Why and when do we have white paraments?
White is the color of purity, holiness, and virtue. These are all attributes of God, and the gift God gives His holy people by grace through faith in Jesus. Jesus purifies His people by taking our sins on the cross and dressing us in His righteousness. The color white is used during the seasons of Christmas and Easter, as well as at the celebration of the Baptism of Jesus, Transfiguration, Holy Trinity, and All Saints Day.
What do white paraments mean to our worship?
They mean we are in a time of high celebration of the holiness of God, and the gift of the Savior who makes us holy by His death and resurrection. We celebrate who God is and how He brings His gifts to people to make them His own righteous saints.
What does the Bible say about the reason for white paraments?
It says nothing about white paraments, but it has plenty to say about the major reasons to praise and glorify God for making us holy by His grace. Luke 2:8-14 tells of the message of the angel to the shepherds about their Savior being born, and of the choir of heavenly host praising God. 1 Corinthians 15 tells of the death and resurrection of Jesus as the means by which we receive eternal glory. Revelation 7:9-17 describes the multitude of the saints in heaven, dressed in glory and singing the song of salvation.
Suggestions
Talk about the various occasions that call for white paraments and glorify God by singing some of the following hymns from those occasions, found in Lutheran Service Book 368, 387, 394, 457, 482, 507, 676
Object Lesson
Read the account of the transfiguration. Remind them that Jesus is God who should have been seen in this kind of glory all the time. He laid aside that glory to save us, giving us glory. We use white in some seasons to remind us of the glory of God and that He has dressed us in His glory by grace through faith in Jesus.
Prayer
Holy, holy, holy! Lord God Almighty! All Thy works shall praise Thy name in earth and sky and sea. Holy, holy, holy, merciful and mighty! God in three Persons, blessed Trinity. Amen.