While we're making our moves through Life, jumping "to the beat of the rhythm of the Night", and "everybody working for the weekend," God seems like the garish light of Day.
"OK, party's over. Get ready for Church!"
In this vision, God is the Debbie Downer, the wet blanket that smothers any spark of passion we find on the dance floor of Life. We have here the dynamic of pleasure versus puritanism. If it feels good, there must be something sinful in it. If it's boring, dull, uptight, it must be the morally right thing to do. But what if both extremes are faulty steps in the dance?
Years ago, during my discernment in the seminary, I remember giving talks to high school students, and they would always ask questions like this: "Can you go to parties? Can you work out? Can you listen to music? Can you drink beer?" It was apparent that their vision of seminary, or of being "religious", involved walking around with candles, chanting in Latin, and generally looking like liver and onions was for dinner... again.
It seems that the desire to dance runs deep... to lose ourselves in something bigger than ourselves, to find ecstasy (which means literally to stand outside of ourselves). What do we do with this desire? It's universal, it must mean something.
"The fact remains that we are invited to forget ourselves on purpose, cast our awful solemnity to the wind, and join in the general Dance."
- Thomas Merton
Who is God? As the song goes (and ironically I'm not a huge fan of this song) God is the "Lord of the Dance." God's deepest identity in fact is not the lonely Old Man watching to see if you keep the rules, but He is the Dance. What does the Church really teach about God? "God Himself is an eternal exchange of love, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, and He has destined us to share in that exchange." (CCC 221) Whoa.... ponder that one. Eternal giving and receiving, Eternal Love! Isn't that what our hearts really want? Wouldn't that be ecstasy? This is God's deepest identity! He is an ecstatic, eternal communion of life-giving Love! He is a Trinity! And this Blessed Trinity is Who we celebrate today!
The Old Testament book of Proverbs from today's first reading sings "When the Lord established the heavens I was there... and I was his delight day by day, playing before him all the while, playing on the surface of his earth; and I found delight in the human race."
It's time for some revisionist thinking on just Who God is, and on just what kind of Dance we're invited into. Who's giving these blurred and stilted images of God to us anyway but those who are only "dancing with myself" as Billy Idol once piped? That sounds boring to me. So let's cut loose, and get footloose in a manner of speaking. As Augustine once said, "Love God, then do what you will!" Let's dance in the Love and Light of this incredible God today, in the Great Dance of Eternal Love.
And a word of advice from personal experience; Let Him lead.
4 comments:
You forgot to mention "Dance With Me" by Orleans. My favorite song about dancing. :-) That one always makes me think of all of the above that you mentioned. (You definately are wired lot like me. Maybe it's an artist thing)
AWESOME song. They are from Newburgh, NY! RIght where my wife grew up!
Bill,
I appreciate this topic so much! I often ponder how this message is so vibrantly displayed in the layers of our every day moments since your teaching with our class at the TOB Institute. It seems to showcase the natural order of things; Gods intended joyful gift to us, not a rule to lord over us; but received for our good, Amen! :)In giving I have yet to see one not receive. It may not always be immediate or material; it may show up as enlightenment: Grace, joy or humility. Leaders within business that do what is right, leading with virtue, have powerfully positive outcomes historically to your point, in service to their employees and the customer rather then falling prey to the temptation of power and greed. I am contantly impressed by the "return on investment" by even the slightest "gift of love/ giving of self" within ordinary daily moments. Mindful witness to the ebb and flow of this constant exchange so naturally beautiful, it is no wonder we never grow tired of defining "what LOVE" is.
Naedal, thanks for the comment. So true! I just pray we really "get it" - the paradigm of Gift - it could really transform all of culture, commerce, every community!
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