Dressing the Part
Text: Ephesians 6:10-20
There is a certain power in putting on a costume or a uniform. In a dramatic production, one is stepping into a role, of playing the part. Quite often actors will say that putting on makeup, or donning the costume for their role really helps them get into character. It completes the transformation, and allows them to really get into the role once they get on stage or in front of the camera. The same is also true for real life, especially in those professions that have uniforms. By donning clothing for the role at work, we go from Joe or Jane Average to Dr. Jane, or Constable Joe. I know from my own experience, putting on this alb helps me to focus on my role in leading worship from Sunday to Sunday. Not only that, people are far less likely to be distracted by what I might otherwise be wearing. Historically, in the church, everybody put one of these on… so there was no distinction between those who were rich or poor. Everyone was equal in the sight of God. There is something to be said for dressing the part.
As much as we hate to admit it, clothing, the way we dress is not as superficial as we might want to think; it reveals a lot about our sense of identity. It is an expression of who we are, and who we want to be. I remember in high school, where students fit were often identified by their clothes. Certain things don’t change… even with school uniforms, the little tweaks here and there can reveal a great deal about the person inside the clothes. We know from our own experience that there is such a desire to belong and fit in, that it often finds expression in what we wear… It certainly continues past high school, into our professional and social lives. Dress the part!
Surely being a Christian is more than dressing the part? Elsewhere, Paul says (Rom 13) that we ought to “put on Christ.” Is that all it is? Put on your Sunday best, look dull and dignified, and people will think that you are religious?
Of course, it is more than that, but it is certainly not less than that. The person who says to us if we complain we have some trouble believing this or that Christian doctrine, “Well just try to believe, it will come to you,” has something to commend this advice. Sometimes it is in making believe that we come to believe. The church once spoke of a “baptism of desire.” To receive the power of the sacraments, as God intended, the person participating in the sacrament had at least to desire to effect that which the sacrament promised. Just go ahead, go through the motions, and we promise that eventually it will come to you. You’ll get it. God will give you that which you now only desire.
In some ways the robes that people once wore were a physical reminder of what they were stepping into. Again, Paul wrote about “Putting on Christ” in Romans. That whole line of thought is at a whole new level with Ephesians… putting on the “whole armour of God.” It seems rather militaristic really, so we tend to let this one go… or worse yet, let fundamentalists get their hands on it. But this is metaphor at its finest. In essence this writing shows one dressing for combat. Armour was what one put on when going into battle. It is an imagining of putting on a uniform… armour… during a time when it was dangerous to be identified as a Christian.
Yet a careful look at this, it’s not saying “take up your arms for Christ.” It’s saying “put on the whole armour of God.” Arms and weapons are offensive. Armour, is defensive. At a time when the Roman authorities had targeted Christians as being disloyal to the Empire, they needed words of encouragement… to help them resist and survive some very dark times. Before even getting into the details, Ephesians describes this “struggle is not against enemies of blood and flesh, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.” Right off the bat, the armour that they put on is not physical armour, but a way to resist what was happening around them.
For the past number of weeks, I have been leading a study on the development of the early church. A large part of this was reminding ourselves that the Christian church did not develop in a vacuum, neither did the New Testament. Much of it was born out of experiencing the world around them. The Roman authorities were hostile to early Christians, and there was a creeping movement that was beginning to undermine the integrity of the church from within. No wonder they felt as if they were under siege!
So, put on the whole armour of God. This is a metaphor that has power: the belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, the shoes of peace, carry the shield of peace, put on the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit. These are the tools that you will need to withstand, to resist all of the dangers you will face. Even the sword in this capacity is used defensively, to deflect or parry blows. There they were, down in the trenches, facing persecution at every turn. You’re a new Christian buddy? You’re braver than you look… Here, put this on, because, trust me, you’re going to need it! Step into the role, try it out, wear the uniform, and learn what it is to be a follower of Christ. Dress the part!
Maybe faith is something that we must act like we have in order to have it. Or, as John Wesley once said to his preachers, “Preach faith until you have it.” In that we can find a certain strength in those times when we don’t feel as if we really have it deep down.
Maybe the way to become a full, active Christian is to get up, get dressed on Sunday morning, genuinely participate in all the rituals of the church: come and worship together, take communion, join in the prayers, come and sing, participate in the life and work of the church, and then one day you wake up and you discover that you truly are Christian.
So many things in life work like this, why shouldn’t the Christian faith?
