Monday, August 2, 2010

Garments And Hems

Today while reading Mathew 14 verse 34 to 36 it said:

"When they had crossed over(by boat both Jesus and the apostles),they came to the land of Gennesaret.
And when the men of that place recognized him,they sent out into all the surrounding region,brought to him all who were sick,
and begged him that they might touch only the hem of his garment.
And as many as touched it were made perfectly well."

I have been reading up on Mathew and it seems he was very Jewish in his faith and tries to link the things Jesus does with the Old Testament to find fulfillment through Jesus.
While I read these verses it struck me that in many stories,both Old and New Testament,that garments and hems get mentioned a great deal.
Healing's happen when Jesus hem gets touched by not just these people but also the woman who was bleeding for many years.
As I began to think about Moses he was told by God not just how to set up the alter but also the vestments the priests will wear.
He pays particular attention to the edging and hems of their garments talking about pom poms made like pomegranates even what color the pom poms should be,everything in great detail.
I remember reading that to this day men from the Jewish faith wear a sort of tee shirt with tassels on the ends in certain colors signifying certain things.Great detail is placed in the number of strands and how they are tied.
Everything on these shirts mean something.
Fr. Peter has told me several times the importance of even the hem of a robe and how people in the Orthodox Christian faith will kiss the hem of a priest garment in reverence,not to the priest,but to God.
The colors of the garments signify certain times of the year and feast days.They are elaborately colored and fine because it is to be in the glory of Jesus not the glory of the person wearing it.When we are in church we are in the presence of God and as such it should be as if having a king in ones palace.
We don't tend to make much out of a garments' hem.It is usually rather plain with no real meaning unless we are dressed in our finest of clothes and there may be some lace or trim on it,especially women's clothes.
But God seems to be a very detailed person it seems he finds beauty in not just the top of the garment but the edges and the bottom.
Nothing is to simple for him.
I got to thinking maybe God does this because he wants us to understand that in our church family the top is no anymore glorified then the bottom.
The Patriarch who is near the top,or neckline,is no more revered or beautiful then say the least of the people sitting in the church or in the streets.
We in Gods' sight are all beautiful in color and glory and brilliance.
The entire garment is beautiful and the trim adds to the glory of God be it on the bottom or on the top.
God and Jesus are the heads of the church and we his beautiful spectacular garment make up the royalty of what he chooses to wears.
We are some thing he is proud to put on,like a king in a robe trimmed with Ermin along the edges and bottom,sewn in as one gleaming for all the universe to admire.

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