New Clothes, New Life
by Paul L. Larsen
Easter Sunday
- A pastor went to see a man who lived in the community but never attended
church. He told him, "We would love to have you come to our church." The man
replied, "But I can't." The pastor asked, "Well, why not?" The man replied,
"Clothes. I don't have any good clothes." The pastor thought a moment and
then said, "If I talk with the men of our church and we get you some new
clothes, then will you go to church?" The man said that he would. The pastor
talked with the men and together they donated over $500. The pastor went out
and bought the man a beautiful new suit and took it to him. The pastor said,
"Now you'll go to church on Sunday, right?" The man looked at his new suit
with a big smile on his face and said, "I sure will, Pastor." Sunday morning
came and the pastor looked out over the congregation, but the man was not
there. So he went to the man's house that afternoon and there he was wearing
his new suit. The pastor asked, "I thought you said that if we got you a new
suit you would go to church?" The man smiled and said, "Well, Pastor, I did
go to church. You see, when I put on this new suit it looked so good on me
that I went to the Episcopal Church!"
It looks to me like many of you got new clothes for Easter. You look great,
but I am glad you came here instead of the Episcopalian church! (1)
Getting new clothes is a symbolic tradition that can be traced all the way
back to Jesus. In our gospel text a surprising amount of attention is paid
to the fact that when Peter and the disciple Jesus loved looked into the
tomb, they saw that Jesus was not there, but that the graveclothes were
still there. The text says that the linen wrappings were lying there, and
that the cloth that had been on Jesus head was not with the linen
wrappings, but was rolled up in a place by itself. The gospel writer wanted
to emphasize that Jesus had been raised from the dead. If his body had been
stolen, the body snatchers would not have taken the time to unwrap the
graveclothes. Jesus left them behind because he didnt need them any more.
They were graveclothes and he had burst out of the tomb. He was alive!
Now, some have wondered where he got new clothes. Some have even speculated
that he borrowed some clothing from the cemetery caretaker because Mary
Magdalene mistook him for the gardener. I dont think that is a big issue.
If God is powerful enough to raise Jesus from the dead, he can certainly
arrange for a new suit of clothes.
God wants us to have some new clothes too. Sometimes we are dressed in
graveclothes also. We are wearing clothes that are fitting for death.
Sometimes we are wrapped in a mantel of fear. We can be afraid of the
future; afraid of losing our job; afraid of losing our love relationship;
afraid of what the doctor is going to tell us; afraid of death. That fear
can paralyze us and keep us from really living.
In Matthews account of the resurrection the first words the angel says to
the women who came to the tomb were, "Do not be afraid." The story continues
and these women encounter Jesus as they are running back to the disciples
and the first thing Jesus says to them is, "Do not be afraid."
Just as Jesus left his graveclothes behind, so we can get rid of our mantel
of fear. We do not need to be afraid. One of the most frequent admonitions
in the Bible is "Do not be afraid." or "Fear not." or "Do not fear." There
is over 100 Bible verses that tell us we should let go of our fear. One of
my favorites is from Isaiah 41:10, "Fear not, for I am with you, be not
dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will
uphold you with my victorious right hand."
We can let go of our fears because God is stronger than anything that might
threaten us. God is even stronger than death. So we can leave behind the
graveclothes of fear and we can join St. Paul in putting on the whole armor
of God. We can gird our loins with truth and put on the breastplate of
righteousness. We can carry the shield of faith and wear the helmet of
salvation. With that armor we can leave fear behind and live in faith.
Sometimes we also dress ourselves in the dark clothes of despair. We can
feel helpless and hopeless, which leads to sadness and depression. There is
much to be sad about in our world: hunger, homelessness, poverty and pain.
We can despair over all the conflict and violence that exists and we can
feel helpless to change it.
After the crucifixion, I am sure the mood of Jesus followers was that of
despair. They were sure he was the one to free Israel. They had followed him
in faith for years and now they had seen him executed in the most
excruciating way possible. They could not help but be depressed.
But, when they saw the empty tomb and the graveclothes lying there, when
they heard the angels announce to them, "He is not here; for He has risen!"
their hearts must have almost burst with joy. Just as Jesus left his
graveclothes behind, so they could get rid of their dark clothes of despair
and begin wearing rainbow colored robes of rejoicing. And so can we! We can
live as people filled with Easter joy for God has promised to be with us and
strengthen us and give us new life. The promise empowers us to live in a new
way.
- John Maxwell tells a story about a blue blazer that he bought from Nordstroms
Department Store. He had it for about a year and a half and the more he
wore it the more he knew he didnt like it. It wasnt the right color and it
attracted lint like it was a magnet. After wearing it for six months he put
it in the closet and didnt wear it any more. About a year later he got to
thinking about Nordstroms famous unconditional-return policy. He thought
there was no way they would ever take it back after 18 months, especially
after wearing it a bunch. But, he decided he had nothing to lose. He pulled
the blazer out, threw a lot of lint on it to make it look bad, and took it
down to Nordstroms mens department. He walked in, and immediately felt
nervous. He felt like he was about to pull a scam of some sort. But he
walked up to the first salesman he saw and gave his little prepared speech.
