Do you want to dance?
Sunday 10 Jan 2020
"Dance the, 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.
The singer/songwriter, Sydney Carter, is best known for the hymn ‘Lord of the dance,’ which became a great favourite in churches and school assemblies. I’ve also heard it sung at weddings and at funerals. In it, Jesus dances through people’s lives, inviting them to join him.
In recent weeks I’ve come to see that Sydney Carter wrote many other poems and songs. I’ve discovered another less well known song about this dancing God, and the danger of trying to trap him, or keep him still.
It’s called ‘The Bird of Heaven,’
“Catch the Bird of Heaven Lock Him in a cage of gold Look again tomorrow And He will be gone Lock Him in religion Gold and frankincense and myrrh Carry to His prison But He will be gone All the things that man has made Cannot hold Him anymore Still the bird is flying as before Temple made of marble Beak and feather made of gold Bell and book and candle Cannot hold Him anymore Still the bird is flying”
“These words tell us that if we try to hold God down, to contain, or control him, we will ‘look again tomorrow, and he will be gone.’ We must be prepared to ‘follow where the bird has gone,’
During the corona crisis, we have seen the truth of this.
Quite suddenly and unexpectedly our places of worship had to close.
Parish churches and chapels, cathedrals, Braehead House stood empty.
And this all happened at one of the greatest Festivals of the Christian year. The buildings which would normally have resounded with the poignancy of Good Friday and the Alleluias of Easter Day, were silent.
But the ‘Bird of Heaven,’ the Holy Spirit, who fills our lives and inspires our worship, was not trapped alone in the echoing building, but free, out in the world, and among God’s people.
This has been the amazing experience of Christians, all over the country as we have seen, and been part of Jesus ministering to those in need, through prayer, care and encouragement to those in our communities.
Jesus’ call has always been to ‘Follow,’ to let go of whatever holds us back, or holds us down, and follow him. To engage in the dance,
“Dance then, wherever you may be I am the Lord of the dance” said He.
In recent days we have we have found and ourselves back in another stringent lock down, and maybe you are feeling a little dis-couraged, but let’s be en-couraged, Look around you, listen for the call to join in, take your partner/s Jesus is dancing through our lives through our communities, through our world.
May Jesus, guide our steps into the future. If we dare to do that, to open our hearts to the Holy Spirit, the Bird of Heaven and to the world around us, the dance will go on.
God bless your day
Elizabeth
