All Dressed Up and Somewhere To Go
“For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ” (Galatians 3:27).
“All dressed up and nowhere to go” was first thrust upon the unsuspecting public by an eccentric female character in “The Girl of My Dreams,” one of the prettiest, cleanest little operas of the 1910 vaudeville season. Quick as a hiccup the phrase was everywhere. Prepared for an event or project that never materialized? You were, “all dressed up and nowhere to go!” Cinderella, of course, had the opposite problem - all ready to go but nothing to wear.
Israel’s high priest had neither problem. He was given strict and intricate instructions about the clothing he had to wear whenever he went about his priestly duties. All dressed up with a purpose to show and a place to go - before God’s people. The priests were “set apart from the common people” so all would know they minister before the LORD (Exodus 28:1). Their sacred vestments symbolized the glory and beauty of God, added dignity to their work, and revealed their consecration to the LORD himself” (Exodus 28:2).
Even today, if you see an NYPD officer in uniform on one of those big bay mares in Central Park it communicates a message, doesn’t it? A higher authority represented with dignity. So, it was with the LORD’s regiment of men serving his people as priests. There was to be no mistake about Aaron’s identity or the dignity of his office. He was God’s man, and his appearance and conduct were to reflect his unique status as one who represented man to God and God to man.
But what exactly did the resplendent high priest communicate about the LORD beyond a holy glory? Well, the ephod (28:6) and the chest piece (28:15) bore precious gemstones on which were engraved the names of the twelve tribes of Israel. As the high priest, uniquely dressed for
the occasion, entered the presence of the LORD in the Most Holy Place, the LORD was “reminded” (28:9) of his people. Inside, the chest piece was placed two mysterious objects call Urim and Thumim that were “used to determine the LORD’s will for his people” (28:30).
Did God need a reminder of the needs of his people? Ah, no, but the ornamental stones served as a vivid reminder to Aaron, as he dressed, that the LORD is the “with us God,” never forgetful of his people. And as Aaron appeared before the LORD, symbolically bearing the weight of the people on his shoulders and over his very heart, he was taking this burden to the LORD. Power point before power point. As if the LORD was saying, “How else can I possibly communicate my love and faithfulness to my people!?”
Aaron was all dressed up and he had somewhere to go - and something special to do. How about you as a modern-day Christ-follower? At your baptism Christ dressed you in his righteousness. “For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ” (Galatians 3:27). Forgiven and dressed in your adult faith wardrobe are you living as a chosen child of God, his little priest, in the way you speak and live on behalf of God?
Several years ago, the Barbie Liberation Organization demanded that voice boxes on roughly 30% of G.I. Joes and Barbie dolls be exchanged. Barbie taught passivity in girls. G.I. Joe taught boys to act violently. With these claims the BLO demanded the voice box changes to make their point.
Imagine as a little guy getting a G.I. Joe, dressed to kill in army fatigues, with a machine gun in one hand and a hand grenade in the other. “So cool!” you whisper. You charge him over the couch and activate his voice box and hear in your mom’s voice: “Want to go shopping?” Or “Beauty isn’t always a cute colored flower.” Worse yet imagine a girl getting her new Barbie to talk on Christmas Eve in her fur coat and hat in front of the family and in the voice of Charles Bronson she says, “Beachhead - I want to talk to you about your deodorant!” Or “Down! Down! Meathead - fire in the hole.” The dress doesn’t quite fit the message in either scenario.
“But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light” (1 Peter 2:9). Dawn in someone’s darkness with kindness. Be humbly holy in speech even when it’s supposedly cool to be unholy. Invite others to practice the presence of God at home and at your church. Be all dressed up with somewhere to go. Jesus see to it, in your life and mine.