In fo Here...

Proper 20

16th Sunday after Pentecost

Ordinary Time 25

Year C

September 19, 2004

CLOTHE THE NAKED

Luke 3

⁷John said to the crowds coming out to be baptized by him, "You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? ⁸Produce fruit in keeping with repentance. And do not begin to say to yourselves, 'We have Abraham as our father.' For I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham. ⁹The ax is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire."
¹⁰"What should we do then?" the crowd asked.
¹¹John answered, "The man with two tunics should share with him who has none, and the one who has food should do the same."

Intro

· In our series, “Blessed Are the Merciful,” we have:

· Defined mercy as lovingkindness, compassion, or forbearance shown to one who offends. Remember that when you are offended. We also learned last week about the two types of works of mercy—corporal and spiritual.

· Today, we hear that the very heart of the Gospel is a call to mercy in sharing our extra clothing with those in need as a fruit of our repentance and conversion.

I. THE CALL TO FOLLOW CHRIST IS A CALL TO EVIDENCE YOUR FAITH WITH WORKS OF MERCY

· One of the most basic ways authentic repentance and conversion of heart are shown is by a readiness to share what we have with those in need; to cover those who lack the basic needs of life.

· This concept of clothing the naked of course goes all the way back to Eden . Adam and Eve were naked and not ashamed because righteousness was their covering from God.

· Sin caused them to be uncovered as they lost righteousness, and so they were ashamed. When they said that they were hiding from God because they were naked, God knew they had sinned because when they were clothed with innocence they were not ashamed or aware that they were naked.

· Since then, God has put clothes on us as a constant reminder that the shame of sin; the state of not being covered in righteousness must be remedied.

· And thus begins an understanding of why we must cloth the naked—it is a sign of God’s love covering us up from the effects of sin upon our race.

· So, to John the Baptist, Jesus, the apostles, and the Church of all ages, an extra coat in the closet does not belong to us but to the person who has no coat. EVERY PERSON IS TO BE CLOTHED!

· AS FAITH AND REPENTANCE TAKE ROOT IN US, JOHN EXPECTS THAT THERE WILL BE FRUIT OF A TRULY CHANGED HEART AND MIND. Christian faith is not separated from good works flowing from transformed hearts. St. James says:

¹⁴What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him? ¹⁵Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. ¹⁶If one of you says to him, "Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed," but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? ¹⁷In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead. James 2

· IN SPEAKING TO THE HISTORIC PEOPLE OF GOD OF HIS DAY, JOHN SAYS JUST BECAUSE YOU ARE PHYSICALLY AMONG THE PEOPLE OF GOD DOES NOT MEAN YOU ARE GOING TO HEAVEN.

· Another words you must be clothed with God’s righteousness to cover the nakedness of having no righteousness of your own.

Revelation 3
¹⁷You say, 'I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.' But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked.

· True faith brings about being covered in the white garment of salvation, the robes of Christ’s righteousness.

· So here is the message of mercy—clothing the naked is an outward and physical sign of the inward and spiritual grace of being clothed in Christ’s righteousness. WHEN WE CLOTHE THE NAKED, WE PROCLAIM THE GOSPEL TO THE WORLD!

II. Clothing the naked is an ongoing expression of continued repentance and conversion.

· Giving away your extra clothes to clothe the poor is a way for the Christian to continue growing in faith.

· As we continue growing in our Christian faith, we continue to turn away from a self-focused life to a life focused on meeting the needs of others.

· This moment by moment choosing love over selfishness brings about a balancing out of the injustices and imbalances that exist in a world where an evil motive of selfishness works to stamp out love.

· As Christians the merciful heart of Jesus within our hearts tells us it is unjust to have two coats when another human being is cold and has none, or is hungry when we have more than enough for today.

· You see, the Holy Spirit lives in us continually releasing the love and grace of God into our hearts and minds to help us put off the old sinful selfish ways of living we received as children of Adam, and to help us choose moment by moment to put on the unselfish love of God we received by becoming children of God through faith in Christ.

· In a culture focused on superficiality, this inner dynamic produces freedom in our lives

III. HOW WE CAN CLOTHE THE NAKED TODAY

1. Clothing the naked always means providing clothing for those who need it

· To promote ongoing selflessness and extending justice into the world, some churches have clothing rooms where people can come in at any time and find clothes they need but cannot afford. As we give to those in need, we continue growing in grace.

· I know of a Christian business that discovered many of the people in their entry level lower paying jobs did not have the money for coats, hats, and gloves for winter weather. So every fall they begin a collection so all their employees will be warm when they work.

