Clothing ourselves with Christ
Matthew 22:1-2, 11-14
Jesus again in reply spoke to the chief priests and the
elders of the people in parables saying, “The Kingdom of heaven may be likened
to a king who gave a wedding feast for his son… But when the king came in to
meet the guests he saw a man there not dressed in a wedding garment. He said to
him, ‘My friend, how is it that you came in here without a wedding garment?’
But he was reduced to silence. Then the king said to his attendants, ‘Bind his
hands and feet, and cast him into the darkness outside, where there will be
wailing and grinding of teeth.’ Many are invited, but few are chosen.”
Have you
heard the common expression “the clothes do not make the man”? That means do not put too much stock in the
threads you wear. On the other hand
stands the wisdom and wit of Mark Twain, who said, “The clothes make the
man. Naked people have little or no
influence on society.” I sure hope he’s
right! Do you know what English
Sumptuary Laws are? Queen Elizabeth
enacted certain laws to dictate what color and type of clothing individuals
were allowed to own and wear. People’s
dress gave an immediate indication of their rank and status in society. For example, only royalty were permitted to
wear clothes trimmed with ermine. Lesser
nobles were allowed to wear clothing trimmed with fox and otter. The people in
Fort Smith would be sporting clothes trimmed with squirrel and skunk, and we’d
be darn proud of it!
In the
gospel today, Jesus seems pretty concerned about a man’s clothing, too. He tells a parable of a king who throws a
wedding party for his son. One man
enters not properly dressed, maybe he was wearing clothes trimmed with
squirrels, too. And the king orders him
to be thrown out. Is Jesus saying there
are also Sumptuary Laws in heaven? Not
exactly. Jesus is not so much talking
about the body here, but about the soul, and how we adorn it. Later theology will help us understand that
Jesus is really talking about our “baptismal robes” and how we should be
“clothed in Christ” in order to enter heaven.
Jesus is not being a “fashionista” here like Queen Elizabeth and telling
us how to dress; rather he’s reminding us to be mindful to clothe ourselves
with his love and grace, so that we are not naked spiritually.
You know,
it’s amazing to see the kinds of clothes people wear these days. People pay exorbitant amounts of money for
jeans that already have holes in them!
Poor Queen Elizabeth is rolling over in her grave. This is one reason I like the uniforms
students wear in Catholic schools. We
take their attention off external appearances and turn their eyes to what’s on
the inside, what really matters: learning to think, praying to God, becoming a
person of character, and having an eagerness to serve those in need, those without
fancy clothes. In short, we teach our
students to become “spiritual fashionistas,” and to care about how they clothe
their souls.
In the end
Mark Twain may well have been right about clothes. Clothes do make the man. Naked people have little or no influence in
society. And that’s true both on earth
and in heaven.
Praised be
Jesus Christ!
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