An aesthetics of holiness in everyday looks

My friend Dan P. pointed this passage out from the second century AD. It is in a letter Ignatius, an early Church Father who lived in Antioch in the first century, wrote to Polycarp, a contemporary of his who lived in Smyrna:

“The reason you have a body as well as a soul is that you may win the favor of the visible world.”

The commentator at this point says this: “The idea would seem to be that having a body leads one to seek a proper harmony with all persons and things belonging to the material world …”

Some Christians today emphasize doctrine to such a degree that it seems all you need is to get the principles right. Others are so relaxed in our laissez-faire culture that it’s all about casual: blue jeans and sneakers; Jumbo-trons in big-box churches with the bowling alleys and latte stands.

One hears very little about comportment in the world. About dress and propriety; about moderation in matters of visible conduct and demeanor – as in “let your moderation be known unto all men.”

This requires a certain appearance, or shall I say a certain aesthetics of holiness in everyday looks.

Peter indeed wrote about avoiding outward adornments like braided hair or gold jewelry. But he was not talking about invisibility. Quite to the contrary, the whole point of avoiding a certain kind of look was that another kind of look might be evident: “… seeing the purity and reverence of your lives.”

Logos2Go

Ignatius of Antioch, To Polycarp 2.2, in Cyril C. Richardson (ed.), Early Church Fathers (New York: Collier Books, 1970), 118.

Philippians 4.5 Let your moderation be known unto all men. The Lord [is] at hand.

1 Peter 3.2 … when they see the purity and reverence of your lives. Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as braided hair and the wearing of gold jewelry and fine clothes.