Upper Path Valley Presbyterian Church

Colossians 3:12-17

“A Fashion Statement”

Rev. Meagan M. Boozer

Fashion- 1. Style in clothing, hair, and personal appearance generally, or the business of creating, promoting, or studying the latest styles. 2. The style of dress, behavior, way of living, or other expression that is popular at present. 3. A particular way of behaving or doing something. 4. The form or shape of something.

Fashion has to do with a person’s style.

On Thursday evening, John and I were guests for a show at the Totem Pole Playhouse with the Credit Union Board on which he serves. While I was waiting in line for the restroom, a woman came up and started talking to the woman behind me. Her hair was really in place, she had these cute, spiky sort of shoes, her clothes looked great on her, they were ironed, they matched, and she had jewelry on that really brought the whole look together. I had pulled on whatever skirt and shirt I could find that didn’t require an iron, slipped into my comfortable, flat sandals, and maybe I combed my hair. I rarely wear any jewelry except my cross and my rings. That woman was making a fashion statement. But I was, too. They were not the same statement, that’s for sure, but we were both making a statement. Her statement said, “I care about how I look.” My statement said, “I don’t care about how I look.” Anyone looking at the two of us side by side would have been able to tell which one was making a statement. It wouldn’t have been hard.

What we wear says something about us. What people see tells them something about what’s important to us- and what’s not. It always makes me laugh that Bill Harter, pastor at Falling Spring Presbyterian Church for the past 28 years, wears the same exact clothes for days in a row. He’s making a fashion statement. His statement says, “Find a good look, and stick with it.” And he does. What’s on the outside, like it or not, says something about what we’re thinking on the inside.

Now, with these things in mind, let’s read our Scripture for today from Colossians 3:12-17, “As God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience. Bear with one another and, if anyone has a complaint against another, forgive each other; just as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony."

Now, I want to read it again, but this time from Eugene Peterson’s paraphrase of the Scripture, “The Message.” So, chosen by God for this new life of love, dress in the wardrobe God picked out for you: compassion, kindness, humility, quiet strength, discipline. Be even-tempered, content with second place, quick to forgive an offense. Forgive as quickly and completely as the Master forgave you. And regardless of what else you put on, wear love. It’s you basic, all-purpose garment. Never be without it.

Can we move up the page a little bit to see what Paul was talking about before he got into the fashion business? Let’s take a look at vv. 5-11: Put to death, therefore, whatever in you is earthly: fornication, impurity, passion, evil desire, and greed (which is idolatry). On account of thee the wrath of God is coming on those who are disobedient. These are the ways you also once followed, when you were living that life. But now you must get rid of all such things- anger, wrath, malice, slander, and abusive language form your mouth. Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have stripped off the old self with its practices and have clothed yourselves with the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge according to the image of its creator. In that renewal there is no longer Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave and free; but Christ is all and in all!

Paul is telling us that when we become new creatures in Christ, our outside and our inside need to match up. We mustn’t only pay lip service to Christianity; we must make radical changes in our lives that speak a clear statement to other people. We can’t talk about the love of Christ in our hearts, and then refuse to help someone in need. I can’t preach a message about forgiveness and then withhold forgiveness from someone who hurt me. I attended a meeting this past week about some of the challenges going on in our denomination regarding the ordination of people who choose a homosexual lifestyle. Some people in the room were speaking disrespectfully about the people who choose this lifestyle. The people speaking would describe themselves as people who are completely committed to fashioning themselves after Jesus. Well, I know for sure that what they said and what I saw didn’t match. It clashed. The inside and the outside have to match in order to make a clear fashion statement.

Paul says to us what the nurse says to us when we go in for our full physicals: “Please remove all of your clothes, including your undergarments.” Paul says, “Strip it all off.” Strip off you old ways of doing things before you knew how God wanted you to live. Strip off anger, wrath, malice, slander, and abusive language from your mouth. Do not lie, he said.

How do we do this? I think we do this just like we do it at the doctor’s office. We remove things, one piece at a time. Let’s say you have been an angry person for much of your life. Now, you’ve been called to follow Christ and be his disciple. So, in order to have what you want on the inside (to not be angry anymore) match what you’re saying you are on the outside (a follower of Jesus), you’ve got to drop the anger. Figure out what you’re so mad about, be really intentional about this, and let the Lord heal you so you can live in joy.