2. Clothing the naked means teaching people to dress like Christians rather than the world

· Western culture often exerts considerable pressure on parents to keep their children not only clothed, but to conform to the dictates of the marketing objectives of the fashion industry.

· By the time kids are 10-12 years old, it becomes a major issue to dress in style.

· For parents, the Christian responsibility to “clothe the naked” becomes to “stay clothed in fashion.”

· This shift from just having clothes to having fashion is clearly the very tension of the ideals of the Gospel and the self-centered world in tension.

· Our girls need to learn that Britney Spears and Paris Hilton low cut pants showing their bellies is nakedness needing to be clothed, rather than style needing to be emulated. Our girls need to learn that beauty begins on the inside when we are loved and accepted by Jesus Christ, rather than the acceptance of pop culture driven by the profit motive by slick marketers working to sell their product.

· Christian parents can teach their children at this very point where the culture of the world and the culture of the church conflict about faith, mercy, good works, modesty in proper dress, etc.

· Many stories of the lives of the saints show people with money and lavish fashion and partying learning to give to the poor when converted.

· NOW, there is no need to dress like the Amish here, although their commitment to not conform to the world is admirable. What the Gospel calls us as parents to is to guide teens gently, by word and example, into recognizing the futility and spiritual emptiness that comes with taking fashion too seriously.

· IN youth driven culture, even married women are deceived by the fashion culture in their self worth. God says,

³Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as braided hair and the wearing of gold jewelry and fine clothes. ⁴Instead, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God's sight. ⁵For this is the way the holy women of the past who put their hope in God used to make themselves beautiful.

· Nothing wrong with doing your hair, wearing jewelry or nice clothes—however, remember that is not what makes you beautiful. A Christian woman’s beauty comes from her inner-self in gentleness and a quiet spirit. Peter says this is of great worth to God, and the way the women of God in the past made themselves beautiful.

· So, inner beauty flows into outer beauty. Nothing worse than a physically attractive woman whose spirit, words, attitude, and actions make her ugly. AND WE MUST NOT LET THIS CREATE SELF-ABSORPTION AND SELFISHNESS. We must share what we possess spiritually and physically with others girls in need to make them beautiful as well.

3. Clothing the naked means working to bring justice to men using women in sinfully sexual ways

· Look every and you see people using nakedness and sex to sell products.

· Also we live in a sexually addicted culture where the lust of the eyes and the lust of the flesh rule.

· All kinds of people from sinner to saint are paying to see the nakedness of others in many forms of pornography, voyeurism, exhibitionism, strip clubs, and the sex industry.

· Lest we as Christians get too Pharisaical here, George Barna’s research tells us that Christians, including the clergy, fall right into the same statistical categories as the world in this area of our lives.

· So what message do we need to be sending—Condemnation? Outrage? Boycotts? Is that changing America ? Paul said that the law increases sin; the more you tell people not to it they will.

· I think the answer to all of this is to clothe the naked as a work of mercy. Think about how Jesus clothed the naked woman caught in the act of adultery. He showed her forgiveness, mercy, love, and truth.

· We can help America clothe our nakedness by going back and teaching WHY modesty, fidelity, and purity of heart and mind are virtues that flow out of lives of inner peace.

· IN a culture of stress, guilt, and anxiety brought on by the sexual revolution, the bonds of family being destroyed, people living in deep personal pain, two income families, single parent and blended family households, America is an emotional mess.

· To help America put her clothes back on, we must work to heal the brokenness of society in an attitude of love, acceptance, and forgiveness, while teaching people who have forgotten or may have never known the dignity and glory with which our Creator made us.

· As we teach them who God made us to be, how sin has marred us, and how Christ can restore our true inner self, I think the naked will be clothed as the fruit of repentance and conversion.

· The fruit of our conversion in acts of mercy such as clothing the naked says to the world that your naked standing before God in shame can be clothed! Come, be born again by passing through the waters of baptism naked and come out clothed in the purity of the white robes of Christ’s righteousness.

· Every time you look at God’s servants around the altar seeing us in white robes, remember God has clothed your nakedness and desires for you to clothe the nakedness of others.

· The outward sign of clothing the naked is a symbol of the inward grace of Christ clothing the nakedness of sin.

MAY GOD ENABLE US TO BEGIN SHOWING MERCY TO THE WORLD AS WE CONTINUE TO BRING FORTH GOOD WORKS OF MERCY AS THE FRUIT OF LIFE IN CHRIST.