I know. I get it. Why the risque talk? What am I going for here? What am I getting at? Look back at the life, particularly the words of Jesus. Every time he had an opportunity to address the masses, he did so in a very real and poignant way. And every time he not only left them with a great message, he left them considering something: Now What? Really, that’s the same thing going on here.
There’s this beautiful passage in John 21 (check it out here) where Peter and some of the other disciples (this is after the crucifixion, death and resurrection of Jesus) are fishing out on the lake. So far, they aren’t having much luck (I certainly know how that goes). In their former lives, before Jesus came in and absolutely turned their worlds upside down, some of these guys were professional fishermen. They knew their stuff. On the shore stood a man now, and he called to them, “Cast your nets on the right side of the boat”. The disciples did, and a miraculous net of fish was caught, so much so they could not reel it in. Immediately Peter got it- he cried out “Lord”! The text says that he got up, wrapped his fisher’s coat around him (he was stark naked- that’s how they rolled back then) and swam out to meet Jesus. A beautiful scene, right?
Yes, it’s pretty nice- it captures a moment in time between a talmid and his teacher (remember, a talmid is the Jewish name for a disciple), where a reconnection is made. You can call it an “ah ha” moment. But for a second, think back to the previous blog item, the one about being naked. Remember how Adam and Eve were created naked, and were unashamed and perfect. Remember how David danced naked before the Lord. How the ancient writers and scholars thought of these scenes as being clothed in worship. Remember.
Now come back to this scene with Peter and Jesus. One of his closest disciples, Peter, realizes his Lord is on the shore, gets up, gets dressed (he was naked: GUMNOS) and then swims out to meet Him. You see, that is the way we all too often swim out to Jesus- fully dressed. We stay covered, ashamed of what we bring to Jesus. Now, this isn’t to poke fun at Peter or to take anything away from that moment; I am sure it was a majestic scene. However, it does illustrate our human need to put on a face before God, as if He didn’t already know who we are.
The challenge still remains the same today, as it was before, to shed our clothes, to become stripped bare, and dance wildly before the Lord. Live your life as you were created to live. This is worship. This is perfection. This is life as it was meant to be lived. Clothing Optional*.
* Refers to original post, Clothing Optional*.