Robes

Acts 1:10 - They stood there, staring into the empty sky. Suddenly two men appeared--in white robes!

This last month, I've been stressed out about some stuff that went down between me and some friends. I've been walking on tiptoes, afraid to talk, afraid to confront, and afraid to be present. I felt like I'd been lied to, but even more, the resentment I've held in my heart has been eating me up. I hadn't been able to see an end in sight until Sunday. I've been working through my emotions, how the situation has affected me, and how I've reacted in pretty childish ways. I was hopeless in this situation.

So, what does that have to do with the verse?

Luke writes about an empty sky and two men in white robes. The sky is empty and the robes are white.

This brings to mind a contrasting difference from the book he'd previously written about Jesus.
When Luke describes the sky at the point of Jesus' death, he writes:
 . . . And it was now about the sixth hour, and darkness fell over the whole land . . . the sun being obscured. . . 
and John wrote about a robe . . .

The soldiers, having braided a crown from thorns, set it on his head, threw a scarlet robe over him

Luke is trying to let the audience know that something big is happening here.
The sky was black and the robe was scarlet, but now the sky is empty and the robes are white.

For the audience, this contrast would have brought to mind the scriptures in the Torah they'd have memorized:

I will sing for joy in GOD, explode in praise from deep in my soul! He dressed me up in a suit of salvation, he outfitted me in a robe of righteousness, As a bridegroom who puts on a tuxedo and a bride a jeweled tiara.

Soak me in your laundry and I'll come out clean, scrub me and I'll have a snow-white life. 

"If your sins are blood-red, they'll be snow-white. If they're red like crimson, they'll be like wool."

Luke is letting the audience know that death is not the final answer - that pain and suffering are not the bookend. What was one red like blood is now white as snow. The sky that was once black as night is now bright and light.

Which means . . . no matter how much pain and suffering we are experiencing now - it's not the final mark of who we are.

Yes, we may be hopeless right now. The troubles may be huge right now. Our hearts may be in shambles right now. Our guilt may be deep right now. Our sorrow may seem infinite right now, but . . . we will wear white and the skies will turn bright. 

Our dirty laundry will be scrubbed clean and our distorted minds will be redeemed. We have hope!