“A Tale of Two Coats”

Sermon by the Rev. Caela Simmons Wood

First Congregational UCC of Manhattan, KS

Matthew 14:22-33

August 30, 2026

This is a tale of two coats. One mythical. One lyrical. Both reminders of the power of the stories we tell.

Now, I don’t typically make a habit of eulogizing every famous person who dies. And I hope you’ll forgive me the next time an artist who impacted your life in a significant way passes and they don’t get mentioned from the pulpit. But when I saw that the scripture for this Sunday was about Joseph’s coat of many colors and Dolly Parton passed from this life the very same week? There was no way I could preach on Joseph’s coat without also considering Dolly’s. 

Dolly tells the story of her coat of many colors in a song that she wrote when she was 23 years old. She reflects on her childhood and tells the story of how, one fall, it was growing cold outside and she still didn’t have a winter coat yet. So her mother, Avie Lee, sat down to make her one. The family was quite poor and Dolly’s mom made the coat from scraps of rags someone had donated to them. As her mother pieced together the small scraps of fabric, she told young Dolly the story of Joseph from the Bible, suggesting that perhaps Dolly, too, would be blessed by the coat and find “good luck and happiness.” 

Dolly was so proud to wear her coat of many colors. She thought it was beautiful, and when her mother gave it to her, sealed with a kiss, she was delighted. But she had a hard time convincing the other kids at school of the coat’s beauty. They saw a poor girl dressed in rags. She tried to explain to them the real story of the coat. She wrote:

And, oh, I couldn't understand it, for I felt I was rich

And I told 'em of the love my mama sewed in every stitch

And I told 'em all the story Mama told me while she sewed

And how my coat of many colors was worth more than all their clothes.

But they didn't understand it and I tried to make them see

That one is only poor only if they choose to be

Now I know we had no money, but I was rich as I could be

In my coat of many colors my mama made for me [1] 

Her mother’s love as a fierce armor against the autumn winds and taunts of schoolchildren, Dolly knew that she was rich in things that mattered in life. She had her family’s love and she had a dream of becoming someone special. Her coat of many colors gave her a sense of worthiness and a sure foundation which allowed her to withstand the bullies at school. 

Avie Lee could have simply made the rag-coat for Dolly and given it to her with a hug and a kiss. And perhaps Dolly would have loved it, still. But her mama gave her something else along with the coat: a powerful story about hope for the future. That story enhanced young Dolly’s sense of belovedness, allowing her to challenge the misguided perceptions of her classmates. 

The power of stories is in the telling and re-telling. And in the hearing and re-hearing. 

This is why we, people of the book, gather week after week to hear and re-hear, tell and re-tell our sacred stories. A story is never the same twice. Even if the words are said in the exact same order, the hearers hear with new ears. And the story continues to live and breathe and inspire in fresh ways. Isn’t that miraculous? Stories are living things. They shape our understanding of the world, God, and our place in the midst of it all. 

Avie Lee’s interpretation of the Joseph story certainly had a powerful effect on young Dolly. And while we’ll never know the exact way that she told the story that day, what we’re left with is Dolly’s recollection of what she heard as a young child. Joseph’s is a long story (14 whole chapters!), but Dolly came away with one message: "Perhaps this coat will bring you good luck and happiness.” A beautiful lesson for a young child. And when delivered with a mother’s hug and kiss? Just the thing Dolly needed as she headed off to school. 

Of course, you can read the story of Joseph this way and that and come away with an infinite number of other interpretations. That’s the beauty of the story. And the power of the telling is a chance to present one option for consideration. Sharing your interpretation with someone else as a precious gift and seeing how it is received. 

Any story that takes up 14 chapters in the book of Genesis is going to be messy. And Joseph’s is messier than most. Avie Lee focused on Joseph’s coat of many colors as a gift from his father that brought him luck. And while he certainly lived a charmed life in some ways, it was not all roses and glitter. Joseph’s father gave him the coat as a way of setting him apart from his other sons - playing favorites. While Joseph preened like a beautiful peacock in his coat, his brothers’ resentment grew. Eventually, they threw him into a pit and sold him into slavery because they hated him so much. Was Joseph lucky? In some ways, yes. In other ways, not so much. 

Joseph was special. Set apart. Brilliant interpreter of dreams. 

Joseph was also obnoxious. Didn’t know when to keep his mouth shut. 

Joseph was helpful. Sharing his knowledge with anyone who would listen. 

Joseph was also self-interested. Using his unique skills to get ahead. 

Joseph was manipulative. Lying and deceiving to make things go his way. 

Joseph was also deeply traumatized. Doing his best to survive in scary situations that none of us would wish on our enemies. 

