First Parish Church

First Parish Church
186 York Street
York, Maine 03909
Telephone (207) 363-3758
email office@firstparishyork.org

Shall We Dance?

September 4, 2005

Linda B. Hirst

Ecclesiastes 3:1-4

Philippians 4:4-7

I want to share with you something that was sent to me. It’s a new version of the footprints poem - the footprints poem if you haven’t heard of it has been around awhile - essentially it’s about a man who has a dream about his life and during his life he notices that he’s walking with God and for much of the walk they are together - side by side but then he notices that during the most difficult moments of his life there are only one set of footprints. In his dream, the man finally questions God and says, I see you were with me during the good times of my life - that’s when there were two sets of footprints, but where were you when I needed you most? And God says, “ah...that, my child, is when I carried you.” It’s a very nice poem and has given lots of people comfort - knowing God is with them, carrying them through even the darkest times.

Well this is the new version.

Imagine you and the Lord Jesus are walking down the road together. For much of the way, the Lord's footprints go along steadily, consistently, rarely varying the pace.

But your footprints are a disorganized stream of zigzags, starts, stops, turnarounds, circles, departures, and returns.

For much of the way, it seems to go like this, but gradually your footprints come more in line with the Lord's, soon paralleling His consistently.

You and Jesus are walking as true friends!

This seems perfect, but then an interesting thing happens: Your footprints that once etched the sand next to Jesus' are now walking precisely in His steps.

Inside His larger footprints are your smaller ones, you and Jesus are becoming one.

This goes on for many miles, but gradually you notice another change. The footprints inside the large footprints seem to grow larger.

Eventually they disappear altogether. There is only one set of footprints. They have become one.

This goes on for a long time, but suddenly the second set of footprints is back. This time it seems even worse! Zigzags all over the place. Stops. Starts. Gashes in the sand. A variable mess of prints.

You are amazed and shocked.

Your dream ends. Now you pray:

"Lord, I understand the first scene, with zigzags and fits. I was a new Christian; I was just learning. But You walked on through the storm and helped me learn to walk with You."

"That is correct."

"And when the smaller footprints were inside of Yours, I was actually learning to walk in Your steps, following You very closely."

"Very good. You have understood everything so far."

When the smaller footprints grew and filled in Yours, I suppose that I was becoming like You in every way."

"Precisely."

"So, Lord, was there a regression or something? The footprints separated, and this time it was worse than at first."

There is a pause as the Lord answers, with a smile in His voice.

"You didn't know? It was then that we danced!"

***

I want to talk to you this morning about dancing - last week it was singing, this week it’s dancing. The point being of course, is that, as children of God, as followers of Christ, as people filled with the Holy Spirit...which we are...we are supposed to dance. It’s what is naturally supposed to happen when we walk with the Lord, when we find ourselves in that place where we’re walking with God, when we find ourselves close to Jesus - doing the things he would do, thinking like he would think, loving like he would love. When we feel that kind of joy - well, then dancing is inevitable.

And just so you don’t think I’m making this up - the bible is filled with stories of people dancing. Dancing because of God’s goodness, dancing because God was with them, dancing they were filled with joy.

Beginning with Miriam, Moses’ sister, who after crossing the Red Sea with the Israelites to freedom from the Egyptians, led the people in song and in dance. It’s right there in the book of Exodus -then the prophet Miriam, it says, took a tambourine in her hand and all the women went out after her with tambourines and with dancing. And Miriam sang to them: “Sing to the Lord, for he has triumphed gloriously; horse and rider he has thrown into the sea.

When King David and his men brought the ark to Jerusalem, the ark that carried the covenant that God made with Moses - and if you’ve ever seen Raiders of the Lost Ark - you know something about the ark of the covenant - when King David brought the ark to Jerusalem - the Holy City - he and all the house of Israel were dancing before the Lord with all their might, along with songs and harps and tambourines and castanets and cymbals, says the book of 2nd Samuel.

In the book of Ecclesiastes, for everything there is a season and a time for every matter under heaven. A time to be born, and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to pluck up what is planted, a time to kill and a time to heal, a time to break down and a time to build up, a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance; meaning that in life as we know it these things are bound to occur - may we never forget that God is in the thick of it all. And that is reason enough to dance.

In the New Testament, while there are no specific references to dancing, I’m guessing there were plenty of times people felt like it - the woman who was about to be stoned by the townspeople for committing adultery when Jesus approached and said these now infamous words: “let anyone among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone.” And no one did. And the woman, forgiven by Jesus, went on her way. Was she dancing after her encounter with Jesus? I bet she was.

