Mark 9 Who does your laundry?

And He was transfigured before them; and His garments became radiant and exceedingly white, as no launderer on earth can whiten them. Mark 9:2-3

It amazes me how I can read the scriptures over and over and not catch things like washerwomen getting mentioned in the Bible! We have all read the story of the transfiguration, and I have talked about it before in this blog from a different gospel. But Mark, well, my guess is he was a servant that did laundry. Who else would use the description given above? Was he the guy who tried to get every last bit of dirt out of the hem of a garment? Did he use lemon juice to whiten soiled linen? I have seldom seen a truly white sheep...there is a tinge of ecru going on there...just saying. To get a truly white garment was something special in those days, and of course, every little stain or spot shows up. Those things were a lot of maintenance...you can't let them get really dirty or the soils will never come out.

Or he hauled them off to the wet-cleaners. Someone else had the dirty job of cleaning, and he knew just how hard of a job it was to get things really white. It took an expert.

And then he hears the story of the transfiguration from Peter, James, or John. How shining and white His clothes were. Not an earthly white, but a heavenly white, so white, so pure, that no human could dare to achieve it. This Jesus was from another place, or at the least, was touched at that moment by another realm not of this world.

These clothes were just a help in revealing to the 3 apostles that Jesus was not of this world. He had existed before in the other realm, and was talking there in front of them with 2 men who were now living in that realm, Moses and Elijah. This was what He was really supposed to look like. But He gave that all up to come down here and become like us, plain and ordinary, so that He could die the substitutionary death for us. But the 3 apostles got a brief glimpse of who he really was an were speakless (until one of them spoke a little nonsense). That ended it. When Peter brought Jesus back down to earth, so to speak, the revelation ended. But the memory lingered. Who was this Guy? This one in unearthly white shining clothes? We have seen images on tv of glowing figures so often that we fail to understand how truly stunning it would be to see it in real life.

But His white clothes aren't the only heavenly thing we can't clean up on earth.

There is this ugly thing we try to call sin, but in this day and age is it just called a lifestyle choice. There is violation of the very rules of God. There is sin. Dark. Ugly. Staining. Ground-in. It has penetrated the fabric of our being to the point where no stain remover, no bleach, to lemon juice or soda or chemical treatment can remove it. It is a permanent part of the fabric of our lives and we are forced to live with it. And no earthly man can remove it. No man can forgive it. No scrubbing and penance and groveling can make it go away.

And then Jesus came. And He showed us that this world is not our home and that these stained garments can only become heavenly white when washed in the blood. How does blood take out stains, you ask? I don't know. I just know that that is how things work in God's laundromat. We are scrubbed spotless by the blood of the lamb. And they aren't just white, they are shiny white. Glorified white. Heavenly bright white. Those who appeared in them on earth did not stay on earth. They used their white clothes to communicate where they were from and to where they were returning. But they didn't stay. This world is not the place for shiny white clothes. But heaven is. And we are offered them when we get there. In the meantime we are like Jesus...undercover holy! We have those garments waiting for us, but while here, we look like others so we can relate to others. Remember when Moses glowed for a few days? It freaked people out. They couldn't relate to him, ask him to dinner, or even look at him without fearing. Jesus would have had the same effect if he would have come in his shining splendor. No one would have dared draw near. I think even Peter would have drawn the line there. But Jesus came to relate, to draw close, and at times, for our benefit, show us a glimpse of His glory. And hopefully we can do the same.

So, who does your laundry?

Luke 19 - It's a Wrap - Just do it!

Another came, saying, “Master, here is your mina, which I kept put away in a handkerchief; for I was afraid of you, because you are and exacting man...” Luke 19:20-21

Ah, can I relate to this passage.

I am a coward.

Anyone who knows me well knows that insecurity runs through my veins, capillaries, and arteries!

We know in our hearts that God has gifted us with certain abilities that are to be used for His glory, and yet we wallow in fear of the God who gave us the gifts. We fear the judgment of screwing up rather than the praise and correction of trying. We think that God can't possibly be happy with anything we do. We will fall short. We see every uneven stitch, every mismatched seam in the quilt of life and know that He will see it all even if the people who will glance at it never do. So we refuse to sew the seams in the first place. We put down the scissors or rotary cutter, turn off the sewing machine, and do nothing.

