“…put on the Lord Jesus Christ.” (Romans 13:14). “…all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.” (Galatians 3:27). “…put on the new self, created after the likeness of God…” (Ephesians 4:24). “…clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.” (Colossians 3:12).
All the verses above (as well as a number of others not quoted) use the same Greek word – endysasthe – which indeed means “to put on, to clothe oneself”. How am I to understand this repeated admonition from St Paul?
This is obviously an action, a deliberate choice of the will. On the material level of everyday life, I get dressed in the morning because I decide to do so. I could just as well choose not to, though I might in that case be uncomfortable. I also might not be able to go anywhere or do anything besides stay at home with the shades drawn unless I lived in a nudist colony. We wear clothes because they protect our bodies in more ways than one, and allow us to venture forth into the world to be with other people and to accomplish things.
In the beginning of the book of Genesis, we have the account of Adam and Eve trying to make their own clothes out of fig leaves. Fig leaves are certainly a pretty inadequate covering, and I’ve also read that they are kind of prickly. Perhaps our first parents were already doing penance for their sin! It’s only when God in his great mercy sacrifices an animal and himself fashions adequate coverings for them that they are actually clothed and protected against the elements. These clothes also preserve their modesty, for shame had entered the world through their sin, and their merciful Heavenly Father is mindful of this as well.
In the New Covenant, God again provides the covering we need, but far, far better. He sacrifices his own Son who gives himself willingly and who thus becomes the way for us to be properly clothed: by his loving sacrifice, his very own supernatural Life becomes ours in Baptism through faith in him. His holiness, his righteousness, becomes his gift to us as we become new creations and are incorporated into his Body. “I am sending you what my Father has promised… stay… until you have been clothed with power from on high,” (Luke 25:49) said Jesus at the time of his Ascension. The promised heavenly “clothes” were coming; they arrived at Pentecost when the Holy Spirit was poured out upon all who trusted in Jesus.
So how do I “put on” my new “clothes”? How do I “put on” Christ? Just as I think about what I am wearing every day – what protection I need against the weather, what is needful for me in order to accomplish my duties of the day – I must likewise think each day in a deliberate fashion about what I need in the spiritual order. Praying in the morning before I get going on my day gets me in touch with my spiritual “wardrobe”: I might need extra patience today, perhaps a merciful willingness to forgive someone (again), strength to stay away from a temptation, etc. And I need clean clothes every day, so I need the washing that God’s forgiveness effects in me. All this is available to me as I abide in Jesus: I just have to ask him, obey what he tells me, and receive what I need.
I could start my day without doing this. But that’s a bit like going out without proper clothes. I might squeak by; but then again, I’ll likely not manage well on my own. The “clothes” of my own making are like the fig leaves; they’re inadequate and uncomfortable, unsuitable for those who seek to look like Jesus to the world outside.
Lessons From Love School 