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The following poem was written by Tanner Olson to accompany 1517’s 2023 Advent Resources, The Clothing of the King. Advent begins this Sunday.
It started back in the garden.
Seeds had been sown, trees were grown,
animals roamed, Adam and Eve were home.
But you know how the story goes.
Harmony was disrupted with a single bite.
A pulled thread, sin stained the perfect life.
The first family became naked and afraid
Ripped and torn from the freedom they had worn.
God made garments and sent them off and away,
And like he always does, he made a way.
And if you look close enough
There’s a strand of hope that is woven through it all, starting back at the fall.
Like he does, God uses the little things to reveal his glory, to tell his story.
Little things like clothes.
There was Joseph's eye-catching coat of many colors,
The one that got him in trouble with his brothers.
Later there was Esther and her royal robes she wore to speak before the king,
The Prophet Isaiah saw a vision of the LORD dressed as priest,
And then, after the whale had a feast, Jonah arrived and gave the Ninevites a warning.
Their ears opened and ways changed, ripped off their clothes; they were never the same.
With grief and despair they dressed themselves in sackcloth to lament with knees bent.
And then Jesus arrives, takes on our skin,
Laid in a trough, wrapped in swaddling cloth
Christ takes on what we wore
Our sin and shame is what he bore,
Worn out and worn thin,
but this is where redemption begins.
A robe ripped and gambled,
A man hung high, left out to dry and die
only to come back and fashion us with everlasting life.
While we wait for Christ to reappear,
We do not need to wear shame and fear,
Take heart and confess,
With his death came light, new life,
You’re wrapped in white,
God is not afraid of your mess,
You’ve been clothed in his best:
Christ’s righteousness.
In this you can rest
By God’s grace, we are covered.
And God’s grace looks good on you.
