LORD OF THE DANCE

Most of us know and love the hymn “LORD of the DANCE”. And if we don’t know the hymn we certainly know the dancing of Michael Flatley, who brought to life this grand music in his "Riverdance". 

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.

Amazingly enough, it is not an old Protestant hymn, but the work of an English song writer,  Sydney Carter.  He wrote the hymn in 1963 setting it to the melody  from the American Shaker song "Simple Gifts".

The song follows the idea of the traditional English carol "Tomorrow Shall Be My Dancing Day", which tells the gospel story in the first-person voice of Jesus of Nazareth with the device of portraying Jesus' life and mission as a dance.

As I watch lambs gamboling in the pasture, I  think of how as Christians we should be dancing for joy after the Resurrection.  Never mind pandemics and the losses it has brought us, but rather look to what we have and dance in our hearts, knowing all will be well, thanks to  our resurrected Lord.

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 Mme -
I am the Lord of the Dance, said He. 

This theme of the dancing Lord is not a new one. I am not going to get into the history of dance- or lack of- in the Western Church's liturgy, but  it is very prominent in other cultures, such as in Africa. It certainly was in Jesus background, and even though not mentioned, He must have known dancing in His day.

Dancing in Jewish tradition was one of the ways to praise God’s name. (Psalm 149:3, 150:4). From the Jewish perspective, you stop dancing when joy has gone from your hearts (Lamentations 5:15). God is the one who can turn our mourning into joy and dancing (Psalm 30:11)

 It was truly a gift from Yahweh, “dance functioned as a medium of prayer and praise, as an expression of joy and reverence, and as a mediator between God and humanity.

The people were encouraged to praise God with 'dancing, making melody to Him with timbrel and lyre' (Psalm 149:3), and to 'praise Him with timbrel and dance' (Psalm 150:4),  and this understanding of dance permeated the faith of the early Christian church. The children of Israel would hold religious festivals, celebrations for triumphant victories, weddings, and dance was an essential part of the celebrations of the ancient Israelites. 

What started this whole thought of the Lord dancing was a mural I recently came across.  The Dancing Saints icon is in St. Gregory of Nyssa’s Episcopal Church in San Francisco created by artist Mark. Completed in 2009, it wraps around the entire church rotunda, showing ninety larger-than life saints and a twelve-foot tall dancing Christ.

The saints, ranging from traditional figures like King David, Teresa of Avila and Frances of Assisi to unorthodox and non-Christian people like Malcolm X, Anne Frank, and Margaret Mead, represent musicians, artists, mathematicians, martyrs, scholars, mystics, lovers, prophets and sinners from all times, from many faiths and backgrounds.

Richard Fabian, St. Gregory’s Co-Founder says “Gregory of Nyssa’s commentary on Psalm Fifty gives us his vision of the world’s peoples in harmony− not just audible harmony, but active dancing harmony. While other ancient preachers decried popular dancing, and music in general, as dangerously libidinous, Gregory of Nyssa and his friend Gregory Nazianzen extolled its use in worship.”

As we emerge from a pandemic which has put so many into darkness, the joy these holy dancers exude, should be our joy at this season of spring and resurrection!

 

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.