Depending on how the story’s been shared with you, you may love Joseph or hate him. Heck, you may feel one way about him today and another way tomorrow. That’s okay. That’s the power of the telling and re-telling, the hearing and re-hearing. That’s what keeps these sacred stories alive. 

I confess that I’ve always been a Joseph fan. Maybe it’s just because I grew up on the musical version of Joseph, he of the Technicolor Dreamcoat, and what’s not to love about that outrageous, campy version of the story? 

I’ve always felt a little sorry for Joseph. It’s not his fault he was favored. It’s not his fault he was given the ability to interpret dreams. And, sure, he’s annoying in a little brother kind of way, but did he really deserve to be thrown in a pit and sold into slavery? I think not!

But this week, reading Joseph’s story alongside Dolly’s death, I couldn’t help but compare the two coat-wearers. Dolly was the 4th child of 12. Joseph was the second to youngest in a family of 13. They both had outsized personalities and big dreams from a young age. Joseph was hated by his own family and estranged from them. Dolly was incredibly close to hers - married to her husband for almost 60 years and tightly connected to the entire clan. 

Joseph was known for his ability to interpret dreams. And Dolly was known for something Joseph never quite mastered: humility in the face of living out her dreams. I believe her humility was one of the gravitational pulls that Dolly had. And one of the reasons so many looked up to her as an example of what it truly means to live like Jesus. 

Dolly’s was not a false, “aw shucks” kind of humility. She knew she was talented and whip-smart and hilarious. She knew that she sparkled like rhinestones. But she never would have told others she had a dream they would all bow down to her. Dolly understood that she was special and everyone else is, too. She spent her life trying to do for others what Avie Lee did for her as a child: show them they could always be rich in the things that truly matter. And continually remind every person she encountered that they were worthy of unconditional love. 

There’s a beautiful story about Dolly interacting with the child actor who portrayed her in the Coat of Many Colors movie. Alyvia Lind was only eight-years-old when she was tapped to portray young Dolly. She reflected on meeting with Dolly to get advice on how to play the role. Lind said, “She told me just to be myself, and just to play the role just how my heart thinks I should play the role, and she says that 'the best you can do is the best it will be.” [2] 

She told that little girl to just be herself. And that that would be the very best thing. Isn’t that beautiful? You can almost hear the voice of Dolly’s own mother, Avie Lee, speaking directly to that young actor, saying, “Sweetheart, you know what you need to know. You are already enough.” 

Dolly’s humility - her sense of her place in the world - allowed her to see others clearly as beloved children of God. She had a way of making kindness and unconditional respect seem natural and easy. 

Dolly was a strong supporter of LGBTQ+ rights since at least the 1980s, putting her money where her mouth was, donating generously to help those most affected by the AIDS crisis. In 2011, she was horrified to learn that an employee at Dollywood made a park guest turn their “marriage is so gay” t-shirt inside out. She apologized to the guest personally and publicly saying, "Everyone knows of my personal support of the gay and lesbian community. Dollywood is a family park and all families are welcome." 

And, of course, there’s her famous quip from 2009 - six whole years before marriage equality.  "Sure, why can't they get married? They should suffer like the rest of us do!" [3] 

Dolly defended those that the world bullied with her ever-present sense of humor and sparkle. When she spoke about how to treat people you walked away wondering how anyone could possibly think any different. It’s just common sense. Duh. 

I imagine her as a little girl, standing up to those bullies at school with her hand on one hip and an incredulous tone to her voice. “How can y’all be so confused about this coat? It is beautiful! My mama made it with love! And, listen, don’t you know the story about Joseph and his beautiful coat? Let me tell you all about it…” 

She said in the song that the other kids walked away confused and didn’t quite understand. But I can’t help but wonder if she planted a seed. That’s what stories do, of course. And she was a gifted storyteller. She felt the power of stories at a young age and she spent her life telling stories to others. You could say her greatest legacy may be the 300 million books she gave away to children - giving the literal gift of stories to children the way Avie Lee did for her. Did you  know that roughly one in seven children in the U.S. under the age of give receive a book from Dolly every single month? For free? What an incredible gift to share. The gift of stories. 

Stories have the power to shape a life. Change the world. Dolly knew this. And we in the Church know this, too. 

Which stories do we listen to? Which stories are we telling and re-telling to the young people in our lives? What stories are we writing with our actions each and every day? And who might need the gift of a story of hope and inspiration at this moment in time? 

God, we give you thanks for all the stories and storytellers. May those who have ears to hear, listen. 

NOTES

[1] https://genius.com/Dolly-parton-coat-of-many-colors-lyrics
[2] https://www.knoxnews.com/story/entertainment/2016/06/02/child-actress-alyvia-alyn-lind-talks-coat-sequel-playing-dolly-parton/91004870/ 

[3] https://www.facebook.com/share/p/194RNKyure/