What Our Clothing Says About Jesus
by John Harrell, Youth Minister for Christian Fellowship
When the 245 bus pulled through Bridle Trails on a recent Sunday, a second person disembarked and walked to worship. Back when I was bussing to church most weeks, I was usually the only rider headed for Lake Washington United Methodist Church, but this time I recognized a co-passenger in the sanctuary some twenty minutes later.
By then, I had changed from my street clothes into a collared shirt and tie as I usually do on Sundays, but now I wondered what message my appearance was sending to this guest of ours who was not wearing Sunday best like I was and who seemed uncomfortable in this new place.
Was I making him feel unwelcome, drawing attention to his appearance by upgrading mine? Or was I simply showing respect for God and church? Was I hindering the Good News by creating a difference between us? Or was I helping the Good News by showing someone that Jesus and his church mattered to me?
I sometimes remember guests like this person when I change into Sunday clothes before leaving home. Back when I was bussing to church most weeks, I’d “go casual” for the commute (neckties can draw attention at Westlake at 8:00 on Sunday mornings) and change into collar-and-tie at church, out of respect for our traditional-style worship service and for my job. But my frequent decision to change my appearance began to make me puzzle over where my duty of service lay: to folks who, rightly, want to know that I take my ministry to them seriously, or to visitors who can’t afford collared shirts and ties.
Growing up in my family, it wasn’t even a question: a churchgoer needed to look nice out of respect for the Lord. Plus, being a mid-Atlantic pastor’s kid, my choice of dress reflected upon my highly visible parents, so dressing up was never even a question in my childhood. I just did it, and that was that.
But as a teenager, I remember becoming very uncomfortable with the “inaccessibility” of having to dress nicely on Sunday. Didn’t God love me exactly as I was? Didn’t other teens in the church need to know that God loves us regardless of how we look? And so I sometimes wore T-shirts and shorts.
It’s the age-old question of liturgical aesthetic preference, and neither party is “correct” over the other. Jesus affirms the woman’s decision to pour extravagant perfume on him (Matthew 26, Mark 14, Luke 7, John 12). The Hebrews are instructed—instructed!—to be ornamental in their construction of the Tabernacle (see Exodus). Presentation can be an act of worship in and of itself.
But coming “as we are” has merit, too: witness Jesus’ decision to associate with prostitutes, tax collectors, and lepers. The very manner of the Incarnation—God becomes a baby refugee born in squalor—shows us that God desires the company of people who don’t have the means to look nice, and a church wanting to reach out to homeless folk, street youth, and the un-churched needs to take this aspect of Jesus’ character seriously.
So both answers are correct. We show our respect for God and guest by dressing up, and we ought to affirm that practice like millions of Christians every week choose to do. And we also show respect for our less- privileged neighbor by choosing to keep it simple so that our guests won’t feel like sore thumbs when they visit. Both modes of dress are worshipful to God, and if our fellowship is able to present a diverse mix of the two when we gather, so much the better.
The question is less about preference than about service. By dressing up, we honor the Lord by offering the respect and devotion due him. Or by dressing simply, we honor the Lord by showing solidarity with our less- fortunate neighbors. Jesus deserves our absolute best, and strangers deserve our absolute hospitality. When people come in from the bus, let’s witness in both ways.
Peace,
John Harrell