Scripture for Sunday, June 11: Numbers 15:37-41, Psalm 104:1-4
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I don't necessarily think of getting dressed in the morning as a spiritual task. But a couple of my friends' lives have challenged my thinking on this.
One of my friends is a chaplain. Her usual habit is to pray as she chooses her jewelry each day, knowing that her earrings or watch may start a conversation that helps her begin a relationship with someone who doesn't know Jesus.
Another friend is a mother of four young children. She and her husband buy most of their children's clothes at secondhand stores--not for affordability, but for creation care reasons. "If we can keep usable clothes from ending up in landfills, we feel like we should do that," my friend says.
Truth be told, many mornings I'm relieved simply to have something clean and dry to wear. But my friends' awareness of the potential significance of their small choices, and their conscious desire to cooperate with God through those choices, inspire me.
In Numbers 15, God teaches the Israelites to sew tassels on the corners of their clothes. Since wearing clothes is an inescapable reality of life post-fall, the tassels reminded the people of their lives with God everywhere they went. It was way of calling to mind God's commands and promises at every turn--a visual reminder to every Israelite and to those they encountered that they were set apart as God's people.
This Sunday, Rev. Jonker will consider the everyday spirituality of clothing. We'll think together about how clothes can communicate belonging or separateness from others; how they communicate beauty (God himself "wraps himself in light, as with a garment" and clothes the lilies of the field in unspeakable splendor); and how clothes impact our spirits.
What kinds of clothes attract you (for yourself, or for others)? What kinds of clothes do you find off-putting? Why?
Do you think of choosing your clothes as a kind of spiritual discipline? How could choosing your clothes become a moment of connection with God?
