August 24, 2003
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Have
you ever had the experience of choosing an outfit from underwear to outerwear
that you knew was fabulous? Do you have in your memory a recollection of a time
when you thought you looked perfectly fine? Everything from your hair to your
shoes was just right. Your emerged from your room, ready to take on the world
only to have someone say, “Is that what you’re wearing?” Perhaps
the question causes you to change your clothes. Maybe you didn’t change your
clothes, but a little bit of the confidence you had is gone. Is that what
you’re wearing? The
night I graduated from high school, several hundred Compton High School
graduates joined several thousand other high school graduates for GRAD night at
Disneyland. From 11 pm to 6 am, the park was at the mercy of young people and
their chaperones. The dress code was slacks, jackets, and ties for young men and
skirts, dresses, or pantsuits for young women (the pantsuit exemption was new
that year). Jeans, sneakers, and anything with a school insignia on it was not
allowed. This
coming Thursday will mark the fortieth anniversary of the momentous civil rights
March on Washington. People had come by bus and train and plane and car to
Washington DC. If you have ever been in Washington in August, you know that it
can be a hot and humid place. That March was, as many of you know, the occasion
of Martin Luther King Jr.’s historic “I Have A Dream” speech. As you watch
the news clips from that day, I want you to see how the clothes the marchers
wore reflected their attitudes about the day. There they were in late August,
walking and watching and waiting in the sun, many of the women were in dresses
and shoes that looked good, but were not meant for walking long distances. Many
of the men were in suits; most of them wore dress shirts and ties. They dressed
up because that is what adults did then. They also dressed up because they had
come to the nation’s capital on important business. They came to what Martin
Luther King described in his speech as “the symbolic shadow” of Abraham
Lincoln, to petition the government for the full rights of a citizenship in this
nation. Their clothes reflected their attitude of gravity and anticipation. What
we wear is important. But having said all that, I want to be clear this morning
that I am not going to spend any time telling you what clothes you should wear
to church on Sunday morning. I trust you to dress in a way that respects the
household of God. I am going to spend some time telling you that the spiritual
attitude you bring to worship is far more important than the clothes you put on
your body. What
attitude did you put on this morning? Did you put on mere obligation so that
your body is here but your spirit is elsewhere? Did you come with joy, knowing
that you would be blessed to go out and bless others? Are you unsure of what
your attitude is, but you just know that this was the best place for you to be
on this beautiful summer day? Is that what you are wearing? This
morning’s reading from First Kings reminds us that the attitude we wear does
matter. Under Solomon’s
leadership, the Temple has been built, and on this day of dedication, the Ark of
the Covenant, and other sacred items have been placed in the building where God
will be worshipped. If
you have ever been to the dedication of a new church building, you know that it
is a high moment in a congregation’s life. The service celebrates the good
news that they have accomplished a great task and are ready to thank and praise
God. My
favorite moment in a dedication service comes when the sacred, special things
are brought into the new space. With great music playing, the paraments, the
communion elements, the Bible are put in their special places. It is a glorious
sight. One of the reasons it is so glorious is that the people have come to the
service wearing their best attitudes of thanksgiving and fulfillment. In
Solomon’s day, people were thankful for the presence of God in the Temple and
in their lives. In my mind I see them marching into the brand new Temple looking
to God and acting with gratitude for this moment. When the people dressed with
thanksgiving and praise, God showed up in an incredible, visible way. We
know that “when the ark is placed in its new home, the importance of the
moment is confirmed by a sign from God, a ‘cloud’ which [fills up] the
Temple so much that the priests had
to stop what they were doing. Verse 11 describes this cloud as “the glory of
the LORD’. The Temple is not only
beautiful aesthetically, it is the one place where – above all others – God
is to be found! (Texts for Preaching
–Year B. Louisville: Westminster/John Knox Press, 1993, p.476). We want God to show up in this place not just today, but every day so that when we come through these doors, we know that God can be found here. We want God to show up and stay in us so that when we leave this place the glory of God will go with us wherever we are. I
read a sidebar in a magazine article the other day that saddened me. It says
that “two thirds of regular church attendees say they’ve never
experienced God’s presence in a church service. And 48% of church members have
not experienced God’s presence in the past year” (Rev.
