Garments of praise

The Bible speaks of the seamless robe or tunic worn by Jesus (see John 19:23 ). To weave a seamless garment requires great skill. I used to be in the garment manufacturing and fashion business. We made men’s and women’s suits.

I got to thinking at that time about some of Mary Baker Eddy’s synonyms for God and how they fit every part of our experience. They include Mind, Spirit, Life, Principle, and Soul (see Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, p. 465 ).

I would often sit with our design team, thinking about the ways in which Mind, divine intelligence, was expressing itself. As I shared the insights that came to me, my fellow workers would draw the designs.

Next came evidence of Spirit unfolding itself. As I worked with the designer and the pattern maker, ideas would evolve, and a first garment would be made.

We were satisfied only with perfect cutting and perfect stitching.

As I thought about the synonym Life, this Bible passage came to mind: “The spirit of God hath made me, and the breath of the Almighty hath given me life” (Job 33:4 ). That new garment would be checked for fit against an established model, and when it was perfect the pattern makers would grade it for different sizes. But they would never proceed to this step until certain that it was exactly right. As a well-loved hymn by Mary Alice Dayton puts it: “Life, Truth and Love the pattern make.” And, “Love’s work and Love must fit” (Christian Science Hymnal, No. 51 ). 

We would then take a perfect bale of cloth, having checked it for flaws, and lay the pattern on it. With infinite care, the cutter would cut the fabric to the exact pattern, following Principle—the rules (including precision and accuracy), if you like, of good tailoring.

Viewed spiritually, these rules relate to divine law. Mrs. Eddy explained: “Our Master taught no mere theory, doctrine, or belief. It was the divine Principle of all real being which he taught and practised” (Science and Health, p. 26 ). This, I realized, had helpful relevance even to my clothing business. After all, as a carpenter, Jesus knew how things fitted together in order, harmony, and beauty.

In our workshop, as each order moved along, certain cut pieces would be fused with interlinings, and the whole garment with its lining would then be stitched together, pads and zip inserted, buttons sewn, then trimmed or finished, sometimes in as many as 100 operations. Finally, it would be carefully pressed and examined. This always brought us to aspects of Truth, or integrity. Was this honestly the best we could do? We were satisfied only with perfect cutting and perfect stitching. 

Finally, the garment would be hung on a rail in a store and people would admire the beauty, form, and color. These are what I always regarded as Soul qualities. Customers would try on the garment, looking for the right fit, a great look, perhaps warmth, and certainly comfort. Then, when satisfied, they would adopt it as part of their lives, and take it home to show it proudly to family or friends.

Always, my hope was that what we had designed and made would be a “garment of praise” (Isaiah 61:3 ), acknowledging God as the Maker of all that is truly good. And this is a garment we can all put on—every day!