Lord of the Dance

It’s Monday morning and I woke up a bit out of sorts … well, cranky might be a better word. I don’t even have a job and I was cranky about Monday! As I grabbed the Cheerios from the cupboard for breakfast with a grumpy demeanor, I thought, “life is such a dance” and, suddenly, I began to feel better. Why? I love to dance. Just thinking about dancing lifted my mood.

The song, “Lord of the Dance” popped into my mind. When I was a teenager, this was one of the “new” Christian songs sung by many church youth groups. It was written by English songwriter Sydney Carter in 1963 and sung to the melody of the old Shaker hymn, “Simple Gifts”. The song tells the gospel story in the first-person voice of Jesus and portrays the life of Jesus and his mission as a dance. He invites us to join him in the dance, much like the disciples who accepted Jesus’ invitation to become fishers of men.

The Lord of the Dance

I danced in the morning when the world was begun,
And I danced in the moon and the stars and the sun,
And I came down from heaven and I danced on the earth,
At Bethlehem I had my birth.

I danced for the scribe and the Pharisee,
But they would not dance and they wouldn’t follow me.
I danced for the fishermen, for James and John
They came with me and the Dance went on.

I danced on the Sabbath and I cured the lame;
The holy people said it was a shame.
They whipped and they stripped and they hung me on high,
And they left me there on a Cross to die.

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.

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 me –
I am the Lord of the Dance, said he.

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.

Today I choose to accept the invitation from Jesus to join him in his life and mission. I accept his invitation to the dance.

To everything there is a season and a time for every purpose under heaven … a time to dance. Ecclesiastes 3