In the same way that the actor puts on makeup to get into the role, or that the police officer puts on the uniform, there is something to be said of taking on the role and letting it become a part of who we are. We tend to want it the other way around, that we get everything figured out first before we start looking or behaving like a Christian, because anything else would be superficial. I have to admit, I struggle with this myself… because if we get too hung up on “looking” the part, all we end up caring about is appearances. We live in a society that seems to be obsessed with appearances, and very little substance. If our lives as Christians are about superficial appearances, it means nothing!
But this isn’t what the whole armour is about. It isn’t what dressing the part is about.
As human beings, very few of us can really learn well by listening. As I mentioned several months ago, a sermon is not really the best way to teach people the faith. Most people learn by doing, by participating, by getting their hands on stuff and being a part of what’s going on. We know with our children, that they learn best by getting their hands on stuff, of holding on to it, rather than sitting back and letting someone else tell them about it. Trust me, I know… I spend much of my time discovering what my daughter has gotten into next. She does what I like to call “commando crawling” around on her elbows. She gets under the computer desk and into the wires, when there are perfectly good toys to play with all over the floor. She reaches for the keyboard to my computer when she is on my lap… she wants to participate and get her hands (and mouth) all over everything. If baby slobber wasn’t so bad for the keyboard, I’d let her do it! She learns by doing, by participating, by experiencing stuff and as human beings it’s something that doesn’t change.
Maybe faith is something we have to actively get involved with, get our hands on and really experience firsthand before it takes root deep down. According to German folklore, there once was a wicked man who put on the mask of a saint to woo and win the saintly girl he loved. Many years later, a former girlfriend who had long since been dumped discovered the deception. She confronted him, challenged him to take off the mask in front of his new beloved and show his face for the sorry thing he was. He did what he was told only to discover that underneath the saint’s mask, his face had become the face of a saint.
We learn by doing, we learn by living. By putting on the whole armour of God, by living and experiencing what it is to walk in the footsteps of Christ, and being willing to make a few mistakes along the way, we come away changed. It helps us to genuinely complete the transformation from the outside down to the core of our being. There is something to be said about dressing the part.
Amen.
Special thanks to Will Willimon’s Pulpit Resource for some ideas and phrasing in elements of this sermon.
There is a certain power in putting on a costume or a uniform. In a dramatic production, one is stepping into a role, of playing the part. Quite often actors will say that putting on makeup, or donning the costume for their role really helps them get into character. It completes the transformation, and allows them to really get into the role once they get on stage or in front of the camera. The same is also true for real life, especially in those professions that have uniforms. By donning clothing for the role at work, we go from Joe or Jane Average to Dr. Jane, or Constable Joe. I know from my own experience, putting on this alb helps me to focus on my role in leading worship from Sunday to Sunday. Not only that, people are far less likely to be distracted by what I might otherwise be wearing. Historically, in the church, everybody put one of these on… so there was no distinction between those who were rich or poor. Everyone was equal in the sight of God. There is something to be said for dressing the part.
As much as we hate to admit it, clothing, the way we dress is not as superficial as we might want to think; it reveals a lot about our sense of identity. It is an expression of who we are, and who we want to be. I remember in high school, where students fit were often identified by their clothes. Certain things don’t change… even with school uniforms, the little tweaks here and there can reveal a great deal about the person inside the clothes. We know from our own experience that there is such a desire to belong and fit in, that it often finds expression in what we wear… It certainly continues past high school, into our professional and social lives. Dress the part!
Surely being a Christian is more than dressing the part? Elsewhere, Paul says (Rom 13) that we ought to “put on Christ.” Is that all it is? Put on your Sunday best, look dull and dignified, and people will think that you are religious?
Of course, it is more than that, but it is certainly not less than that. The person who says to us if we complain we have some trouble believing this or that Christian doctrine, “Well just try to believe, it will come to you,” has something to commend this advice. Sometimes it is in making believe that we come to believe. The church once spoke of a “baptism of desire.” To receive the power of the sacraments, as God intended, the person participating in the sacrament had at least to desire to effect that which the sacrament promised. Just go ahead, go through the motions, and we promise that eventually it will come to you. You’ll get it. God will give you that which you now only desire.
