Lydia, dealer of purple cloth, was already a worshipper of God when she and her household were struck by the transformative love of Jesus as told to them by Paul. They were baptized and then Lydia opened her household to Paul and his companions. She kept on as who she was, yet also was clothed anew in her baptism.
Our clothing says a lot about who we are. How many times have we all heard; “You don’t look like a… mom, missionary, pastor, politician, adult, technician, officer, daughter, sister, friend?” Perhaps a different question is to ask how many times we ourselves have internalized those messages.
We have an opportunity to live in the world as the people God has created us to be. That means making all of your choices in a way that both inwardly and outwardly reflects who you are because that is who you are called to be. When we live like Lydia, the question shifts from “How can I be who I am? To “How can I NOT be who I am?”
This message is excerpted from faith reflection “Faith and Fashion” by Kristen Glass Perez in the October 28, 2021, Café online magazine. Today we commemorate Lydia, Dorcas and Phoebe, witnesses to the faith.
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