Clothe Yourselves With Love

This was written by my religion professor. I am so impressed that a professor in a public university would write this and post it publicly. I guess it helps that it is a religion class, but it gives me hope for our education system.

Clothe Yourselves With Love by Karyn Chambers
While driving home from Lebanon tonight after a particularly long teaching day, I pondered thoughts of clothing and our choices of what to wear. Actually, I thought about it earlier today as well driving "to" class--driving can sometimes be time for a meditation or a time of reflecting for me.

We Americans can get caught up with the fashion trends. I remember as a young person feeling especially upset because I wanted to fit in at school. I wanted more than anything to fit in though; I wanted more than that to be liked and have lots of friends. Well, the most popular girls wore the latest fashions, and it seemed to me, in my childish mind, that perhaps that was the key to everything. If one could wear the right clothes and be cute, the world would be open. Of course, my parents were struggling with money, so our clothes were often purchased at the Goodwill store--talk about a source of shame and embarrassment. What child, in our materialist society, wants the other kids to know his or her clothes came from a secondhand store?

So, what I was pondering today is a couple of things: Those who take monastic vows and the hippie movement. Is there any correlation? Yes, actually I believe there is. In all the world's monastic traditions, those who take vows of poverty give up all pride, material possessions, and vanity. The women shave their heads and wear no jewelry (except a crucifix) or make-up ever. The men also shave their heads. It is called tonsure: the bald center portion of the heads. Do you know why? (This is cool.) Because prisoners or slaves of Rome wore the same haircut--thus slaves of Christ. The Buddhist monks wear saffron robes--the color of prisoners. The Christian monks wore burlap--the clothing of the poorest in society to show humility and remain true to their vow of poverty and also to identify with those going through hard times.

What is the message or the symbolism of their clothing? We are all poor in Christ. We are slaves of sin and vice. It is an outward recognition of such, and thus what their vows are all about--becoming true seekers of God and renunciation of material or worldly pursuits in exchange for the spiritual path--the inward journey--not an easy path--the narrow one that's as sharp as the razor's edge, as the Upanishads state.

So why the hippie movement? Well, I was remembering how those caught up in the love and peace movement of the 60's and 70's also renounced materialism and wore clothes with holes or different from the general public to make a statement that spiritual things are of the highest most valuable acquisition, more important than materialism and being part of the crowd--the herd sucked in to believe that what we wear, where we live, or what we drive is the path to happiness and love..A similar message. Hippies were also ridiculed, scorned, and looked down upon as many of the saints, apostles, and other religious seekers...
I guess I was realizing a shift in myself and recognizing what matters most--not our outer clothes but our inner spirit, for that is what reveals who we truly are and what's in our hearts. That's not to say that there's not a time and place for presenting ourselves in the best way possible. I'm just trying to say when it becomes our focus and obsession, then perhaps we need to free ourselves from this distraction.

Amen, Lord, Jesus, let us clothe ourselves with humility, loving-kindness, and peace, for these are the most beautiful clothes of all. Also, let us not judge others by what they wear but see passed the outer appearances of others and into the heart. Thank you for this gift of insight today...Amen, Lord, come and fill my heart with your sweet gifts.

Written by Karyn Chambers

What a fantastic post this is, I just had to share with my blogger friends!