I danced in the morning
When the world was begun,
And I danced in the moon
And the stars and the sun,
And I came down from heaven
And I danced on the earth,
At Bethlehem
I had my birth.
Dance, then, wherever you may be,
I am the Lord of the Dance, said he,
And I'll lead you all, wherever you may be,
And I'll lead you all in the Dance, said he
Written in 1963 by Sydney Carter, The Lord of the Dance, became a surprisingly popular hymn within churches. Inspired by Jesus and wanting to give tribute to Shaker music, Carter penned this hymn. He never imagined that it would ever be embraced by Christians, much less sung within the church. He stated, “I did not think the churches would like it at all. I thought many people would find it pretty far flown, probably heretical and anyway dubiously Christian. But in fact people did sing it and, it touched a chord . . . Anyway, it’s the sort of Christianity I believe in.”
He went on to say: “I see Christ as the incarnation of the piper who is calling us. He dances that shape and pattern which is at the heart of our reality . . . I sing of the dancing pattern in the life and words of Jesus. Whether Jesus ever leaped in Galilee to the rhythm of a pipe or drum I do not know. We are told that David danced (and as an act of worship too), so it is not impossible. The fact that many Christians have regarded dancing as a bit ungodly (in a church, at any rate) does not mean that Jesus did. The Shakers didn’t. Dancing for them was a spiritual activity.”
Carter saw Jesus as the Lord of the Dance who invites others to come and join in the dance . . . the dance which Jesus deems as being life itself . . . the dance he will lead and teach. The Lord of the Dance is one of my favorite hymns, especially on Easter Sunday. I love its message . . . its message of life . . . when it comes to the final chorus and verse:
Dance, then, wherever you may be,
I am the Lord of the Dance, said he,
And I'll lead you all, wherever you may be,
And I'll lead you all in the Dance, said he
They cut me down
And I leapt up high;
I am the life
That'll never, never die;
I'll live in you
If you'll live in me -
I am the Lord
Of the Dance, said he.
Like Carter, I like that image of a dancing Jesus calling us to come and join in the dance. I like it . . . but, to be honest, if you think I sing terribly, well, you won’t want to see me dance. I can’t dance.
Dancing has always struck fear in me. One of the most anxious moments in my life came in knowing that I would have to step out onto a dance floor . . . in front of a crowd . . . take my daughter’s hand . . . just the two of us . . . and dance the father/daughter dance at her wedding. I encouraged her to schedule that well after the reception had begun and the wine was flowing heavily . . . for the crowd’s sake and my sake. Most of my family would confirm that I cannot dance, except the grandchildren . . . they think Grandpa is Fred Astaire.
Jesus uses a powerful image in our reading this morning . . . one in which he mentions dancing. Jesus says: “To what can I compare this generation? They are like children sitting in the marketplaces and calling out to others: ‘We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we sang a dirge, and you did not mourn.’”
Here Jesus is addressing a crowd shortly after he and the disciples had been visited by the disciples of John the Baptist . . . John the Baptist who is sitting in King Herod’s prison. John had sent them to ask Jesus if the was the “one” or should they expect someone else. Of course Jesus does not answer them directly by saying “yes” or “no”, but instead tells them to go back and tell John what they had seen. And, now, he is addressing the crowd . . . and, what he is addressing is the continued disbelief he is encountering, especially among those who are the leaders of the people. Jesus wants to know why they won’t believe . . . why they won’t dance.
I imagine that there is myriad of reasons why there is disbelief . . . why there is a fear of joining in the dance . . . why people are hesitant to follow Jesus. One reason might be that they are fearful that they might upset the powers that be . . . the religious leaders, the king; after all, Jesus was branded as a heretic and rebel inciting a new kingdom. They might be fearful of the Romans who were quick to strike down any sign of insurrection . . . and, they hadn’t quite made up their mind whether or not Jesus was an insurgent stirring up rebellion. They might have been fearful of what others might think if they joined the ranks of Jesus followers . . . what their family and friends might think and say . . . what their neighbors would think . . . the community. And, maybe . . . like me, they couldn’t dance. Whatever the case, I think that Jesus was getting a little frustrated in the slow response of the people to come and join in the dance . . . slow to believe.
Dancing and faith are not usually something that we see paired together . . . at least not in the church, especially in some of the more conservative churches. We don’t see a whole lot of dancing in the church. I am not sure if the reason is that people are too scared to dance, or . . . if they are like me, they can’t dance. Either way, I don’t think Jesus would find too much dancing going on in or out of the church . . . at least not the way that he dances.
Now my statement about being scared to dance or not being able to dance is probably a falsehood. The truth is we all can dance. This is something I have learned from my grandchildren . . . everyone and anyone can dance . . . and, it can be done without the aid of wine! My grandchildren did not care how well I danced . . . they did not care how silly I looked . . . all that they cared about is that I picked them up, and we swirled, twirled, hopped, bopped, and danced liked there was no tomorrow. What they care about was that I was willing to be with them . . . to hold them . . . to let down my hair and relate to them where they were. And, you know what?
It was fun.
It was fun, but honestly, I am not ready to go public with my dancing.
“‘We played the flute for you, and you did not dance . . .’” said Jesus. Jesus does not care whether or not you are a great dancer like Fred Astaire or Ginger Rogers . . . he just wants you to dance. Jesus does not care if you look silly when you are dancing . . . he just wants you to dance. Jesus doesn’t care what anyone else thinks about your dancing . . . he just wants you to dance. And, if you are a little timid about dancing for whatever reason, Jesus will show you . . . Jesus will show you with the words that he speaks . . . he will show you with the actions that he takes . . . and, he will show you in the way that he lived his life and death. Jesus is the dance of life . . . no matter what happened to him, he danced.
Learning to dance may not be easy in the beginning, but in learning to dance one finds life. Jesus wants everyone to have life, thus he invites all to dance: “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”
In the song, Lord of the Dance, Carter put it this way at the end:
Dance, then, wherever you may be,
I am the Lord of the Dance, said he,
And I'll lead you all, wherever you may be,
And I'll lead you all in the Dance, said he
They cut me down
And I leapt up high;
I am the life
That'll never, never die;
I'll live in you
If you'll live in me -
I am the Lord
Of the Dance, said he.
Jesus calls us to dance. The best spiritual advice I can give you as you consider the invitation from Jesus to dance is this . . . it is a quote from William W. Purkey: “You’ve gotta dance like there’s nobody watching. Love like you’ll never be hurt, sing like there’s nobody listening, and live like it’s heaven on earth.” It’s true. Jesus should know. To dance is to embrace life in Jesus. Amen.
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