He said, "I am about to put your famous unconditional-return policy to its
ultimate test. I bought this blazer here. Ive worn it lots. Ive had it for
a year and a half. I dont like it. Its the wrong color, and it attracts
lint like its going out of style. But I want to return this blazer for
another blazer that I like." Then he stood there. He couldnt believe it.
This salesman with a big handlebar mustache just looked at him and shook his
head. He said, "For heavens sake, what took you so long? Lets go find you a
blazer." Ten minutes later he walked out with another blazer that was marked
seventy-five dollars more than what he paid for the one that he brought in.
It was perfect. It didnt cost him a penny. His conclusion was that in a
small way, the Nordstrom Department Store is a lot like God. They are
willing to back up their promises. (2)
God has told us that we do not need to be afraid, that we dont need to
dismay or be in despair because promises to be with us. He promises he will
strengthen us and help us and uphold us with his victorious right hand. We
can trust in that promise. And when we do we find that we not only have new
clothes, we have a new life.
Sometimes we can find ourselves clothed in the filthy rags of sin. Dragged
through the dirt of doing the wrong thing; torn by the pull of temptations;
shredded by lies and deceit; we are ashamed of what we are wearing. We think
there is no soap that can ever get our clothes clean again. We feel dirty
and guilty and unacceptable.
But that is why Jesus died. He died so that our sins could be forgiven. He
died so that we could leave behind those sinful rags and receive his gift of
the bright, white robes of righteousness.
A pastor tells of how they used to do baptisms in the church where he grew
up. The church was right next to the river so in the spring, once the water
was warm enough, baptismal candidates were baptized in the river. On their
baptism day they symbolically left their old clothes on the river bank, were
baptized by immersion and then were given a brand new white robe to wear. It
was a reminder that they were leaving the old life behind and through
baptism they were entering into a new life, clothed in Gods righteousness.
With his crucifixion and resurrection Jesus not only leaves his graveclothes
behind, he leaves death behind. What is more he tells us we can leave death
behind also. Through the power of his resurrection we are raised to new life
also.
St. Paul emphasizes that as he speaks about baptism in Romans 6:4 saying,
"Therefore we have been buried with him by baptism into death, so that, just
as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, so we too
might walk in newness of life." We can live in a new way right now. God has
promised us not only new clothes, but a new life. Easter and the
resurrection means that we can leave our old sin, our old guilt, our old
shame behind in a dark, cold, empty tomb and bury them there, because God
gives us a new life to live as a loved and forgiven person.
- Pastor Bass Mitchell tells of the terrible grief he and his family
experienced over the sudden death of his father-in-law, Bennie. One minute
Bennie was seemingly healthy and the next minute he had a massive heart
attack and died. When the family was trying to clean up Bennies house they
came across his clothes. They gave some of them to Bass, since they wore the
same size. Many were like new, but he couldnt even bear to look at them.
Then one day while searching through the closets for items to donate to a
church yard sale, he came across this sport coat he had seen Bennie wear. It
was gray with light blue lines running up and across. There was nothing
fancy about it. Bass took the coat off the rack and looked it over. He was
about to hang it back up when I noticed something in the inside pocket. It
was a folded piece of paper - a church bulletin. Bennie must have tucked
there the last time he had worn the sport coat. The bulletin cover was light
purple with a Bible open to Mark chapters 15 and 16. Beside the Bible were
white lilies and one bright candle. Written in script at the top in dark
purple was the word, "Alleluia!" It was a bulletin for Easter! Easter
Sunday, April 7, 1996! Of all that could have been there, of the other 51
Sundays in the year, the one and only item in Bennies coat was a bulletin
that proclaimed the message of Easter! Bass had been feeling like it was
Good Friday for so long, but now Easter started to come for him in a deeply
personal way. For he knew as surely as he stood there holding this coat that
Bennie had been given new clothes, Easter clothes, and he didn't need these
anymore! (3)
The good news of Easter is that the Great Designer has Easter clothes fitted
and made for us too. We can wear the clean, new Easter outfit that is
befitting a loved and forgiven person. We can wear those new clothes and
live in a new way because Christ is risen. He is risen indeed! And because
he lives we shall also live. Alleluia! Amen.
References:
- New Clothes (Sermon for Easter C) by Bass Mitchell from Homiliesbyemail.com
- The Empty Promises of Easter by Steve Kellett Sermoncentral.com
- Homiliesbyemail.com
(Comments to Paul at paullarsen@mediaone.net.)
Christ the King Lutheran Church
New Brighton, MN