Isaiah 61:10-11: "10 I will greatly rejoice in the LORD, my soul shall be joyful in my God; For He has clothed me with the garments of salvation, He has covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decks himself with ornaments, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels. 11 For as the earth brings forth its bud, as the garden causes 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."
Isaiah's prophecy is the words of our Lord Jesus about Himself. These words, recorded for us today as the Old Testament lesson for the Transfiguration of Our Lord, reveal who our Lord Jesus is. Our Lord Jesus is a bridegroom decked with ornaments. Those ornaments are his righteouness and salvation. One can clearly see the transfiguration in these words. For on the Mount of Transfiguration, our Lord shone like the sun, and His clothes became white like no fuller on earth could launder. His clothes were this type of white, because our Lord Jesus revealed His true righteousness.
In His earthly ministry our Lord hid His divine nature. One could say that he wore the garment of sin and shame, therefore it was dirty and dingy. However, our Lord shows His true nature by revealing His true righteousness to Sts. Peter, John and James the Elder. Isaiah foretells this event by likening the robe of righteousness of our Savior, and the garments of salvation which He wears, as the clothes of a bridegroom and bride.
We've all been to weddings, or are at least familiar with them, so we can relate to this image. Much is made about the dress of the bride. So much so that one would think it was the most important thing (next to the cake). Of course sinful man misplaces the important thing in a wedding, and by extension, in marriage as well, which is the unity that is made by our Lord God, and the agreement that those who are married in the Church, are asking our Heavenly Father's blessing upon their marriage, so that they might live united as one, even as He is One, and the Church is one.
But misplaced focus aside, we know how important it is to dress a certain way at a wedding, and there is nothing wrong with this, even Isaiah the prophet in Old Testament times, recognizes the importance of wedding garments. We can clearly see from the illustration, that wedding clothes are not our everyday clothes. They are special garments that reveal something about the event that will take place. And they reveal something about the person. As the saying goes, "clothes make the man."
Here is the key. Our Lord Jesus wears these special clothes, which we consider to be worn only on special occasions, all the time. His wedding garments are righteousness and salvation, and He is always wearing them. And in the transfiguration, we get a glimpse of His righteousness and our salvation. And the great news is that these special wedding clothes of our Lord, the garment of salvation and the robe of righteousness, have been given to us to wear all the time, by virtue of our Holy Baptism.
In Holy Baptism, we have put on Christ, that is, we have put on His robe of righteousness and His garment of salvation, so that our dirty and dingy clothes racked with sin and shame are covered over, or even better, have been removed, so that all our Heavenly Father only sees the righteousness of His Son Jesus. Our sins are no longer seen on account of our Holy Baptism. And every day that we remember our Holy Baptism, we once again put on that robe of righteousness that our Lord Jesus gave to us in Holy Baptism, and won for us on the cross of His death.
And in this, our Heavenly Father, cause to spring forth from the earth, the new bud of life and salvation. This bud is the Church, that is, all those who have been baptized with the water of life, and who cling to their Holy Baptism in faith. This holy water has gone over the whole earth, and flooded it with salvation, and the whole earth has been reborn in the righteousness and salvation of our Lord Jesus. And those who put on this righteousness by virtue of their baptisms, rejoice greatly in the Lord, and their soul is joyful in the Lord God. For it is He who has clothed them in righteousness. And for that we are eternally thankful.
God be with you!
Deacon Dulas
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