Fit for a KING
I went to the Swedish Institute on Thursday to see the exhibit, "Fit for a Queen: The Nobel Gowns of Sweden's Queen Silvia." It featured dresses the Queen has worn to the Nobel Prize dinner over the years. There were some truly beautiful dresses there.And it got me thinking. To go to this exhibit, I dressed nicely. Not really fancy, but there was no way I was going to go wearing jeans. That just didn't seem right. Also, I found that I walked straighter when I was there - like I was in the presence of something greater.
I was raised with all sorts of Swedishness around me. As I got older, I got kind of burnt out with Swedish stuff, though. Seeing these dresses, along with the pictures of the King and Queen that they had all over, made me want it back. Suddenly I remembered that when I was in Sweden I noticed that every Swedish home had a picture of them somewhere.
And all of this got me thinking that there must be some spiritual parallel here. J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis were firmly against the loss of the esteem people had for royalty. They believed that only through that earthly picture, could we understand what it meant to have a KING above us. The book 'Mere Theology,' which talks about some of Lewis' core beliefs, says, '[Monarchy] is vital because it reminds us that we do not live in an egalitarian world but rather in a world in which hierarchy exists at all levels.'
Along with this thought, was the fact that I refused to go in jeans. I wanted to look nice (and if I had had the time to shave my legs, I would've gone in a skirt), even just to be in the presence of the gowns. I know GOD doesn't care what we wear to church. I do, however, firmly believe that we shoud give HIM our best. The pastor said today (regarding something else, but it can still be applicable) that while people think of church differently today than they did 50 (heck 15) years ago, there is still the matter of respecting the house of worship.I know there are more parallels, but I don't know how to put them into words. Suffice it to say that I believe there is something to the fact that gazing upon the loveliness of the queen made me want more of her and her people.
posted by melilotnfosco | 9:18 PM
5 Comments:
Those dresses are beautiful, and your point is interesting. I think there's definitely something to be said about our loss of respect at church. I'm as guilty as the next person - from wearing jeans to church to making a mental grocery list during prayer time. I love the relaxed and open setting of a contemporary worship service, but I have to wonder if it leaves me too open to the distractions that keep me from truly worshipping and learning.
Plus I'm intrigued by what you said CS Lewis said about monarchy. I'm going to have to think about that some more.
i used to fight my father up and down about wearing pants (let alone jeans!) to church. it wasn't until i was older that i understood that his point was that God deserves our best. if our best is torn jeans and an old t-shirt, that's perfectly alright. and we have to be careful to remember that we're dressing for Him, not for the fashion police. it's the attitude of the heart that matters.
(all that being said, yes, i do wear pants to church about 50% of the time. and my girls do - gasp! - wear jeans. but it never really feels right to me)
I like to dress up and don't like that my church is so casual, but I don't know if it's to give God my best. I just like having a reason to wear a dress once in a while.
Our church has a WIDE variety of opinion and practice on this issue, but thankfully, it isn't a contentious issue. I have a friend that makes sure she is wearing a skirt when leading worship. I, however, make sure I am not, as I'm sitting at the piano and it would be rather indecent! :) To that note, the last time I tried to wear a skirt at all, my kids made me realize that it was not a good idea in general! Whoops! :)
there's also the issue of needing to remember the awe that i should have when before my KING. what an amazing blessing it is to get to gaze upon HIS loveliness. and HE is so much more than anything we can imagine here on earth. and when we spend time with HIM, we'll want more of HIM.
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