Seersucker or Vulnerability - August 24
Today’s Readings: AM Psalm 1, 2, 3; PM Psalm 4, 7; Job 4:1,5:1-11,17-21,26-27; Acts 9:19b-31; John 6:52-59
Five months and almost to the day that we moved our services to be online only, we gathered not once, but twice at Saint Stephen’s. This Sunday, we had our first early morning outdoor worship service spoken on the back patio. Later in the day, we gathered with a small group to give thanks and bless the outdoor meditation garden built by a future Eagle Scout and her troop and fellow scouts. And I saw something that surprised me and filled me with joy and hope at both services that I had not expected to see: seersucker clothing.
Yep. The joys of living in the south in the summertime! Oddly, on Saturday as I was trying to take my son, Jack, to a run a few errands, it took much longer to get started because of a reluctance to get dressed. “I don’t want to put on clothes! It’s the weekend!” He has yet to be indoctrinated with that wonderful sense of southern culture where every outing is a chance to show off our very best. And it hit me Sunday morning. Since churches haven’t been meeting and weddings have been postponed, I haven’t marveled at the wavy and crinkled beauty of seersucker and linen. The pastel colors of Lily Pulitzer lie in the doldrums of everyone’s closets. I think this Sunday I even spied some white bucks (dress shoes that should only be worn from Memorial Day to Labor Day and fashionably without socks).
I love the tradition of dressing up, and will welcome that back into our congregation as we find ways of gathering again, but isn’t it an odd practice? Almost as if we need to convince our peers that we have it all together. Intellectually, we know this is rarely true, but we seem to put a whole lot of effort to convince friends and neighbors, otherwise.
Paul is one of the most interesting characters we encounter in Scripture. He is the author of at least seven of the books of the Bible and another seven are attributed to him. We hear about him today in the story of Acts by his previous name, Saul. He was known as Saul when he was persecuting Christians and after a mystical experience on a dusty road, he temporarily goes blind. Our reading in Acts follows this experience where he is still known as Saul but is going around professing the good news of Jesus Christ.
Imagine this: the person who has been killing your brothers and sisters walks into your life to offer you the hope and peace of God. It wouldn’t make any sense No wonder the Jewish leaders want him killed! I am left wondering how Saul would have felt walking into those communities where he had brought such pain and suffering. He couldn’t have covered up who he was with seersucker or pastel shorts. How would he have convinced others he could be trusted?
I am not a social scientist or a psychologist, but I have an educated guess and it’s one word: vulnerability. How else could the violent persecutor named Saul become the foundational teacher of our faith? Remember when he tells people about how he is weak (2nd Corinthians 11).
I can’t wait to be greeted in seersucker and pastel colors (unless it’s after Labor Day because that’s just wrong) but I wonder how much more powerful it would be to don our true vulnerability in who we are and in who God has created. Maybe we will help others come to know Christ just as Paul has shaped our faith. And that’s a lot better than anything we will find in our wardrobe.
- John+
Questions for Self-Reflection:
Do you find it difficult to share your weaknesses and imperfections within your faith community? Why? Are there ways that you intentionally cover these up or is it more accidental or cultural?
Daily Challenge
Share with a friend from church one thing that you are struggling with. Invite them to pray for you.