I realize picking out Easter clothes is a first world privilege. I know the socially conscious among us would prefer we all be under a bridge on Easter morning feeding the poor instead of parading around the church building in our finery. And the devout among us wonder what a new hat has to do with the sacrifice of Jesus on a bloody cross.

I get all that.

But, I promise you, I am following Jesus in His passion all this week. I am with him in the Temple as He preaches His last message. I’m sitting at the edge of the crowd while the priests and scribes examine him the same way they inspect the sacrificial lambs.

On Maundy Thursday, I will replay in my soul His last conversations with His friends. On the Friday that was only good for us, I will sit during a Night of Remembrance at our church and think of Him washing feet before He washed away sins.

Saturday, I’ll feel the awful grief of the world without Him while the soldiers guard His grave.

But, Sunday.

On Sunday, I will feel the whole earth tremble. The sun will rise with new glory, and the world will explode with the promise of rebirth. The power that raised Jesus from the dead will reverberate through time to touch every life that yields to Him from that moment and forevermore. I am dancing at my desk just thinking about it!

And that, Dear Reader, is why I shall wear a new dress on Easter. Not to be a show-off. Not to put more emphasis on the eggs and the bunny and the pastels than on the Savior. But because Easter is all about new beginnings. Rebirth. The promise of Eternal spring in the life of the believer. And I’m going to celebrate that with new clothes.

I think the God who told Moses what color thread to use when He designed the panels for the tabernacle will be perfectly fine with that.