Musing – Why don't we dress up for Church Anymore?

 Hebraic Musing – Why don't we dress up for Church Anymore?

A recent article by a Catholic bishop bemoaned the attire of congregants at Sunday mass.  It seems he objected to cut-off jeans and provocative "Hooter" tee shirts worn to Sunday mass.  And he even observed a bikini top!  And a Budweiser ‘tee-shirt’!  My observations at other Christian churches tell me that it is not just a Catholic phenomenon but a universal sign of the times.

To justify the current trend, someone once told me that "God loves me just the way I am" and the famous altar call song says "Come as you are...".   Is there, or should there be, a difference between someone coming to or returning to the Lord for their first time; versus someone who has known Him for years and should have grown to more fully appreciate who He is and what He can do, has done and will be doing.

When the Chosen People were crossing the desert God started to reveal Himself slowly.  God had to live in a seal-skin tent and could see only one member of His beloved creation only once a year, how did that high priest dress up before coming to see Almighty God in the Tabernacle?  “Make the robe of the ephod entirely of blue cloth, with an opening for the head in its center. There shall be a woven edge like a collar around this opening, so that it will not tear. Make pomegranates of blue, purple and scarlet yarn around the hem of the robe, with gold bells between them.  The gold bells and the pomegranates are to alternate around the hem of the robe. Aaron must wear it when he ministers.  Exod.28:31-35 NIV

Why did God give so many instructions to His priests regarding a dress code when ministering in the tabernacle?  And Peter called us to be priests in 1 Peter 2:9 "But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God,…"

When salesmen call on buyers or when businessmen meet on special occasions, why do they wear three piece suits?  A – They want to show their respect for the person they are meeting, and they hope to be respected because they have shown respect.  How would one dress when going to meet the king?  Or going to meet the King of kings and Lord of lords?

When I grew up, we donned our "Sunday best" to go to church and then changed to play clothes afterward.  Does all this mean that going to church is no longer an important Sunday event?

Points to ponder

Is stopping off at church on your way to the beach
an excuse for wearing beach togs to church?

Or, is going to church the main event on Sunday?

Or, am I being too ‘stuffy’?  What do you think?

Remember back in the days when we used to wear “our Sunday best” to church?

Yosef   a.k.a.  Joe Brusherd      August 6, 2024

Author: “Hebraic Insights – Messages exploring the Hebrew roots of Christian Faith”
“Biblical Marriage (by Yosef)”       Weekly “Hebraic Musings”

Note – A re-published Musing “Why do we dress up for Church?” from September 12, 2011