the apparel oft proclaims the man

Scripture Lessons

Isaiah 9:2-7                           “The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light.”

Psalm 96                               They will sing before the Lord, for He comes to judge.

Titus 2:11-14                          We await our blessed hope, the glory of our great God.

Luke 2:1-20                           The birth of Jesus

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

A few weeks ago, I drew your attention to Shakespeare’s “Hamlet.” Again will I do so tonight. This reference is from the first act, scene 3, in which Laertes is packing his bags and bidding farewell to his sister, Ophelia, and father, Polonius. Among his other advice to his son, Polonius says, “Costly thy habit as thy purse can buy, but not expressed in fancy (rich, not gaudy), for the apparel oft proclaims the man.” In other words, dress as nicely as you can, not garishly but in good taste, wear your best suit because you can tell a lot about a person from what they are wearing. Indeed, in Elizabethan England there were strict laws regarding clothing. Clothes identified a person’s social status and it was against the law to wear clothes above your station. Perhaps this is the first Christmas Eve sermon you’ve heard which begins with fashion history. There is a point.

“The apparel oft proclaims the man.” Is this true? Does clothing reveal the character of a person? Does clothing give you insight beyond the veneer of a person, penetrating their inner being?

2000 years ago (2026 if Jesus was born 2 BC), “the people who walked in darkness [saw] a great light….. for to us a child is born, to us a son is given…his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” What sort of apparel proclaims this “man.” Could this even be a man? Surely, he would be clothed in dazzling raiment, adorned with precious jewels and a golden crown.

No. He was, “wrapped in swaddling cloths and laid in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.” Do swaddling cloths proclaim the incarnate God? Lest there be any doubt, there was the witness of an angel of the Lord who appeared to the shepherds with the glory of the Lord shining around them, causing the shepherds to fear greatly. “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.” In this case, swaddling cloths proclaim the God-man, the one is a savior, Christ the Lord.

At this announcement all of heaven rejoiced. “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased.” God is clothed in humble attire, denied a comfortable place, made to feel the cold, suffer hunger and pain and at this, all of heaven gives glory to God and on earth there is peace with those who will believe the promise of God. A world mired in sin and death has become inhabited by the Savior, who is Christ the Lord. The news is so good, so profound, that it is impossible to believe. It is too good to be true. Heaven must testify to this event.

These cloths do proclaim the God-man. They tell the world of the True God. He is not distant from you, an unseen ruler from on high. He does not fear  being deposed from His throne. He is not capricious. His glory is not defined in human terms or by our fallen standards. “Though he was in the form of God, [He] did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, ⁷ but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. ⁸ And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.” Philippians 2:6-8. The swaddling cloths foretell His burial, “wrapped in a linen shroud and laid in a tomb cut in stone.” Luke 23:53. Those same linen cloths bore witness to the resurrection. “But Peter rose and rane to the tomb; stooping and looking in, he saw the linen cloths by themselves; and he went home marveling at what had happened.” Luke 24:12.

“The apparel oft proclaims the man.” Yes. The apparel tells you about Jesus. Swaddling cloths at his birth, a thorn studded crown at his death, bear witness to the love of God for you, sinners in need of a savior. Jesus is that savior. He could have come at first in judgment. From the eyes of the world that would have been something spectacular. And who could stand before such judgment? He will come again in judgment and at his second coming all the world will know exactly who He is and will fear. But you, my beloved, will rejoice because you know who God is already. He has come in the flesh, suffered and died for your sins, and has been raised for your justification. “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!”

The peace of God, which passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.