Much Ado About Sandals!

Ronnie and I have had email conversations this week about sandals! The conversations stemmed from references that Fr. Andrew made in recent homilies about the wearing of sandals. On the one hand, we have Moses being ordered by God to take off his sandals on Mount Horeb as a sign of respect because Moses was standing on holy ground. (Exodus 3:5)

On the other hand, we have Luke 15:22 and the putting on of sandals as a sign of respect. This is the story of the Prodigal Son and it offers the wearing of shoes in a totally different context. We are not talking about "holy ground" in this instance. To me, the reason the sandals were put on the bedraggled son who was returning to his father's house was to show that this prodigal son was not to be treated as a slave or a servant (who normally went barefoot in those days). He was being reinstated to the position he enjoyed before he left home in the first place. And my guess is that this reinstatement is a major reason why the "good son" was so jealous of his brother. He didn't think it was fair!

Thus, I see these incidences as both showing respect, though in different contexts. Moses showed respect to the Lord by removing his sandals when he learned he was on holy ground. The prodigal son regained respect (and his self-respect) when he was clothed in fine garments and jewels, and was given sandals to wear by his father.