Let’s say you swear. Right here it says to get rid of all abusive language from your mouth. How do you do this so that your fashion statement is a clear one? You stop swearing. Just stop, and don’t abuse others with your words- speak words that build others up. If you can’t do this cold turkey- then keep your mouth shut until your thoughts come into line with what you know you should or shouldn’t say. Then begin talking again. What a fashion statement that would make!

All of us have poor patterns of thinking, speaking, and behaving that need attention. All of us. If you think you don’t that’s a fashion statement right there that needs an extreme makeover.

Peel off the old, piece by piece- and then, as God’s adopted son or daughter, let him get you some new clothes to wear.

Look at the list here of what we are to wear: Compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, patience, forbearance, and forgiveness.

Now, some might look at that list and say, “That’s a wardrobe for a sissy.” Really?

Is it easy or hard to be patient when you’re sitting in traffic, late for an appointment?

Is it easy or hard to be humble and admit when you’ve messed up?

Is it easy or hard to be meek/gentle when you are falsely accused of wrongdoing?

Is it easy of hard to forgive someone who has caused you great heartache?

It takes great strength to be patient, humble, gentle, and forgiving, - this kind of person is not a sissy. This kind of person is a powerful person, allowing him/herself to be controlled by the Spirit, not controlled by the flesh that so easily consumes us.

Paul says then, over all these things, (Compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, patience, forbearance, and forgiveness), put on love. I think Paul is envisioning a person dressing his/her body with the flowing garments of the day- and then it seems to occur to the one dressing that as beautiful and fine and fashionable as the garments are, they can never be worn with comfort or grace (they keep falling off) until they are held in place by a belt, or a tie. So, he “puts on” love- for this holds all the other garments together perfectly.

You can act compassionately, kindly, gently. You can act with humility, meekness, patience, forbearance, and forgiveness. You can put on just one or two, or all of them. But, Paul says, unless love is holding them together, it’s nothing more than a passing fad- and people will see it as such without too much effort.

School is beginning. What kind of a fashion statement do you want to make in school this year- students, teachers, aids, parents, coaches?

What kind of fashion statement are you making at your workplace? In your home- now there’s where people really see whether the outside and the inside match.

What kind of fashion statement are we making as a church? I tried to make a couple of small changes in our bulletin this week that I thought would help guests feel more welcome when they come. We get so used to things as they are around here, that we forget what it is like to come as a stranger to a new place. And like me looking at the woman at the Totem Pole, strangers are looking at the outside to determine what might be on the inside, and whether they even want to find out. We need to constantly be thinking about what things look like for a guest, to make it as easy as possible for them to feel at ease when God brings them. Why? So we get more members? No. We do these things for love- because we believe that Jesus is not just the heart of worship, but Jesus is the central heartbeat to the best life on earth, and the only way to eternal life in heaven- and we want to share that truth with as many people as possible so they can know the love of Christ in their lives.

Head Start is moving in. We have a shed for recreational equipment out back. The nursery is turning into a classroom. Things are a bit mixed up right now. Where’s this? Where’s that? “Oh, I don’t think I’m going to like this.”

Last May, we said we knew Jesus wants us to share. He does want us to share this building with others. But if sharing doesn’t force us to change our style somewhat, why would Jesus cause us to share in the first place? Will what we say and think inwardly match what we are saying and doing outwardly? (And I mean individually and as a congregation.) Quite honestly, I don’t like the way the shed looks back there. So what am I going to say or do about it? I’m going to pray that God will remind me every time I look at it how wonderful it will be to have children playing around the building. And I trust in time, that old way of thinking, “I don’t like the way the shed looks,” won’t even come into my mind. In time, I trust I’ll remember first, not second, that it’s not about me, it’s all about God- and God is love.

That’s the kind of fashion statement I want to make. It’s the kind of fashion statement I hope we all want to make, no matter where we are, or what we’re wearing.

As God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience. Bear with one another and, if anyone has a complaint against another, forgive each other; just as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in the one body. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly; teach and admonish one another in all wisdom; and with gratitude in your hearts sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs to God. And in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

Amen.

Upper Path Valley Presbyterian Church

08-27-06