Dressing for Spring

Discussion Questions for Small Groups

1. Read John 20:24-29. Then read the devotional, “Dressing for Spring.”
2. Are you someone who dresses for warm spring weather before it arrives? Now think metaphorically: How do you dress your faith for a springtime of alleluias, in a world that is weary of winter?
3. Think about the church where you worship. What season of faith is the congregation in overall?
4. What does it look like for Christians and churches to live “in tees and shorts,” as you reflect on this devotional?

Jesus said to him, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe.” – John 20:29 (NRSV)

Marathon Day in Boston, mid-April. The sun was pale, and a bracing wind whipped off the water. Unconvincing buds trembled on the storm-bent dogwoods. The calendar said spring, but you needed a winter jacket. It was no weather for tees and shorts, unless you planned to run 26.2 miles in them. 

Two young men carrying six-packs ambled down the street wearing tees and shorts. They didn’t look like runners. I shivered just looking at them.  

Still, I was glad they’d decided that the calendar was right, that this was in fact a spring day, despite the contrary evidence. They were onto something, going by the season not the conditions, dressing according to things unfelt, unseen, making a profession of faith. 

Jesus’s disciples claimed, after his death, to have seen him alive. We who come after them have believed without seeing, acting as if it were spring, no matter the season. Generation after generation, we’ve worn light alleluias in all kinds of weather, dressing according to the Word, not the conditions. 

Since faith first graced us, the church’s mission has been to go about in tees and shorts in a world hunkered down for a frost that shows no sign of thawing. To put our faces into cold winds off the water as if they were tropical zephyrs. To cherish unconvincing buds as if each struggling sprout were paradise. 

The world longs for an everlasting spring. Despite so much evidence to the contrary, faith declares that God is already granting it through the witness of our lives.  

So if you’re still wearing winter coats, won’t you break out a tee? 

Prayer
Help me testify to the inbreaking of your resurrection spring, O God. Dress me in faith for the season.

About the Author
Mary Luti is a long time seminary educator and pastor, author of Teresa of Avila’s Way and numerous articles, and founding member of The Daughters of Abraham, a national network of interfaith women’s book groups.