In times of wars past, a helmet protected the head, and
generally identified which side you were fighting for. Not anymore; these days it looks more like
those in a uniform and those who are not.
Berets were worn at one time by elite fighting forces, we even named one
of them “Green Berets” but I am not certain the name has remained in effect, it
seems to have been subsumed by the terms “Special Forces” or “Rangers”
today. In any case headgear seems to
have always had a role in military activities.
I guess the most identifiable place where “hats” make the
biggest difference is related to royalty.
Crowns and tiara’s are where the big money lies. The more ornate the crown of course, the more
valuable. Crowns were meant to be rare,
generally only the King ever wore a crown.
Peasants would not dream of such a thing. But peasants were meant to take pride in the
audacity and beauty of the crowns belonging to King and country where they were
from. Adding jewels, adding artistic
carvings, constructing them of complex design – all of these considerations go
in to the making of a crown that is “fit for a king”. But then, who wears crowns anymore? Most are now found on display in Museums.
You could argue that due to the invention of democracy,
people think differently about crowns now.
No one would dare to wear a crown anymore, either for fear of it getting
stolen, or for ridicule in implying they were somehow superior to their
peers. As I stated above, it is not as
though practicality is the goal of headwear anymore. But there is one trait in ornate headwear that
seems to have survived the ages; it seems the taller the hat, the more regal,
or more important must be its wearer.
Look at the head-dress of American Indian tribes, the chief has many
many feathers, the braves have a few depending on age, and skill. The crowns of the Pharoah’s of Eqypt were
tall for the Royal couple, much less so for any other positions. Even the grand dragon of the KKK has a more
ornate Sheet than his co-conspirators.
And one last place I can think of off-hand, within the Catholic church,
the Pope alone wears the most ornate of head-gear left on the planet. Do you ever wonder why this trait has
endured?
I have a theory about it.
I believe the premise was derived from Heaven itself. I imagine that the King of Kings and Lord of
Lords has a crown fit for His position in the Universe. I can imagine it is taller and more elaborate
than any the world could ever imagine. I
imagine that He sits at the right hand of His Father, who sits on the Throne at
the highest pinnacle, or highest point within the city of Heaven itself. A brilliant shining beacon of light that
emanates to the entire Universe. So if
the most important guy gets the tallest most important hat, then it stands to
reason that our God probably has the tallest, nicest one ever conceived.
My guess is that in an effort to foster vanity and inequality
in our perceptions of our fellow man, Satan polluted the idea of crowns and
introduced them into our various cultures with as much negative baggage as
possible. Examine the contrast for a
second; God our Father, despite whatever head-gear He prefers, is willing to
give us any good thing at a moment’s notice – He spends His time trying to
think of things to do FOR His creation, not what He can get FROM it. Yet when an earthly king puts on his
elaborate crown, he very rarely puts it aside to do the work of a servant. More often, he gets caught up in the
perceptions of superiority that accompany a crown, and does only the work he
believes is worthy of him or his position.
When we put on a crown, we become the object of service, not the
instrument or the tool of it.
Yet the Old Testament of the Bible outlines very clearly the
idea that NO man is superior to another in any way shape or form. Abraham, Joseph, Daniel, Elijah, and many
others refused to bow themselves down in the presence of earthly kings or
warlords. It was not the humility they
were supposed to lose, but even the remote idea of worshipping anything other
than God. To bow ONLY before God, was to
show the proper respect to the proper source that alone deserved it. Bowing down before idols was considered a
major affront to our Creator God.
Sticks, stones, sculptures and our fellow man were not to warrant the
same respect as that given to our Lord in Heaven. Many times Biblical patriarchs refused to bow
themselves down to powerful earthly Kings, and risked their very lives in this
seeming act of defiance. Not so with us.
When you consider the Bible’s view that indeed ALL men are
created equal, and are equally flawed, it seems the teaching of bowing in
submission only to God to be another reinforcement of the gospel itself. In order to be saved, we must humble
ourselves only to God, accept only His gift, and submit our will ONLY to
Him. It is God alone who can change us;
not our pastor, or our parents, or our therapists. It is God alone who can redefine the creation
of a man. It is in God alone we can be
born again through the miracle of His redemptive power.
This should be a liberating concept particularly to our
pastors and spiritual leaders. Those who
take up the work of the Lord to spread His word, and His gospel, should be
freed by not carrying the burden of undo respect or homage by their brothers in
Christ. Pastors are NOT our role models,
Christ alone can fulfill this calling.
Pastors are NOT expected to be perfect anymore than the man in my mirror
is. If I seek perfection, I should look
to Christ, not to those who try to teach me.
This is a liberating idea that maintains the equality of our humanity,
no matter what role He chooses for us in fulfilling His good purposes and
work. All the glory, all the honor, all
the respect, can go to Christ – we can save the humility for each other.
As I thought about this, the concept of the pointy hat began
to eat at me. Not only is the papal
headwear ornate, taller than almost any other hat on planet earth, it is
inscribed with the latin words – Vicarious Filii Dei – meaning ‘replacement for
the Son of God’. Catholic tradition is
built on the idea that the Apostle Peter was named the first Pope of the
church. That Christ’s statement
regarding building His church “upon a rock” was meant to mean Peter. Subsequent interpretations of this same
scripture have alternate meanings, in that Peter was referred to as a Stone
compared to Christ alone referred to as “the Rock” upon which the church would
be built. This has been a point of
contention between Catholics and Protestants for years.
But looking past which side of the interpretation you
subscribe to, there is a much larger issue at hand. Where in the Bible anywhere does it recommend
that any church leader should put on a tall, ornate, pointy hat? You see what happens to men in politics when
they wear a crown, happens to men in religion as well. The idea of being servant of all, is replaced
by becoming the object of all service.
Men bow before the Pope, kiss a ring he wears on his hands. Men humble themselves before the Pope and the
entire world covers him extensively in their news media. Why?
ALL men are created equal, and are equally flawed. It occurs to me, the Pope must suffer much by
carrying the undo burden of men bowing to his frailty. Yet I have never heard of a Pope asking
believers to show homage only to Christ.
Should not the greatest teacher of all direct all to the source of love,
and true source of worship? Isn’t that
what the original Christ did?
Throughout the life of Christ on earth He wore no kingly
robes. He wore no crown, except one made
of thorns to mock Him at His death. He
who should have been King of all, was in fact, servant of all. Christ served us. He served the poor in person, with kindness,
with healing, with truth taught in gentle humility and love. He did not command throngs to serve Him, but
instead served them all Himself. Our
example, was the Son of Man, the true leader of our faith, of our religion, who
dressed modestly, who acted incessantly, and who loved as no other ever could
or will. He wore no pointy hat in our
world. He showed us what to aspire to. I wonder if there will ever be a Pope of the
Catholic faith, who foregoes the pomp and circumstance, who casts down the hat
in humility, and directs all those who follow him to follow Christ. I wonder if other Christians, and leaders of
the faith in other churches, will ever cast aside their wealth, put aside their
fame, and direct others to follow only Christ.
The danger in our leaders is their belief that they in fact lead, when
the truth is that only Christ can lead.
We are ALL only His humble servants …
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