From the Pastor: Dancing with the Spirit

This morning while taking my morning walk, I was brought back to an experience from my early college years. My walking companion Izzy was filled with zoomies as she bounded along the lakeshore chasing Canadian Geese and squirrels and enthusiastically dashed across the street to meet a fellow four-legged friend. She gave me quite a workout. The twists and turns of our dance, trying to stay on my feet as I held on tight to her lead, reminded me of a world mysticism class I took my freshman year during a J term and the Whirling Dervishes of the Sufis.

The Sufis are part of the Islamic faith, and the Whirling Dervishes are an order within Sufism, which use dance to make a connection to God. Their intricate choreography imitates the motion of the moons and planets around the sun. Sufi Mystic Jalal-al- Din Muhammad Rumi describes the religious experience in these words: “Whoever knoweth the power of the dance, dwelleth in God.”

While I watched the dancers on the screen adorned with white flowy robes, I thought about my own dance with God. Sometimes the steps seem out of place, as the spinning motion throws us out of balance, but then the Spirit gets us back in step and it’s the safest, most sound experience, both in motion but also grounded. For we are told in Psalm 149:1-4a:

Praise the Lord!

Sing to the Lord a new song,

    his praise in the assembly of the faithful.

 Let Israel be glad in its Maker;

    let the children of Zion rejoice in their King.

 Let them praise his name with dancing,

    making melody to him with tambourine and lyre.

 For the Lord takes pleasure in his people;

The dance, both literal and figurative, reflects our active relationship with God. As we shift from the Easter Season to the Season following Pentecost, we are called to consider how the Spirit is working in our own lives and what it means to be part of the dance. In the series “Dare to Dance Again” from Worship Design Studio, the opening call invites the congregation to respond to the leader with the following lyrics:

                Dare to dance with dreamers, sing their song,

                Dare to dance their stories, sing out strong.

                Dare to dance with freedom your whole life long,

                Dare to dance again!

Dancing is a metaphor of our call to be present and active in God’s kingdom.  To quote our good friend Rumi once again, “Let the beauty of what you love be what you do’” Sometimes we miss a step or forget the moves all together. Don’t allow yourself to become a wallflower. With the help of the spirit, we can regain our rhythm and our place within the music.

In closing, these steps are a dance we do together, with each other and with God. Let your steps be a choreographed celebration of Jesus’ great commission:

And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”