First, an apology. A short version of this response, based on postings through about 0600 CST, was meant to go out this morning, but just before I hit the “send” button, our broadband service dropped out, as sometimes happens when the weather is stormy. So I am posting it at the library, between work and Community Band, and before having read the intervening posts.
Second, Father’s “ripped jeans” comment was a small part of the overall homily, but I did mention it, and it seems to have aroused some people’s ire. DaddyGirl in particular said that denim was only a fabric. In that statement she displayed her ignorance of history in general, and of the role of clothing/fashion in particular.
The idea that people might be wearing ripped jeans to Mass because that’s all they have to wear is not even worthy of consideration. If one takes all the people who wear ripped clothing to Mass on any given American Sunday morning, there might be one tenth of one percent who fall into that category. The overwhelming majority are dressed as they are because they are blind followers of fashion, and in their minds, torn clothing is the hip thing to wear.
While the poor in Jesus’ time may have had only one or two changes of clothing, and while Jesus certainly would not have turned someone away just because of the state of his/her clothing, there were other people for whom clothing was much more than fabric; it was a statement of their religious status. One can read about them in Matt. 23:5, Mark 12:38-40, and Luke 20:45-47. Yes, I know that the people Jesus was describing were the hypocrites, and yes, I know that there are people today who go to church wearing “look-at-me” clothes, but my point is that clothing is not just fabric, in spite of what some may think. What we wear makes a statement about our attitudes toward ourselves, toward others, and most importantly, toward the God Whom we are coming to Mass to worship.
DaddyGirl, are you married? If you are, did you wear ripped jeans to your wedding, or if you are not, do plan on wearing them when you do get married? After all, it’s only fabric, in your view. If you were invited to the White House to meet the President, would you wear ripped jeans to that occasion? Would you wear ripped jeans to a job interview? If meeting the President, getting married, and looking for a job are occasions that would require wearing nice clothing, why not meeting the Lord? I’m not saying that Mass should be a white-tie-and-tails event, but surely it merits something better than raggedy dungarees.
To get back to the main topic (Father Patrick’s homily), he told of how when Reagan was President (1981-89), he made it a rule that any man coming into the Oval Office must wear a coat and tie, and if the man was not sitting down, the coat had to be buttoned. When Clinton came into office (1993), this tradition flew out the window, according to his Communications Director George Stephanopoulos, and guys were wearing whatever they wanted. However, it didn’t take long for the gravitas of the Oval Office to sink in, and for all the men in Clinton’s staff to start wearing coats and ties again.
When I look around on a Sunday morning, I see many who are aware of where they are and what they are about to do. I also see some who might just as well be attending a worm-rassle. Would to God that the fire of His Presence would once again appear on His Altar, to remind us that when we step through those doors, we are in the presence of a holy God.
Bless him, he hadn’t noticed or realised what the logo meant!
Amen to that.