From the Gospel of John, we read the dramatic story of the raising of Lazarus from the dead, another of the "signs" of Jesus' divinity. Jesus cries, "Lazarus, come out!" -- and he comes out of the tomb still wrapped in his burial shroud (John 11).
And from Paul's letter to the Ephesians, we read the passage about putting on the whole armor of God, clothing oneself for the spiritual battle against "the cosmic powers of this present darkness" (Eph. 6:12). We are to put on the belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, shoes to proclaim the gospel of peace, and arm ourselves with the shield of faith, the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit.
My mental image of this chapter in Ephesians dates to my elementary school days in Auburndale, Florida, when my parents dressed my brother and me in the whole armor of God for a church pageant -- I only really remember the milk-jug helmet and the tin foil-plated shield!
Clothing is a constant theme in Morning Prayer, where we regularly pray in the Suffrages that God will "clothe your ministers in righteousness" (BCP 97), and in one of the Collects for Mission we pray to Christ "so to clothe us in your Spirit that we, reaching forth our hands in love, may bring those who do not know you to the knowledge and love of you" (BCP 101). Our clothing is not for defense from the world, but for outreach to the world.
There's a reason that the clothing of monks and nuns is called a "habit." It signifies a new identity which involves not just one's outward appearance but the inward embrace of new behavior -- and a willingness to extend that embrace to the stranger -- as one seeks more and more to imitate Christ.
Tin foil optional.
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