September/October, 2003, p.18). Those
numbers suggest that many people do not expect anything meaningful to happen in
church and that their low expectations are met most of the time. They do not
believe God will be in the sanctuary or anywhere in the building and so they do
not look. Or, they are looking for God, they want to find God but events in
their own lives or the cynical, negative temperament of other people gets in the
way. Will a change of clothes help? Maybe
so. The reading from Ephesians serves as a kind of spiritual fashion consultant
that helps us find the fulfillment we seek. The first hearers of this word are
members of the church, and the advice to them is to put on the best spiritual
dress they can. It is good advice to us too. What
are the faithful attitudes we might wear? Looking at the battle dress of Roman
soldiers, Paul says let their clothing and attitude become the metaphor for your
own attitude. They are dressed in the strength of the Roman Empire in such a way
as to defend themselves against attacking foes. I don’t want us to get too
caught up in the military imagery, look at the big picture, which is to be
prepared to defend yourself against all that comes at your spirit. Paul really
is not concerned with battle dress. He is concerned with faith dress. You,
church of Jesus Christ have some things coming at you. Evil is real; that which
denies you as a child of God is all around, I want you to be prepared to oppose
its onslaught. Here is the equipment, here is the attitude, the state of mind we
are advised to put on as we defend the faith and defend ourselves against all
that would shake our faith. What
comes at us are attacks designed to make us think that we don’t matter, what
we do does not matter, that the church of Jesus Christ has no relevance in our
nation or the world, and that God does not matter, so our faith does not matter.
Voices of evil and hopelessness tell us to put on doubt and unbelief. We see
coming at us attitudes that tell us that we are so irredeemably and irreversibly
worthless that there is no good in us at all, that diversity in God’s house
will not help us grow, and that warfare, hatred, and injustice are the order of
the day. If there is no point in believing in God, then we are simply left to
our own devices and so we are free to do whatever makes us feel good with no
thought of the consequences. If
we can be convinced that God does not care for us, then the day is not far off
when we will be totally deprived of the very breath our souls require to keep us
connected to God. Ephesians
6 says do not wear the lies and deceptions and clothes of the evil one. Stand
up, if you can’t do anything else, stand up and try on the clothes laid out
for you by God and Jesus Christ, and the leading of the Holy Spirit. How
do we dress in faithfulness? We take off all that does not strengthen our
relationship with God, and we put on the armor of God. That is how we stand firm
against every evil, negative thing that comes against us. Ephesians
speaks of belts, breastplates, shoes and shields, helmets and a sword in a
spiritual way. How are we to dress to protect our spirits? We take off lies and
wrap truth around us the way a soldier puts on a belt. We take off
unrighteousness and protect ourselves with the righteousness of God. We kick off
fear and injustice, and put on our feet all that helps us move toward peace and
service to others. We come to understand that unbelief will not save us but that
faith will. And we cast off damnation, and let Christ crown us with salvation.
Then we take up the sword of the Spirit, not to take life, but to proclaim that
we act in the word of God. We act in the name of Christ described by John as the
word of God (John 1), and known to us through the pages of the Bible. Paul,
writing from prison declares himself dressed and ready to go. But we are not
quite dressed yet. Before we are completely ready, we need to add a few
accessories. Soldiers may have had a pouch for food or money. We add earrings,
watches, scarves, and ties. As we dress in faith, we add some accents too. We
add prayer. It is what Paul writing from prison wears, and he asks the church to
become a praying community too. Talking
regularly with God is our best accessory. It is the one that clears our minds,
and relieves our anxiety as we offer God our longings, our confessions,
intercessions, and our thanks and praise. When
we are dressed to go out in the name of God, we not only put on prayer, but a
few other things as well. We put on a commitment to the task of discovering and
claiming and doing ministry that builds community, strengthens our spirits and
declares that we seek God’s justice in the world. We
add vision – we look down the road to where we want to be and we organize with
our dollars and devotions to get there. Then we add enthusiasm. The word
enthusiasm means to be excited, to be sure. But in its original Greek form, en
theos, the word means to be inspired by God. Let’s get excited enough about
what we do here to tell everyone we meet that God is in this holy temple and we
are glad about it. I am enthusiastic about this church and I want you to join me
in being enthusiastic too. Dr.
LaTaunya M. Bynum |
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Broad
Street Christian Church
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