I will greatly rejoice in the LORD, my soul shall be joyful in my God; for he hath clothed me with the garments of salvation, he hath covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decketh himself with ornaments, and as a bride adorneth herself with her jewels.
For as the earth bringeth forth her bud, and as the garden causeth the things that are sown in it to spring forth; so the Lord GOD will cause righteousness and praise to spring forth before all the nations.

Luke 2:22-40

And when the time came for their purification according to the law of Moses, they brought him up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord (as it is written in the law of the Lord, "Every male that opens the womb shall be called holy to the Lord") and to offer a sacrifice according to what is said in the law of the Lord, "a pair of turtledoves, or two young pigeons."  Now there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon, and this man was righteous and devout, looking for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him.  And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he should not see death before he had seen the Lord's Christ.  And inspired by the Spirit he came into the temple; and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him according to the custom of the law, he took him up in his arms and blessed God and said, "Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, according to thy word; for mine eyes have seen thy salvation which thou hast prepared in the presence of all peoples, a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and for glory to thy people Israel."  And his father and his mother marveled at what was said about him; and Simeon blessed them and said to Mary his mother, "Behold, this child is set for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign that is spoken against (and a sword will pierce through your own soul also), that thoughts out of many hearts may be revealed."

And there was a prophetess, Anna, the daughter of Phan'u-el, of the tribe of Asher; she was of a great age, having lived with her husband seven years from her virginity, and as a widow till she was eighty-four.  She did not depart from the temple, worshiping with fasting and prayer night and day.
And coming up at that very hour she gave thanks to God, and spoke of him to all who were looking for the redemption of Jerusalem.  And when they had performed everything according to the law of the Lord, they returned into Galilee, to their own city, Nazareth.  And the child grew and became strong, filled with wisdom; and the favor of God was upon him.

I can remember as a child wanting only toys for Christmas.  Of course, I didn’t always get what I wanted. Especially from Aunt Lena.  I think that everyone has or has had an “Aunt Lena” in their lives.  Aunt Lena is the one who always gives clothes.  Only clothes.  Now, there’s nothing wrong with clothes. My parents were certainly grateful.  Aunt Lena was a wonderful tailor.  She could design and sew just about everything.  But just about everything she made was always at least three sizes too big for me.  And if I had any hopes on any given Christmas that Aunt Lena might decide to shop at Kaybee toys for me that year, the hopes were dashed when I’d catch sight of that tell tale garment box she’d hand me.  I’d have to try the item on, of course, and as I’d stand there for inspection, with the shoulders of my new dress hanging halfway to my elbows, the waste floating somewhere around my hips, and the hem dragging the floor, Aunt Lena would smile and say, “Perfect!  You’ll grow into it!”  You see, I found out that Aunt Lena would make all her nieces the same creation, literally the same, size and all, and she based her pattern on the dimensions of her largest niece.  So while I was swimming in my dress, my cousin Carmella, who was eight years older than I and a whole foot taller, would be able to wear her dress to Christmas Eve service that very year.  My Aunt Lena was the one who coined the expression “One Size Fits All”.

I thought of Aunt Lena’s creations when I read Isaiah’s description of God’s righteousness being a Robe.  We think of a robe as a comfortable garment, large.  God bestows God’s gift of righteousness.  This Robe of Righteousness is cut from one pattern; it comes in only one size.  Large.  Very large.  It is, in fact, God’s righteousness.  It is so large that its enormity can either overwhelm us to the point that we don’t know how to receive such a gift, and we are stunted in our growth, or it can serve as an indication of our potential to grow into that gift, and because of that potential, cause us to rejoice and praise and begin to walk in that potential.

The prophet Isaiah chose the latter response.  While Israel is being ravaged and ransacked by foreign rulers, and while the people are being scattered to foreign lands, Isaiah hangs onto that promise of salvation and that potential of what Israel will be.  Isaiah likens the process to seeds.  A seed planted in the ground has the potential to become the flower, or the bush, or the tree it was meant to be.  Whatever the seed is meant to be is programmed in the DNA within it.  When placed in the right environment, and with the proper circumstances, the seed’s potential will be reached.  I love the Hebrew mindset. There seems to be no difference in the Hebrew mind between something that will be and the present.  The verb tenses are the same.  In other words, because that seed has the potential to become a tree, it is as if it is already a tree.  And so when Isaiah says that God will cause righteousness, it is as if righteousness has already been effected, despite the present situation.  The Robe of Righteousness has been placed upon the people.  And though it is very large, they would grow into it.  When it comes to Robes of Righteousness, One Size Fits All.

