P. of Michigan, I often went to Worship Services in my snow-mobile suit, simply because I did not have time to change and had to get back out on the trails immediately after worship. It was either not change or not Worship. (I was not serving in any capacity at the altar) Which would you choose? Would God prefer I not gather to worship Him with the local community of saints until I have the time to change my attire?

Consider Adam and Eve in that garden, naked. They were in that garden, naked.  God didn't care that they were naked. (Please, don't show up to worship naked.) After they ate of the tree of knowledge, it was they who cared, not God. Since they were ashamed, God made them clothes to cover themselves with and then closed the garden off to them so that they might not eat of the tree of life and live forever.

I like tradition almost as much as the next person; however, let us be mindful that sometimes these traditions separate us from God rather than bring us (and others) closer to him. It is faith in the One who shed His blood for us and not what we wear that reconciles us to God, our Father, in His eternal kingdom.

"This people honors me with their lips,
    but their hearts are far from me;
in vain do they worship me,

    teaching human precepts as doctrines." (Matt 15:8-9)

God's Peace - Pr. J