This past Sunday, the first through fifth grade choirs did their spring musical. I was asked to help with the staging and given the title of director. I really was not the “director” in any way I know of, but that is a different story. I did not need a title and certainly not one that was not representative of what I really did. I did get to make a few decisions, so I decided to just put the kids in modern day garb for several reasons. It seemed simpler, more colorful and more in keeping with some of the modern aspects that had been added to the old story of Bartimaeus. My first experience on a college stage several years ago was doing an ancient Greek tragedy with “goth” costuming. I myself got to run around in a dress that was designed off of one of Courtney Love’s Academy Award dresses. Not your typical Greek tragedy clothes, but I loved it. Also, years ago when the Trinity Players did Godspell, the actor portraying Jesus wore a pair of jeans and a Superman t-shirt followed by a white tux and somehow, the church is still standing! To me, all clothes are costumes (and I do LOVE clothes!) and do no more or less than carry forward a vision, help define a character and add to the spectacle of a performance. I thought that Jesus in modern day khakis and a white dress shirt would stand out and glow in front of a bunch of kids in jeans and super bright, solid colored t-shirts. That was my vision. I may have been willing to compromise almost everything, but I do LOVE costumes and I have very strong visual ideas. They are very often times ignored as unimportant, but to me they are very important.
Unfortunately, I was overruled. The main lesson I learned in this process was that I never want to direct “by committee” again. Whether people will admit or not, they have an idea of what they want. Beware when someone tells you to design something for them and they say the dreaded, “I have no vision, do what you want.” Somewhere in their head they have an idea, even if it is only a small seed of a concept. And without some collaboration, some give and take, nothing you do can possibly match their idea if they don’t speak up. Once you come up with an idea it will never really suit them. How many times have I decorated a room, all the while my husband saying, “Do what you want, I know nothing about decorating” only to have him stop me midstroke to say, “You can’t paint a room brown!” Everyone has an opinion whether they will admit it or not.
At dress rehearsal it was conveyed to me that Jesus should wear a robe, modern day or not. I politely disagreed and we moved on. Right before the show I found the actor playing Jesus, (an adult, not a kid) being put into a robe behind my back. Everyone looked at me as if I had caught them stealing cookies from the jar. I just smiled and walked back out of the room.
It made me start thinking about what Jesus really would wear if He came back in modern day. As the Son of God, I guess He could wear anything He wanted and somehow I doubt it would be a scratchy, red robe that showed his legs! There actually was a guy who hung out in my town a few years ago, walking the streets in an off-white, floor length robe and barefoot, sporting long hair and a beard. We called him barefoot Jesus and when he walked by our house, sometimes we would take him a bottle of water. He was always kind and appreciative, never said much, didn’t ask for anything more. I never for one minute believed he was Jesus, robe or no robe. A robe did not make him the Messiah!
So what would Jesus wear? I am sure He would look snazzy in a well tailored, Italian suit. But He would really only fit in with the Wall Street set wearing that. I guess He could wear some nice preppy clothes, some khaki chinos and a white button down or golf shirt. That would make Him clean and acceptable to most. Maybe He would wear jeans that barely hung on His hips, a t-shirt with some sort of slogan on it, and a cap turned around backwards on His head. Maybe He would wear the tattered clothes of a homeless man on the street. He might show up in a different country altogether and wear something I would be totally unfamiliar with. I guess He could wear anything He thought would help Him to do what He was here to do. That is why we wear certain things. To show who we are, our station in life, what we are about to do. To show off or to blend in. Sometimes we dress for someone else, sometimes we dress for ourselves. Sometimes we plan way in advance what we will wear for a special event, sometimes we don’t know what to wear up until the last second. What we have on can make us self conscious or make us feel like a million bucks!
So what would Jesus wear? Would He want to stand out, fit in, make us uncomfortable or at ease. Would He really give it much thought? Would He really ignore the fact that it was 2000 years since the last time he had to pick an outfit and wear the “same old thing”? Would He care? Would we?? Would we shun Him and disbelieve because He had on jeans and a t-shirt? We would automatically believe He was the Son of God just because He had on a robe? Why are we so stuck in a certain picture of Jesus (that as far as I can tell is probably far from the truth anyway) in a robe, with long hair, white skin and blue eyes? If He showed up tomorrow, what would He choose to wear, and how harshly would we judge his choice? Would we listen to Him at all, or move on because of his appearance? Can Jesus wear khakis and a shirt and still be Jesus?
