A Theology of Dance

I'm pretty good with the worm. A can manage a decent robot. My go-to is a weird kind of arm/leg-movement that looks a little like those inflatable tube guys out front used car dealerships.

In other words, I'm not a great dancer.

But I think dance is a essential. Here are some reasons why:

1. It's not necessary. It's fun. And humans were made for more than productivity and "shut down mode" (i.e., sleep).
2. It takes the whole person -- mind, body, soul. Too often we're split apart.
3. It helps us understand God.

Hopefully 1 and 2 don't need any explanation, but I'll say a little more about 3.

The Trinity is sometimes tough for people to understand. It always has been. It took the church about 300 years to talk about it with some broad agreement.

The early theologians used the word "perichoresis" to describe the Trinity. It means literally "to come/go around." It's the idea that every person of the Trinity is distinctly themselves, but also that dwelling completely in them are the other persons of the Trinity.

Now, on a computer screen, that description of God probably doesn't make a lot of sense.

This is where dance comes in.

For most of human history we danced with others (the recent individual kind of dancing is, well, recent, and little bit strange ... alone, but in a group?). And when we dance with others, something happens. One person moves, or initiates, but the other follows so quickly, so intuitively, that there is no delay, no calculation, no cognitive decision making. They move together.

And even though one may initiate and the other respond, both are following, moving according to a song, a rhythm.

Well, this is God.

The Father initiates, and the Son responds, but the Son's response is so complete, so full, that it looks precisely like the Father's movements. They are joined and yet distinct.

And both are guided by the tempo of love, which we call Holy Spirit, who both guides them and, like any good live musician, also responds to them and their movements.

Now we're getting somewhere. But I'm going to leave it at that because if you really want to understand the Trinity, well, c'mon out to the contra dance at Peak, February 14, 6:00 pm, and all the secrets of the Divine Self will be laid bare.

Plus, you'll have fun.

Pastor Eddy