May 31

NT -- John 19:23-42
This part of John contains one of the commons -- the casting of lots for Jesus' clothes at the foot of the cross. All 4 gospels mention that there was a seamless undergarment that the soldiers did not want to tear.
Several of the commentaries mention this robe in conjunction with 'the unity of the church'. I am not that esoteric.
I am far more fascinated with the fact that Jesus
a)had such a costly garment on his body
b)the garment was not in disrepair from the beatings, torture, cross-carrying, etc. that he had endured presumably for the last 36 hours
c)it was not bloody and gruesome or sweaty and nasty from the above.
Years ago, when I first stumbled upon this passage, I was in church with a weaver. She mostly spun and wove her own angora rabbits' fur but she took several hours out one day to show me how to weave a linen napkin. I asked Betty about this passage in scripture and she said that it is possible to weave without a seam but it is hard work and involves a special loom. Furthermore, she claimed that it would have had to been linen to have been seamless, not felt (beaten wool) or a wool knit. Betty said that an old weavers myth said this garment was a marriage garment made by the mother of the groom and given to her son at his wedding, new, unrent and unsoiled for the nuptials. I cannot substantiate that myth but Betty was quite confident.
Whatever it was, it apparently was not disgusting and of such value that the soldiers did not want to tear it. A miracle garment that nonetheless, was cut up in to small pieces by the church and resides in numerous cathedrals. HMMMMMM.

In this scripture is also our friend Nicodemus, in his third appearance in John. He has come full circle from his night visit and now openly cares for the crucified body of Jesus. His character development is complete and he is a true, open believer. If he is a metaphor for us, where is Jesus leading US out of the night and into the light?