I have volunteered for NICU Helping Hands, a group that makes Angel Gowns and wraps from wedding dresses for the littlest of babies who pass away. It is a comfort to the families, and recognition of the life that was precious. Or should I say, I have the gowns, all washed and ready to go, and hope to volunteer. I am terrified. The dresses I received are GORGEOUS! But the demands of the group are many. These are not to be done lightly. They have to be even, to be symmetrical, to be a certain size and shape. These are “best practices” and I agree with them wholeheartedly, but this is also the part that keeps me from starting. What if they aren't? Aren't symmetrical, aren't acceptable? Oh, the humanity! To waste that gorgeous gown seems a sin, but the greater sin is to not use it at all. So maybe some will not work out the way I hope. Maybe parts will be trashed. But I have to “make the investment.”

This passage talks of the man who was given the mina to invest. Had he invested well but lost the money, would he not have been able to at least say, “I tried! I really did!” Would the master have not looked at him in pity? I do think so. We all fail at times. Other passages say that that Master forgives the debts that can't be repaid. The ones that He condemns are those that do nothing. They make no investment and then blame the Master instead of themselves. They judge God as being harsh and cruel instead of, out of love, doing the best they can to serve Him.

Therein lies the problem. The lack of love. When we love, we do. We try our hardest for those we love. We put not only our time and money there, we put our heart and soul. When you receive a gift from someone, you can sense the heart of the giver. Perhaps this is where homemade gifts make the biggest impact...there is time and money, heart and soul put into them. The Quilts of Valor mission tells of countless stories that the tears are that SOMEONE CARED ENOUGH to make a quilt for them. The gift itself is important...the beauty, the recognition for a job well done. But it is the effort...whether the seams all match or not, that someone put into making someone else feel special about what they have done, that makes the impact.

And when we lack love for the giver, God, we will hesitate to worship through trying, through striving, through investing in His kingdom due to fear. Perfect love casts out all fear, the scriptures say, so when we fail to try, we fail to love.

I know through everything I have read about NICU Helping Hands that they will help me become the best seamstress I can be and not get angry if my gowns do not comply. They will make suggestions until I can get it right, and then I can contribute until such time as I lose the heart to do it or I can't sew another seam. But I cannot let fear stop me from starting. That is not love. It is not love to know that I can contribute and then refuse to due to my selfish pride.

The same goes with quilts. If I choose not to donate them because they couldn't be good enough, that someone will judge them and deem them unworthy, then I deprive someone of warmth, beauty (which truly is in the eye of the beholder!), and comfort. And who am I to do such a thing?

God doesn't stop with rebuking the man, He takes the mina away and gives it to someone who will use it. Do I want to lose my sewing skills? Do I want to have my machines sit idle when they could be working? Do I want my stash to be parceled out to others because I refused to use it myself? Never.

And what was that mina wrapped up in? The handkerchief, the piece of cloth that was not meant for that reason. It is defined differently in various versions...but let's contemplate each. A handkerchief or bandanna was used to wipe the sweat off one's brow during work. This man did not work with the mina. The fact that he wasn't working allowed him to wrap the thing up. The King James says napkin. It is used for cleaning oneself after dinner or for holding food to keep it off the table and prevent dirt and germs from contaminating it. He wasn't savoring the opportunity to accomplish great things for the kingdom. He was feasting on his own self-pity. Sad. The New International just says piece of cloth. Maybe just a random rag laying around, he did not respect the gift or the giver and just hid it in something deemed worthless that no one would steal it away. In any of these cases there was more than just neglect of the gift. There was a great disrespect for the giver. There was laziness and fear and self-righteousness. And it was a waste of everyone's time and resources.

So get out the scissors and do something. It won't be perfect, but it can still be useful. And then we will have more to give back than we started with, which is the point. Bringing more people to the Lord is what this life is all about.