Our Theme for Advent...

 

Every morning, the sun rises, alarm clocks sound, foggy eyes open, and then, at some point,

we get dressed. Socks, underwear, pants, shirts, and shoes: we don clothing that rightly

corresponds to our vocations, our culture, and even the weather outside. Our clothing serves

as the marker that sets us apart as a species and as an indicator of societal and individual values

and traits. As Mark Twain once said, “Clothes make the man. Naked people have little or no

influence on society.”

Twain may have been right on that first part, but his statement excludes the first naked people

in history, Adam and Eve. And we would argue these two have had quite the influence on who

we are and where we are going due to both their lack of clothes as well as their eventual attire.

And so it follows that clothing in the Bible is more than a tangential detail. In fact, clothing

often has significant implications for revealing God’s plan of redemption, for our Creator is

also the first tailor, seamstress, and cobbler. Despite their rebellion, he covered Adam and Eve’s

shame and nakedness. Later, he designed and instructed the Israelites on the priestly garments

of the Tabernacle, which all have an intricately thought-out purpose and intent for the people

to fellowship with their God. The biblical authors use both metaphorical and actual descriptions

of priestly and royal garments to point us to the one true Priest and King, Jesus. And it’s

this King, first wrapped in the rags of a swaddle, who then hangs naked on the cross in order

to clothe us in the riches of his righteousness.

During the Sundays in Advent our Sermon Series tells the stories of the clothing of the King. Stories

 that describe a wardrobe at once splendid and sin-stained, with fabrics that reveal who we are and

cover us all the same. The clothing of the King is tattered and worn and glorious in its incorruptibility.

It isn’t ours, yet he gives it to us freely.

You can also download a daily Advent Devotion on this theme found in the Devotional Thought  tab.