And Zaccheus, the rich tax collector who was despised by everyone around him - when Jesus spotted him up in a tree and invited himself over to dinner saying, “Zaccheus, hurry and come down; for I must stay at your house today.” The gospel of Luke said that he hurried down and was happy to welcome him.” Do you think he did a little jig on the way home? I do.

In fact...I’m thinking all the people Jesus healed and touched, all the people whose sins he forgave, all the people he welcomed - the outcasts, the sinners, the poor, the unwanted, all those he made feel loved and valued and told about the kingdom of God - how it was like a party - and what happens at any good party? There’s dancing, of course. I’m thinking lots of people knew what it was like to dance with Jesus.

We’ve even had dancing here - real, honest-to-goodness liturgical dancing thanks to young women such as Katie DeFeo and Erin Estes and others - and I know I’ve seen some of you dance - even just a little bit - during some of the hymns and songs we sing. Sometimes being in the presence of God is so good, walking with God is so amazing, there is so much joy being with Jesus - being a Christian, being a child of God, you just have to dance.

And yet...sometimes we forget. Sometimes we forget.

Sometimes we get so busy, all we can see are things we have to do, the things we’re not getting done, the lists we make for ourselves, sometimes we get so focused on the minor things in life, we forget to count our blessings, to look for God in our life, to give God thanks, we forget to dance.

Even in the church, we sometimes forget.

I was at a worship service once in Connecticut and when it was over and we all went outside for coffee, a little girl next to me was filled with such joy, such happiness, she did a cartwheel on the lawn - in her dress and all. I over heard her mother say to her: What are doing? Stop that this instant. This is a church!

Sometimes people forget that church is a place where you’re supposed to dance - that there is joy in knowing and serving our God.

And sometimes we just don’t feel like dancing - when we’re suffering, when our friends are suffering, when the world is very, very dark.

Right now, the whole country is feeling the pain of Hurricane Katrina, watching the news is heart breaking and devastating. We’ve watched a tragedy unfold all week, day by day, hour by hour, and felt helpless to do anything except send money. We’ve seen thousands of lives torn apart and at the same time we’ve seen the worst and the best in human nature. We’ve seen looting and violence and we’ve seen rescues and people opening their homes to strangers. We’ve seen it all this past week and it’s been hard to take in. And with the fourth anniversary of September 11th approaching next Sunday, it’s been a very sad week, a very dark week for everyone.

So much so, that when it came time to plan our worship for this Sunday, I called Wendell and said, I don’t think we should do the song we planned: Lord of the dance. It just doesn’t feel right. I don’t think anyone of us feels like dancing right now.

And he called me back and said. No, it’s fine. In fact it’s perfect - because of the fourth verse - I danced on a Friday when the sky turned black; it’s hard to dance with the devil on your back, they buried my body and they thought I’d gone, but I am the Dance and I still go on.

And Wendell, of course, was right. When things were at their worst, when Jesus suffered most, when it was as dark as it was ever going to get, still he danced.

Because he knew God was with him, even in the dark, knew that the light, though dim, would not go out - could never be extinguished, knew that love would prevail, that good would defeat evil, and the dance would continue.

Being a Christian means believing that in the midst of all that is wrong in the world, that our God is good and just and good always wins, and we can be part of that goodness if we try, it’s about knowing God is present with us and at work in our lives, trusting that God is present and at work in our lives, it’s knowing that God’s love and forgiveness and grace is for all of us and it’s real and that’s really something to rejoice about, as the apostle Paul says. Rejoice in the Lord always, he says. Again, I say rejoice.

So go ahead and dance - dance on the inside - be at peace, feel the joy, know the love that comes from walking with Christ - and dance on the outside, too, you can move a little if you want, I won’t tell anybody, or you can pray, sing, worship and offer yourself in service to the Lord. Share your joy. Just be sure to dance.

I’d like to close with the last verse of the song the Platts sang for us.

Dance, then, wherever you may be. I am the Lord of the dance said he. And I’ll lead you all wherever you maybe, and I’ll lead you all in the dance said he.

Let us pray.

Gracious and loving God, lead us in the dance, help us to walk closer with you. And as we come to the table, as we break bread and share the cup together as your church family, may we truly be united with your love and your goodness, with your purpose, as the body of Christ.