I was reading Elle magazine on the plane the other day. (I know, hardly seems me, but there it is.) There was a fascinating article on mixing high fashion with lowbrow culture. The author—Stephen Milioti—wrote of seeing a woman combine a Rolex watch and David Yurman gold cuff bracelet with a white t-shirt, jeans, and sandals: “The mix of low and high in her wardrobe was studied and flawlessly executed.” Milioti went on to reflect on various ways we “slide effortlessly from elite to street”—from fashion (combining Mizrahi’s Target flats with $8000 lace pants) to politics (Hillary Clinton of Yale Law throwing back a shot in Indiana for some blue-collar appeal) to television (“You watch John Adams and American Idol.”).
I couldn’t help but immediately think of the ways we combine high and low in faith—(in an official sounding lecture voice): “According to John Calvin, the theology of atonement….”/“What a friend we have in Jesus” kind of thing. One of my favorite days of church in the last year was Stewardship Sunday—down-home puppet show silliness with old-school organ and sermon. I used to think that part of the minister’s job was to bridge these two arenas—the six semesters of theology and the real world of the congregation.
I suppose that is a pastor’s job in some ways, but what God gives us in Scripture doesn’t need the bridge—a psalmist cries out in need, a woman mourns the death of her son, a sick person reaches out in hopes of a healing touch. It’s the perfect combination of the greatness of God’s overwhelming love and the lowbrow approach of God coming to earth as a human. Talk about style!
