hearing gap

Tomorrow, in my class on ritual, we're holding Love Feast. For those of you not familiar with it, it involves feetwashing. A classmate who is working on the project gave us some simple instructions and advice, including (in my ears):

"Women ought not wear clothes around their waist."

Repeatedly, in this class, I've found myself identifying with the Brethren point of view. The professor describes 'the Anabaptist perspective' on a matter, and I think, 'Well, of course! What rational person could possibly think differently?' As galling as it is to admit that someone else might be right about me, I may find myself part of the Church of the Brethren before I leave.

Just the same, I don't think there's much Biblical basis for an ordinance of crop tops on women at Love Feast.

I waited, (semi)patiently for the discussion to resolve into something understandable, but noone else in the class reacted as though it was odd to ask that women not wear clothes around their waist. That was even odder; surely, in a class of eleven, someone might think that a bit strange!

My look of consternation was noticed by someone in the class, and I was asked what was on my mind. I paused a moment, trying to collect my thoughts, and repeated what I had heard.

"Women ought not wear clothes around their waist?"

Heard spectacularly wrong, of course. The advice was not to wear hose up to the waist, since wearing full pantyhose to feetwashing would result in a strip experience during worship to expose the feet. So the advice was about avoiding immodesty, rather than purposefully engaging it, although we did make the obligatory jokes about a new and more exciting version of Love Feast.