Good Morning!
There is a scene in old episode of Andy Griffith where a man’s car breaks down in Mayberry on Sunday. He gets all mad because the people in town are not jumping to help him. One of the characters is a bit worried to get down and dirty because he’s wearing his Sunday best. I was watching that episode with my youngest the other day and it got me thinking about something that used to be part and parcel of the culture of the Church that has largely been discontinued over the past several decades. Now, there’s of course something to be said about mandating dress codes and the like, but that’s not really what I am talking about. It’s an ethos kind of thing. A soul preparation for the queen of days.
It’s understanding something about the preciousness of the Lord’s Day, His worship, and our benefitting from it in ways we don’t by the things of the world.
Like most people of his day my grandaddy had few pairs of clothes. Work clothes he wore Monday through Friday and then a suit he wore to church, weddings, and funerals. There was an understanding that getting proper for events said something about the importance of matters, it was also a sign of decorum and time/place, about personal self-awareness, of one’s self-worth. There was a comprehension about certain things which motivated our attitudes and preparation for them. The lack of formality has been a loss for society, and the Church. I was struck again by this as our family watched the funeral service for Queen Elizabeth II. While I am a hillbilly of sorts even mountain folk have been grounded in the mindset of that there is a difference between going down in the mines and coming into the house of the Lord. Reverence, deference, esteem for proprietary all would do well to make a return in our day of licentiousness and the bowdlerizing of tradition. There is an irony in the fact that we have more access to stuff than any generation in human history, even the kings of medieval France didn’t have the closets we do, yet we take such little care to take advantage of it. How many dozens of outfits made of cheap cotton by children in Indonesia line our floors and dressers? The throw away culture is not just seen in the way we treat the unborn, but in mundane things like how we treat the gifts of leisure.
Some folks are seeking to simplify in a day of forced compliance to busyness. One of the easiest ways to do that is by contemplating what matters, and how we present ourselves in life. A victory Satan has won in our contemporary society is distraction. Distraction from the blessings of the rest we have in Jesus Christ, the way moderation is to inform all that we do, and especially the manner in which that balance is to advise how we go about the reasons behind why it is as believers we order our lives in accordance with the pattern established by our Savior when He spoke the world into existence. You ever wonder about the practical reasons for the Sabbath? The one day in seven given by God through His example in the week of Creation for us to rest from our dominion work is a sign of our understanding that all things belong unto Him.
There is a reason why seeing pictures of kids in uniforms usually worn by firefighters, police, etc… warm our hearts. It’s not just the cute children wearing things normally sported by adults, it is the fact that it reminds us of the seriousness of societal protectors and the work that they do. Honor is a word that has much weight. It is a recognition of unspoken blessing. That the person whom we are honoring has much responsibility on their shoulders, often in ways the inferior, to use the words of the Catechism, can never understand. Heavy is the head that wears the crown. That is part of the reason why the Church is called in 1 Timothy 2 to pray for those in authority over us. It also gets us back to one of the points we talked about at the beginning. Our culture is one of frivolousness, a lack of taking serious, serious things. So much of what we are dealing with in today’s world goes back to that problem. Men not taking on their God-given roles as men, standing up and being counted as worthy of their place in civilizational structure. Man-boys who spend most of their time engrossed in producing worthless points in Call of Duty rather than molding young men, or themselves in the things that matter. The malaise of mediocrity is a curse upon the day in age in which we live. We should desire the best for ourselves and for those around us, and that all comes out in the way we approach and prepare for the Lord and His worship on His day. There used to be the idea that we dressed well for church because we were coming into the presence of the King. We wouldn’t wear jorts and a t-shirt to meet King Charles III so why do make less time for the Lord of Glory?
Yet, again we aren’t really talking about attire and what we were. It can be a sign of slovenliness, but it doesn’t need to be. What we are really focusing on this morning is the spiritual preparation we make to gather before our Redeemer. As we go unto the mountain where the Triune God dwells how are we considering the magnificence of the moment? On the night before we go to a major event we get a good night’s sleep, lay our clothes out, and dream of what is to come.
Do we do the same for the Lord’s Day? For those we are called to support and enjoy in worship?
Think back again to the order of the week. All things that we do at work, at play, in life is preparation for the audience we get with the King in His house on His day. Every Sunday we go and feast in the house of blessing. Let us take that seriously as an act of faith and priority.
The queen of days is worth the effort, and we’ll get what we put into it.
Here’s another word:
https://www.reformationscotland.org/2020/07/15/preparing-our-hearts-to-worship-god/
Blessings in Christ,
Rev. Benjamin Glaser
Pastor, Bethany ARP Church