But whenever it was that the flip occurred, I remember the point of actually being excited about the stack of shirt boxes under the tree which meant new sweaters for starting back to school in January. Adornment became an issue more so that just comfort and warmth. Then you wanted people to notice your new sweater, your cool jeans, or the jacket that you didn't have back in December. You began to notice your style separating from all that your parents once wanted you to wear. It was a time for exploring one's personality, and style, and affect on others.

The clothing industry knows this point quite well. They market to teens with great fervor. But really all of us, to one degree or another, fill our closets with swatches of fabric that represent our inner selves: conservative suits for the office, colorful play clothes chosen for the kids, and at least that one provocative outfit for anniversary night. At this time of year, store after store will have arrays of clothing on view for us to buy, full outfits to prod us into showing off our machismo or flaunting our feminine side. I confess that I still like getting new clothes - though I'm not wishing this year for stacks of boxes under the tree. It is fun to try on a new style, and it feels good to have someone compliment you on your choice of outfit. On special occasions, dressing up can be not only fun, but ceremonial and full of tradition and meaning. Also, any drastic change in one's appearance really can be indicative of an honest transition going on in a person's life.

I hope you heard in the Isaiah reading this morning - some of the language of fashion used in the prophet's descriptions of a new day for Zion. Isaiah speaks of a time when those who are in mourning will be given a garland instead of ashes, the mantle of praise instead of a faint spirit. And toward the end of this text, he talks about the garments of salvation being like the special adornments of a bride and groom dressed up for each other. The last two verses are particularly expressive when read from "The Message." Eugene Peterson translates the verses this way,

"I will sing for joy in God, explode in praise from deep in my soul! He dressed me up in a suit of salvation; he outfitted me in a robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom who puts on a tuxedo and a bride a jeweled tiara. For as the earth bursts with spring wildflowers, and as a garden cascades with blossoms, so the Master, God, brings righteousness into full bloom and puts praise on display before the nations."

Now literally, there were no tuxedos and tiaras around when this was written. There's some play found in the metaphorical text there. And yet, Peterson's translation accurately points out that these verses speak of a change in God's people that will be apparent from the inside out. Because of the Spirit of God, they are getting new clothes that will be noticed. The very Spirit of the Lord God anoints the prophet to tell of amazing good news. There will be good news for the poor, healing for the heartbroken, freedom for the captives, pardon for the prisoners, and a full on year of the Lord's favor and grace that will heal all the mourning felt in Zion.

But hearing the good news and learning how to dress in the good news are two very different things. When times are tough - economically, politically, emotionally - we tend to wear our despair on our sleeves. We grumble and complain. We blame others for our sorry state. In the worst case scenario, we turn to robbery and wrongdoing. We feel helpless to stop the greed of others, and have a tough time curtailing our own desires to appear flush when in reality we are desperate. We wear our bad news outfits everywhere.

If good news outfits are represented by the innocent beauty of love and trust between a groom and his bride - what are our bad news outfits? Our bad news outfits are sewn out of the nastiness of hate and suspicion. We hide ourselves behind robes of regret. We don the flashy garments of greed, or bundle ourselves up in the fashion of failure. Doom and gloom become the baggy sweatsuit of our lives. The truth was that Zion had become a mess.

The city of God, the people of God, felt like God was far, far from them. They had received double for all their sins. They had reason to complain to God and to worry about the ferocity of their enemies. The once proud city was in ruins. Her pride was down to zero. She didn't want to get dressed up and go out on the town, just to be rejected again. It was too hard. It was easier to accept defeat than to turn to joy and celebration.

Both the words of Isaiah, and the echo of this good news language by Jesus, remind us to get up and get dressed in the garments of salvation. Wash your face, and while you're at it, cleanse your heart. The oaks of righteousness are no shrinking violets. These trees will be tall, and proud, and full of the display of God's glory. They stand for justice, and consistently proclaim the good news with their very presence. And if that weren't enough, God's love will beautify us, just like God has covered the earth with shoots that burst forth in color, and variety, and plenty. But there is a point at which we have to accept the good news as good. We have to accept that this clothing is a good gift and fit for us to wear. The bad news clothes, over time, become comfortable and familiar. As awful as they are, it's hard to throw them out. The new clothes are a wee bit scary. A tuxedo feels like a monkey suit, a tiara too heavy of a crown. Celebration becomes a bane instead of a blessing. Taken from a line in a movie that I like, one of the characters says of many Christians, "They don't celebrate their faith, they mourn it."

Zion had some turning around to do. We have some turning around to do. Our closets get cluttered with all kinds of stuff and excess baggage. Even if we do get these new clothes for Christmas, the intent is to travel light, light-hearted that is. Our spirits will be lifted by this good news, but only if we receive it as good, only if we let go of the mourning and begin to wear the mantle of praise instead of our faint spirits, only if we are willing to work with God to bring good news to the oppressed and bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and release to the prisoners. Otherwise, we're stuck in the same old fashion rut.

As a person who earnestly desires to celebrate my faith fully and joyfully, I struggle with the season of Advent and ultimately with the celebration of Christmas. The joy that comes with allowing God's Spirit to wash over my life is very different than the expectation of material gifts and the let down that inevitably comes with all the shopping and gift giving hoopla of a cultural Christmas. At times the two realities seem almost in direct opposition to each other. Many of you probably heard about the death toll of Black Friday 2008, three people killed in the United States, either trampled or shot to death for the desire of lower prices and gifts to put under the tree. Sometimes it makes me want to give up on the season altogether, and yet, that's also not the prophet's message. There is a place for gift-giving, no holds barred, all-out celebration. We need the wedding banquet, the New Year's party, the Christmas feast. We need friends and family gathered together to show us just how precious life truly is. But the prophet reminds us, there's also celebration in the everyday, in the ordinary. God's good news is not just meant for a couple hours of ripping paper off of presents on December 25th. God's good news is transformational. It is grace - pure, undemanding, freely given grace. It changes not only our outlook, but our outward appearance to the world.

So I hope and pray for all of us that we will get new clothes for Christmas this year. May the Spirit of God bless you with a garland instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, the mantle of praise instead of a faint spirit! May you be clothed with the garments of salvation, covered with robes of righteousness! Like a groom in his tux, like a bride in her tiara - may God fill you with true joy and celebration!

Amen.