Save the Last Dance--November 2, 2021

"Save the Last Dance"--November 2, 2021

"Do not be carried away by all kinds of strange teachings; for it is well for the heart to be strengthened by grace, not by regulations about food, which have not benefited those who observe them.” (Hebrews 13:9)

I hear the Drifters when I hear this verse. Is that weird?

Yeah, the same Drifters who sang, “This Magic Moment,” fronted by the same Ben E. King who sang, “Stand By Me.” I hear them in the background of this verse.

You know their 1960 song, “Save the Last Dance for Me,” I’ll bet. The song imagines King singing to his girl out at a dance somewhere. And while he knows she is going to be flirting and smiling and having a good time with everyone who is there, he keeps coming back to this one plea: “But don’t forget who’s taking you home, and in whose arms you’re gonna be—So, Darlin’, save the last dance for me.”

I want to give King the benefit of the doubt on this one. At least for the purposes of a Tuesday morning devotion, let’s grant that he’s being sincere here and that he really cares for the beloved in the song. (As it turns out, supposedly the inspiration for the song came from the songwriter, Doc Pomus’ own wedding, because Pomus was bound to a wheelchair, unable to use his legs because of polio, and watched while his new bride danced with guests. In other words, the song really was written with the sincere promise that the narrator in the song is going to be there for his beloved for the long haul.) In the song, the singer’s plea really boils down to saying, “Look—the other guys who are here are just interested in a temporary fling, or to have a dance with the cute girl so they can brag to their friends later. But I am the one who will be there for you. I’m the one who is taking you home when all is said and done. So don’t fall for one of the pretenders or get lost in the momentary sparkle. Remember, I’ve been there for you. And I will be there for you, too.” That’s really the gist of the song.

It’s just that the Drifters get all of that into a catchy rhythm in fewer words.

Well, maybe in that light, this isn’t so far off the mark from the point of our verses from Hebrews here. “Don’t get carried away by all kinds of strange teachings,” the writer of Hebrews implores. After all, the real Jesus is “the same, yesterday and today and forever,” as we were reminded in yesterday's verse.  In other words, Jesus remains faithful, and Jesus remains constant. Don’t go running after some novelty or some new face on the dance floor—they don’t love you like Jesus loves you. Don’t forget that he’s the one who’s taking you home. Don’t forget—it is in his nail-scarred arms that you will be held into resurrection life. So don’t bail on Jesus: he is the one who is constant when everyone else flakes out.

There surely were plenty of new “strange teachings” floating around in the first century when Hebrews was written. The writer gives a nod to one of the teachings floating around in some corners of the early church—namely that there were some in the early church saying that Christians had to abide by the food rules of Judaism in order to really “count” as disciples of Jesus. But “strange teachings” come and go, and even if the “food rules” controversy of the first century has passed, there are all sorts of other teachings and teachers that have come and gone and drawn people’s attention but didn’t last. History is littered with flash-in-the-pan teachers and teachings that appealed to people at first, but really were empty shadows. End-time predictors who were “sure” they knew the time of Jesus’ return. Prosperity preachers and the health-and-wealth gospel. New-agey vague spiritualities that sound pleasant but have no depth. The whole made-up notion of the secret “rapture” of the church, which gets revitalized every few years with more horrendous fiction and bad movies. The Gospel malpractice of "patriot churches" that endorse Christian nationalism and blur the line between fallible nation-states and the Reign of God. There will be more next year, or even next week, to be sure. The writer of Hebrews warns us against just jumping on the bandwagon with any of those “others” on the dance floor.

Even if the sparkle of the disco ball makes it seem magical, or it feels good just to be wanted by so many would-be suitors, the writer of Hebrews warns us not to fall for any of them. They don’t have staying power. They aren’t faithful and enduring, so don’t give your faithfulness to them or put your faith in them. There is only one who really is worthy of your trust—the one who is the same yesterday and today and forever.

In the end, Jesus is faithful to us in a way that nobody else is—and therefore he is the only one worth us placing our trust IN, and the only one worth us giving our faithfulness TO. Jesus is the one who remains constant, while other teachings, teachers, fads, and, yes, people, come running in and out of our lives. So for us, being faithful in terms of giving our allegiance to Jesus is really just a recognition that he is the only one who won’t let us down and is therefore the only one who is worthy of allegiance and faithfulness.

Today, as you decide who and what gets your attention, your allegiance, your love, and your devotion, take it from Ben E. King and the Drifters: don’t forget Who is taking you home. Don’t forget Whose arms will be holding you, and don’t let a pretender fool you.

Lord God, let us be faithful to you today and to disentangle ourselves from the other lesser voices all claiming to offer us good.