Are the Saints Dressed with More than a Smile?

Posted on November 20, 2017 by Father Joe

151114333672358

Children used to be the only ones to ask the question, “Do the saints in heaven wear clothes?” However, adults are increasingly asking me the same question. Dr. Kreeft refers to visions from private revelation: “They say that it is hard to classify the blessed as either clothed or naked. If clothed, it is as if the clothing were a part of the body, an organic growth, rather than an accidental, foreign covering: it reveals rather than conceals, and it is natural and necessary rather than artificial and accidental. If naked, it is shameless and not arousing erotic desires.”

I recall reading a speculative fiction paperback years ago where the people destined for heaven found themselves embodied. As they went up to heaven their bodies began to change— principally their sexual organs began to shrink and disappear— making them appear as small children but without sexual passion or interest. Those who went to hell seemed to go through a reverse process and became more unruly and manipulated by their desires and sin. I really do not think that is the prospect that awaits us after death. If our Lord could even carry the wounds of his ordeal in his hands, feet and side; then I think it is more likely that we will continue to be who we are, albeit no longer subject to concupiscence or the need to propagate the species. Indeed, the need for intimacy will no longer require the joining of bodies but will be satisfied with the beatific vision and union with God. Our souls, if not immediately then at the final consummation, will be rejoined to our bodies glorified and made immortal. Naked or clothed it will make no difference because there will be no shame, just as it was with Adam and Eve in the primordial garden before the fall.

We will be recognizable and yet different. Imagine if no one were overweight or starving, weakened by age or handicapped, and no longer anxious about tomorrow or weary from the world’s betrayals and difficulties. It is no wonder that the women at the tomb did not immediately recognize Jesus. Remember, they had last seen his scourged and crucified body taken down from the Cross. Now, suffering and death no longer has any part of him… this is the smiling Jesus… this is the Christ of joy!

There are several instances where the Bible describes the vestiture of heaven as white, indeed when it comes to the Transfiguration (indicative of Christ’s coming victory over sin and death and his resurrection), his clothes are whiter than any bleacher could make them— almost like light itself. It would make sense that believers would suppose that those who follow our Lord would be similarly attired. “After six days Jesus took Peter, James, and John his brother, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. And he was transfigured before them; his face shone like the sun and his clothes became white as light. And behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to them, conversing with him” (Matthew 17:1-3). Light and truth are interconnected themes.

Clothes are worn in the garden because of a sense of shame or inadequacy. Clothes are still worn, not only for warmth and comfort, but also to project something about ourselves— an image that may not always be in conformity with the truth. Some wear tight clothing for reasons of seduction. Others wear loose or baggy clothing to disguise shape. Still others wear clothes that inspire or impress others. Note that the new Adam is virtually stripped when he undergoes his passion and the victory of the Cross. I suspect any clothing that we may wear or appear to wear in the coming kingdom will not disguise but rather show precisely who we are and what we are about.

A parable is told about a king who gave a wedding banquet for his son. After his initial guests made excuses so as not to attend, he sends out a general invitation. “‘Go out, therefore, into the main roads and invite to the feast whomever you find.’ The servants went out into the streets and gathered all they found, bad and good alike, and the hall was filled with guests. But when the king came in to meet the guests he saw a man there not dressed in a wedding garment. He said to him, ‘My friend, how is it that you came in here without a wedding garment?’ But he was reduced to silence. Then the king said to his attendants, ‘Bind his hands and feet, and cast him into the darkness outside, where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth.’ Many are invited, but few are chosen” (Matthew 22:9-14). It is important for us to remember that the wedding garments were readily available and given at the door. This one person entered the feast unconcerned about honoring the king’s son and lacking any gratitude for the invitation. There is no answer he can make. He does not belong. He is thrown out. Note that he is tied up. Turning to Jesus, outside the feast there is only bondage and despair— there is only sin and hell. The wedding garment, these gowns of white for the elect, signify honoring Christ and that we are participants in the wedding banquet of the Lamb.

Note that brides still often wear white dresses or gowns. Those who attend the heavenly banquet are more than guests, they are members of the Church and the Church is the bride of Christ. White is a precious sign of light, purity and marriage. Groom and Bride wear white, indeed, the bride’s gown has been washed clean in the blood of the Lamb. “Then one of the elders spoke up and said to me, ‘Who are these wearing white robes, and where did they come from?’ I said to him, ‘My lord, you are the one who knows.’ He said to me, ‘These are the ones who have survived the time of great distress; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb” (Revelation 7:13-14).

There is an old saying, clothes make the man. If this is the case, then wearing Christ means embracing the new man. We are not what we were before and yet, in a sense, we have become our true self— what God has wanted us to become from the very beginning. The saints of heaven will be spiritually clothed in Christ, in whom nothing is hidden and where truth reigns. “Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, heartfelt compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience, bearing with one another and forgiving one another, if one has a grievance against another; as the Lord has forgiven you, so must you also do. And over all these put on love, that is, the bond of perfection” (Colossians 3:12-14).