Almost five hundred years after Isaiah, an old man, and an old woman, recognizing the righteousness of God in the infant Jesus, do what Isaiah and others had done before them when God’s righteousness was recognized – They praise and exult God, celebrating and rejoicing in God’s salvation, and publicly expressing the realization of God’s promises.  Jesus is just an infant here, barely forty days old.  I can imagine Simeon taking the baby from his mother’s arms.  As Simeon’s eyes gaze upon the tiny infant wrapped in bands of cloth, his prophetic vision sees not the customary swaddling cloths, but a huge Robe of Righteousness, draped loosely from the baby’s shoulders, hanging well past the tiny legs and feet, and gently sweeping the floor.  And in that Robe, and cut from the very same pattern, Simeon sees his own salvation, his own righteousness, with which God has clothed him, and he rejoices and praises God.  Because this infant would one day attain the potential for which he was born, and because it is from the very same pattern that Simeon’s robe is fashioned, Simeon rejoices and praises God.  Anna takes it a step further. She not only responds with praise but is moved to action, telling everyone who would listen.

I’m wondering if perhaps either Pastor Rich, or Diane, is holding that new grandson right now, and whether they are looking past the tiny, delicate infant to see the potential of the person he will become.  Maybe little Matthew Hayes will write beautiful poetry, or pick up a bat and slam that baseball over the wall!  The potential is already there, programmed in his DNA, just waiting for the right environment and circumstances to become realized.  In like manner, as a Christian, he carries a kind of spiritual DNA, too.  God has clothed him in a robe of righteousness.  A robe far too large for such a tiny frame, but one which he will surely grow into.

Luke tells us that as Jesus grew; he increased both physically and spiritually. He grew into his potential.  And because he did, because he fulfilled the plan of salvation which God had prepared for us from the beginning, we are clothed in Robes of Righteousness.  But in addition to the phrase “One Size Fits All”, the labels on our Robes also bear a Caution.  No, the labels do not read “Dry Clean Only”… but rather, state something like this,

“The wearing of this Robe will pierce your very being.”

Simeon saw that through Jesus many would fall and rise, and that Jesus would be opposed.  Israel would be divided over the Messiahship of Jesus. Simeon also added that Mary’s own soul, or being, would be pierced.  Did this piercing refer to the pain Mary would feel at seeing her own son tortured and killed?  Perhaps.  Or maybe Simeon was also referring to the dissonance, or mixed feelings, Mary herself might have about Jesus’ Messiahship and how his righteousness might be appropriated in her own life?

Are our feelings mixed, too?  We have the promise; We have seen the salvation; We have been given the opportunity to either accept or reject the gift. God has put these Robes of Righteousness on us.  But at some point in our lives, the enormity of what God has done hits us, and we are mindful of how large and ill-fitting our robes are.  Have you had the experience yet in your Christian walk where the magnitude of God’s saving grace has hit you; has overwhelmed you?  Maybe you were in church when this happened, or maybe you were shoveling snow, or doing the dishes, or in the middle of that algebra test, or a business meeting.  And you realize that though there is nothing about you, or me, which could make God love us, God is absolutely enamored of you, and of me.  So much so, that from the very beginning, from the time before you were born, God chose you to wear that Robe of Righteousness.  This realization is so awesome, so overwhelming, that we can respond in one of two ways.

How do we do this?  How do we respond in such a way that we grow to fulfill God’s plan for us?  As a congregation, how do we respond so that God’s righteousness can be appropriated right here, in our very midst?  What would the next year in ministry together look like here at St. Paul’s if we caught just a glimpse of our potential?

Like that which is sown, we need to be in the right environment in order to sprout; to grow.  What causes you to praise and celebrate?  Which circumstances and environment seem to make this happen for you?  Is it being in worship?  Great!  There are a number of ways we worship at St. Paul’s.  Or is it studying God’s word?  There are a number of opportunities to do so.  Or maybe it is serving at Elijah’s Promise, or teaching Sunday School?  Maybe it’s in prayer.  As a Body we participate in the work of prayer.  Prayer serves to tune us in to God.  If we’re all tuned in to God, we are automatically tuned in to one another.

Maybe we as a congregation have the potential to help others see and reach their potential.  What would that look like?  How do you appropriate God’s promise?  Maybe it’s in the way you encourage others.  Or maybe you celebrate in your day to day activities, making your very routine a response to the Righteousness you have received.  Your Robe of Righteousness may be large…extremely large.  It may hang on you and drag the floor.  That’s okay. You’ll grow into it.  Remember, when it comes to God’s righteousness,

One Size Fits All