A Revolution with Dancing

A Revolution With Dancing--December 9, 2016

"Strengthen the weak hands, and make firm the feeble knees. Say to those who are of a fearful heart, 'Be strong, do not fear! Here is your God. He will come with vengeance, with terrible recompense. He will come and save you.'  Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf unstopped; then the lame shall leap like a deer, and the tongue of the speechless sing for joy...." [Isaiah 35:3-6a]

The Reign of God is serious business--but seriously joyful, too. 

We need to remember that.  Our calling as the people of God is indeed important--vitally important--because the world needs people who will speak truth, who will do justly, who will love mercy, and who will walk humbly.  The world needs people who will forgive and wash feet, and who dare to admit their need for forgiveness and offer up their own dirty feet to the basin.  The world needs people who are looking for the face of Christ amid the hungry and homeless, the sick and the dying, the stranger and the excluded. The world needs people trying, even when we half-fail at it, to follow after Jesus. That is all desperately serious business in a world that is preoccupied with counting Facebook likes, making sure their kids never miss a soccer practice or basketball game, and buying stuff we don't need to amuse ourselves or make our neighbors envious.  In the face of so much nonsense that won't last and won't change a life, yes, the people of God are called to important, essential work that often takes us into the way of suffering--either because we are choosing to share the suffering of others or because we risk losing popularity by speaking up for people who are getting stepped on or because we are giving up our creature comforts for the sake of others who have nothing.

All of that is part and parcel of the Kingdom life and the Movement of Mercy to which all of us belong. Yes, that is true.

But don't ever forget, either, it is all joy, too.  God's Reign is all about joy in the full, life in the full, and "goodness and mercy following us all the days of our life," as the old psalm-writer puts it.  Now, joy is not the same as "happiness." Happiness is a fleeting instant of chemicals in your brain.  It is a mirage, a will-o'-the-wisp.  It is there, and then it is gone, such that you never quite know if it was real or just imagined, and you never quite can manufacture it.  Joy, however, grows and thrives even in hostile soil.  And so the people of God can be both serious about the important work we are called to, and seriously joyful.  Being aware of the friend dying of cancer or the news that the last hospital in eastern Aleppo was bombed last week does not mean that we cannot also smile when a dear friend comes to visit, or laugh when the child ahead of you in line at the store makes a silly face at you as a gesture of playfulness.  Being aware of the heartache in your extended family doesn't mean you cannot enjoy the beauty of lightly falling snow on a December morning or the taste of your morning cup of coffee.  Being aware of the deep darkness someone you know is going through doesn't mean you cannot find joy inside knowing that you--and they--are beloved of God. 

There is real sorrow in the world, and yes, the calling of God's people is to be in the midst of it. But we are meant to be there as channels in which joy can erupt, too.  Ours is serious work, but not so serious that people cannot break out singing or dancing.

There is a moment in the movie V for Vendetta, the 2005 adaption of the graphic novel of the same name, right before the central character launches his grand revolution.  The title character, V,  is a vigilante in a Guy Fawkes mask (don't ask if you don't know the story already--just go with it) who is seeking to topple a cruel and oppressive fascist government in a dystopian future in England.  And yet, just before he launches his grand finale to bring the oppressive authoritarian dictator to his knees, V asks his friend Evey to dance with him.  Just one song.  Just for a moment, before everything else unfolds.  She questions him about the timing of this odd request: "On the eve of your great revolution?  A dance?"  And V, voiced by the great Hugo Weaving, answers, "A revolution without dancing is a revolution not worth having."

That seems a good rule of thumb.  A revolution without dancing is a revolution not worth having.  A movement of people that does not send out ripples of joy for the brokenhearted, hope for the hopeless, and love for those feeling left out... well, that's hardly a movement worth belonging to.  Not to say that there aren't other kinds of popular "movements" out there--you can, I suppose, go join a group of people who are mad about their taxes or want to legalize marijuana or whatever.  But if the "movement" you belong to is really just a group of people being selfish together, you've got to ask what the point is.  But the Kingdom is never just about me and my petty wish list or grievances--it's about something profoundly good, profoundly beautiful, for all of us.  That's what makes it both serious and seriously joyful.  The Reign of God is a revolution... with dancing.

When the old poets and seers start envisioning it, they picture God's movement in history looking a lot like a dance, or at least a big musical number.  There are the blind, being given their sight, yes.  There are the ears now hearing music for the first time, over there.  There are the feet that could not move a moment ago, now leaping up for joy and dancing.  There are the voices that were either too sick or to heartbroken to speak, and now they are singing out with joy.  It is God turning things upside down, turning things inside out.  It is God leading a movement in history... and making room for a dance in the midst of it.

Whatever things you do in this day to live out your faith, let that be a two-sided guiding principle for the day: make it matter, and make it count for joy.  Do things that make a difference in the brokenness of the world... and do them in such a way that brings more light to the universe.  Take this Kingdom business seriously... and with great joy.

Lord God, give us joy as we do the work and live the lives you call us to.  Let us dance in the midst of the revolution you are bringing to the universe.