I will always remember seeing my daughter in white coming down the aisle at her wedding. But my favorite photo of her in her wedding dress was actually taken in the bridal shop. It took more than one trip and she had tried on many dresses without finding a dress that fit her physically or in spirit. But another day, we went to a small owner-run shop and began trying on dresses again. Nothing was working until the woman remembered a dress that had just come in. She apologized because it wasn't pressed yet but she thought it might work. The picture shows my daughter in that dress in a spontaneous pose of joy and confidence. She is just beaming.
Some of my most treasured memories of my children are when they were dressed in white. At their baptism, each one wore a long white baptismal gown and was wrapped in the soft delicate white blanket knitted by my mother. I hope that one day, a grandchild will wear the same gown and tiny hand-made booties. Certainly with my boys, it was probably the only time they will wear so much lace, ribbons, and frills (not their style!).
The day of my oldest son's baptism, I waited until just before the service began to change his diaper and dress him in the long white gown baptismal gown with its sheer over dress, tiny tucks, lace and ribbons. Even though he was only a few weeks old, I knew how likely it was that he might leak out of one end or the other and I didn't want the dress messed up before he was even baptized. In spite of all my precautions and preparations, we had barely left the church basement before he spit up all over me and himself. Back down we went and I frantically worked to clean us both off for the service.
We don't often dress up only in white, especially our children; probably because they wouldn't stay white very long. This was even more true in the old days of laundry not just before automatic washers but also before the changes in the soaps, stain removers, and even in the materials with which our clothes are made that make it easier to wear and clean whites.
Unless you're me. I'm very hard on whites - white shirts or blouses only last so long before they become permanently stained by what I drop on them. No matter how hard I try not to spill, or what new gizmo I carry in my purse to take out spots before they stain, my whites do not stay white.
Just like my baptism and yours.
This season of light ends with the celebration of the Transfiguration of Jesus. Found in Matthew (17:1-ff), Mark (9:2-ff), and Luke (9:28-ff), these verses tell how Jesus took Peter, James, and John up on the mountain to pray. While there, Jesus is transfigured or changed. His clothes become dazzling white and his face shines with glory. This story, along with the symbolism of white as purity are behind the traditional use of white for certain church festivals. It is also tied to the stories of Moses who reflects the glory of God when he comes down from the mountain.
We wear white at baptism as a sign that we have been washed clean, forgiven through God's grace. In a sense, our lives of faith are to be a reflection of God's glory. But like my white shirts, we get dirty and stained by our sinfulness and the muck of the broken world we live in. The good news is that we can wash again constantly in our baptism and be renewed. There is no sin strong enough to stain and separate us from God's love. We don't have to try and hide or cover up before God, Jesus washes us clean again and again.
So unlike children dressed up in our Sunday clothes, we do not have to worry about not going outside into the world lest we get our clothes dirty. Instead, Jesus calls us to come down the mountain with him and into the middle of the people who need hope and good news. If we listen to Jesus' words to care for the least of the world we will meet him face-to-face. If we listen to his words to show his love to the world by how we care for others, they will know the love of Jesus. If we listen to Jesus and follow, the light of faith will shine brighter. Read 1 John 1:5-9
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