New Clothes
“New Clothes” by Pastor Rosanna McFadden
Good morning! This is the final Sunday which we will be considering a text from the book of Colossians. I’d like to say that I have saved the best for last, but I believe that all of these texts have been theologically rich and beautifully written. Whether the sermons have been as meaningful is a different matter, and not really for me to say, but I hope that my encouragement for you to do your own reading and study has helped to fill in some of those gaps.
As with the other passages from Colossians which we have considered, there is a lot of material here — enough for a month of sermons. I want to start with verse 14 which says, “Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony.” Although I didn’t have Mike read it this morning, this is a continuation of an idea which the author of Colossians has been developing about new life, new behavior and new identity in Christ. Verse 9 and 10 say, “You have stripped off the old self with its practices and have clothed yourselves with the new self.” Taking off the old so you can put on something new is a great image — at least if you don’t imagine it too specifically. I had a clever classmate in seminary who got our attention at the beginning of a sermon by proclaiming: The kingdom of heaven is like a nudist colony; before you can get it, you have to leave everything behind. Like I said, don’t imagine in too much detail, but the idea of new clothes is a biblical one.
The concept of stripping off the old self, and anger, malice, and abusive language and being clothed with a new identity of compassion, kindness, humility and patience is based on the early church practice of baptism. The church which the early apostles knew practiced believer’s baptism, and baptism was understood to represent dying to self and being made alive in Christ. Candidates for baptism literally left behind their old clothes and their old identities and were give a white robe when they came up from the waters of baptism. Baptism was about identity as a follower of Christ, not membership in the institution of the Church, or protection from purgatory, or wherever unbaptized people go when they die. Some of those other meanings and practices have gotten folded into understandings of baptism as the church became aligned with the state later in its history. None of us in the Western church have an understanding of baptism which is not colored by that history, but part of what our Anabaptist ancestors (ana means “again”) were re-claiming by being re-baptized, is that baptism is a public commitment to be followers of Christ; and this more than simply becoming a member of the Church.
You may hear in the baptismal formula of verses 11 and 12, which state that In that new life there is no longer Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised. Barbarian, Sythian, slave and free, but Christ is all and in all! This is an echo of Galatians 3:27 and 28 which also uses the image of baptismal clothes: As many of you were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male or female, for all of you are one in Christ Jesus.
Any biblical theme which is this consistently presented makes it worth asking, What clothes should we be wearing? If we have made a commitment to Jesus Christ, through baptism or without the ritual of baptism, what does that look like? Verses 12 and 13 of Colossians 3 say, “clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, meekness and patience.” Verse 14 declares, above all, clothe yourselves with love. Those sound like nice clothes, but how do they fit? Are they sometimes a bit itchy or uncomfortable?
You probably know the story of the emperor’s new clothes — here’s a summary by AI:
“The Emperor’s New Clothes,” a classic fairy tale by Hans Christian Andersen, tells of an emperor obsessed with new clothes who is tricked by two swindlers. The swindlers claim to weave a magical fabric invisible to anyone unfit for their position or foolish. The emperor, and his court, pretend to see the magnificent clothes to avoid appearing incompetent or unintelligent. Ultimately, a child points out that the emperor is actually naked, revealing the truth and exposing the collective delusion.
In that story, what are supposed to be magical clothes are not magical at all — the clothes are a hoax. Being clothed with love may not be magical, but is different than wearing regular clothes; wearing love means that we have to change to fit into our clothes, rather than making our clothes fit us. Wearing compassion, humility and patience may be an uncomfortable fit — maybe our egos make our humility a bit too tight, or perhaps our patience is wearing thin. Commitment to Christ means shedding a few grudges or losing some disdain for other people so we can fit into those new clothes. It isn’t so much that being clothed in love will make us look better; being clothed in love will make us look like Christ. The goal is for people to look at what we’re wearing and say, that is a great ensemble of humility and kindness, and isn’t that pattern of love something I’ve seen before . . . maybe on a family member or a teacher who made a positive impact on my life. If we are parading around pretending to be Christians, and we aren’t wearing a shred of love, we will be exposed as frauds — our hypocrisy will be hanging out there for anyone to see. Worse, we will leave the message of Christianity in rags and tatters. Colossians 3:17 says, “Whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus.” Pay attention to what you wear; it tells other people what brand is important to you and how much you are willing to pay for your clothes. If your clothes haven’t cost you much, you are making a statement; it’s probably not a statement about how Christ has changed your life and you have committed to be clothed in love.
Some final words as we leave the book of Colossians for a while. This book makes some bold statements about the nature of Jesus Christ — he is the image of the invisible God, was with God when all things in heaven and earth were created; he is the head of the Church, and has reconciled all things to him through the blood of the cross. But alongside these lofty statements is some pretty practical advice about how to share the love of Christ and function together in the church: let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts; sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs to God; whatever you do in word or deed, do it in the name of the Lord Jesus, and be thankful.
Finding all these statements interspersed in the book of Colossians tells me what the Anabaptists were on to 500 years ago: living a Christian life is not about having either correct belief or having correct behavior: it isn’t an either/or, being clothed in the love of Christ is a both/and. Neither theology nor practice alone will save us. We need to be fully clothed–in believing that we are saved by the blood of the cross, and that we must forgive others and allow ourselves to be forgiven by them. Compassion, humility and patience never go out of style; they look good on everybody.This is how we let the word of Christ dwell in us richly: the Word which we both believe and embody. May God bless our hearing and our living of this Word. Amen.