pat loughery

If you’ve read around here for a while, you know that I identify strongly with my Celtic roots and heritage. You also realize that I’m probably a bit… unorthodox? (well, at least in the non-theological sense, and in the the0logical sense, hetero-orthorox). Alt.Orthodox. Jesus-y, but abnormal..

An example:

A month or so I found a Utilikilt. Long story short, Utilikilts are super practical and cool – or at least geek-chic. They’re kilts for the rest of us.

When I was in Scotland recently , some of the (Scottish-Celtic) guys on our trip discussed, or wore, their kilts. Being good Scots, they wear kilts as formal wear. And in Luss we visited the kiltmaker there, as a cultural experience.

As for me – an American with Irish and Scottish roots who had an interest in Utilikilts before the trip, and a driving interest after – I decide it was Time.

So I started looking around an found one – a black Utilikilt standard on Craigslist, of all places (helpful to me though because Utilikilts are expensive, and that’s a lot of cash to spend on something that might just be a whim).

I’ve worn my Utilikilt around the house a bit. I must say that every time I wear it, I fall deeper in love with it as clothing. It’s comfortable. It speaks volumes. It reminds me that there are other Ways out there.

I also must say that it’s – well – awkward. My first experience wearing a kilt was a family Moment. (Perhaps it’s best not to describe my poor daughter’s reaction to her first, inadvertent, kilt-check).

Things have gotten better – more normal – as I continue to wear it, occasionally.

I believe there are social, cultural and theological implications to the Utilikilt. If you’ve read here for a while, you’ll realize that I can find implications in my interaction with the Bible, with the Simpsons, with a river, or with a pair of shoes – so no big surprise here.

I was thinking about how hard it is to be Different. To be truthful, the first time I wore my kilt I thought about how difficult it is for my homosexual friends and acquaintances to “come out” to their family and friends – I realize this is a lame comparison; I’m just describing what triggered for me.

I was also thinking about the Kingdom of God. For those of us who follow Jesus, entire identity is shaped by being other, and yet part-of. We are part of what happens around us, and yet politically, socially and culturally we are members of a community that transcends what we can see. It feels great – normal – and yet we realize that, to outside observers, we are noticeably different.

We also see the world differently. A kilted person sees the world through the eyes of – dare I say it? – freedom. Nonconformity. An member of God’s family, his kingdom, sees the world through different lenses – freedom. Nonconformity.

We – kilted or Christian – are members of an alternate reality. Perhaps an even more FULL reality. But certainly not mainstream reality. I think that’s good, to get outside the box a bit and be uncomfortable (and at the same time, mighty comfortable :-)).