In some ways the robes that people once wore were a physical reminder of what they were stepping into. Again, Paul wrote about “Putting on Christ” in Romans. That whole line of thought is at a whole new level with Ephesians… putting on the “whole armour of God.” It seems rather militaristic really, so we tend to let this one go… or worse yet, let fundamentalists get their hands on it. But this is metaphor at its finest. In essence this writing shows one dressing for combat. Armour was what one put on when going into battle. It is an imagining of putting on a uniform… armour… during a time when it was dangerous to be identified as a Christian.
Yet a careful look at this, it’s not saying “take up your arms for Christ.” It’s saying “put on the whole armour of God.” Arms and weapons are offensive. Armour, is defensive. At a time when the Roman authorities had targeted Christians as being disloyal to the Empire, they needed words of encouragement… to help them resist and survive some very dark times. Before even getting into the details, Ephesians describes this “struggle is not against enemies of blood and flesh, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.” Right off the bat, the armour that they put on is not physical armour, but a way to resist what was happening around them.
For the past number of weeks, I have been leading a study on the development of the early church. A large part of this was reminding ourselves that the Christian church did not develop in a vacuum, neither did the New Testament. Much of it was born out of experiencing the world around them. The Roman authorities were hostile to early Christians, and there was a creeping movement that was beginning to undermine the integrity of the church from within. No wonder they felt as if they were under siege!
So, put on the whole armour of God. This is a metaphor that has power: the belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, the shoes of peace, carry the shield of peace, put on the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit. These are the tools that you will need to withstand, to resist all of the dangers you will face. Even the sword in this capacity is used defensively, to deflect or parry blows. There they were, down in the trenches, facing persecution at every turn. You’re a new Christian buddy? You’re braver than you look… Here, put this on, because, trust me, you’re going to need it! Step into the role, try it out, wear the uniform, and learn what it is to be a follower of Christ. Dress the part!
Maybe faith is something that we must act like we have in order to have it. Or, as John Wesley once said to his preachers, “Preach faith until you have it.” In that we can find a certain strength in those times when we don’t feel as if we really have it deep down.
Maybe the way to become a full, active Christian is to get up, get dressed on Sunday morning, genuinely participate in all the rituals of the church: come and worship together, take communion, join in the prayers, come and sing, participate in the life and work of the church, and then one day you wake up and you discover that you truly are Christian.
So many things in life work like this, why shouldn’t the Christian faith?
In the same way that the actor puts on makeup to get into the role, or that the police officer puts on the uniform, there is something to be said of taking on the role and letting it become a part of who we are. We tend to want it the other way around, that we get everything figured out first before we start looking or behaving like a Christian, because anything else would be superficial. I have to admit, I struggle with this myself… because if we get too hung up on “looking” the part, all we end up caring about is appearances. We live in a society that seems to be obsessed with appearances, and very little substance. If our lives as Christians are about superficial appearances, it means nothing!
But this isn’t what the whole armour is about. It isn’t what dressing the part is about.
As human beings, very few of us can really learn well by listening. As I mentioned several months ago, a sermon is not really the best way to teach people the faith. Most people learn by doing, by participating, by getting their hands on stuff and being a part of what’s going on. We know with our children, that they learn best by getting their hands on stuff, of holding on to it, rather than sitting back and letting someone else tell them about it. Trust me, I know… I spend much of my time discovering what my daughter has gotten into next. She does what I like to call “commando crawling” around on her elbows. She gets under the computer desk and into the wires, when there are perfectly good toys to play with all over the floor. She reaches for the keyboard to my computer when she is on my lap… she wants to participate and get her hands (and mouth) all over everything. If baby slobber wasn’t so bad for the keyboard, I’d let her do it! She learns by doing, by participating, by experiencing stuff and as human beings it’s something that doesn’t change.
Maybe faith is something we have to actively get involved with, get our hands on and really experience firsthand before it takes root deep down. According to German folklore, there once was a wicked man who put on the mask of a saint to woo and win the saintly girl he loved. Many years later, a former girlfriend who had long since been dumped discovered the deception. She confronted him, challenged him to take off the mask in front of his new beloved and show his face for the sorry thing he was. He did what he was told only to discover that underneath the saint’s mask, his face had become the face of a saint.
We learn by doing, we learn by living. By putting on the whole armour of God, by living and experiencing what it is to walk in the footsteps of Christ, and being willing to make a few mistakes along the way, we come away changed. It helps us to genuinely complete the transformation from the outside down to the core of our being. There is something to be said about dressing the part.
Amen.
Special thanks to Will Willimon’s Pulpit Resource for some ideas and phrasing in elements of this sermon.
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