A SECULAR LITURGY
Today I met the Lord of the dance … and of the smile … and of the welcome …
a secular liturgy.
This morning I attended a concert put on by Intellectually Disabled adults and adolescents in our community.
It was pouring down outside. I had a pounding headache and no desire to interact with people. But the call was too great. I agree with elinor peace bailey when she says, “ … I try always to ask every
soul who enters my life, 'Bring me your diversity and let me learn through your eyes to see the world as you can see it.'” So I went. At the concert, I was overwhelmed by the diversity and over-exuberant generosity of God.
The greeting, the welcome, the delight in seeing another, was palpable. A divine embrace.
I encountered a courageous God: dauntless, fearless, daring. Women and men living with cancer, or changing direction in mid-life; a mother who has survived two daughters; a teenager living without
sight; another confined to a wheelchair. All offering themselves: broken, to be shared, to heal, to nourish, to encourage, to give life. Food for the journey.
No need for a coercive, punitive God here. A willingness to step up when asked; to fill in the gaps when necessary; to wait patiently; to freely excuse human frailty and forgetfulness. The perfect offering.
I witnessed people filled with a glorious pride. Not the arrogant I-am-better-than-you pride, but that which comes from knowing I have done my best. Joyfully acknowledging their giftedness. Not measuring
themselves against others. Celebrating what they are able to do with God's grace, and delighting in sharing it with others.
I laughed with a playful God: drumming, strumming, dancing, singing. There is a delightful children's book by Nicholas Allan called 'Jesus' Day Off'. In it, God shows that by being himself and not trying too hard, he brings life to others. The participants in this concert, simply by being themselves and having fun, certainly gave life to me.
This morning's concert was a liturgy: a chaotic, rowdy, steaming work of the people.
This morning's concert was a litany: remembering and naming some of the faces of the divine – hospitable God, creative God, courageous God, creative God, delighted God, empathetic God, playful God,
storyteller God, artistic God, laughing God.
This morning's concert was exegesis: it broke open the Word of God. “Preach the gospel, if necessary, use words!”is a saying attributed to St Francis. I saw it in action today.
This morning's concert was sacrament: an encounter with the divine. God was present. I am grateful that I was there.
The creator, the creation, and the creating were revealed in this dance: a secular liturgy.
“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.”
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Allan, Nicholas Jesus' Day Off, Red Fox, 2002
bailey, elinor peace Mother Plays With Dolls EPM Publications, Inc(out of print)
Carter, Sydney Lord of the Dance Lion Publishing, 1998
a secular liturgy.
This morning I attended a concert put on by Intellectually Disabled adults and adolescents in our community.
It was pouring down outside. I had a pounding headache and no desire to interact with people. But the call was too great. I agree with elinor peace bailey when she says, “ … I try always to ask every
soul who enters my life, 'Bring me your diversity and let me learn through your eyes to see the world as you can see it.'” So I went. At the concert, I was overwhelmed by the diversity and over-exuberant generosity of God.
The greeting, the welcome, the delight in seeing another, was palpable. A divine embrace.
I encountered a courageous God: dauntless, fearless, daring. Women and men living with cancer, or changing direction in mid-life; a mother who has survived two daughters; a teenager living without
sight; another confined to a wheelchair. All offering themselves: broken, to be shared, to heal, to nourish, to encourage, to give life. Food for the journey.
No need for a coercive, punitive God here. A willingness to step up when asked; to fill in the gaps when necessary; to wait patiently; to freely excuse human frailty and forgetfulness. The perfect offering.
I witnessed people filled with a glorious pride. Not the arrogant I-am-better-than-you pride, but that which comes from knowing I have done my best. Joyfully acknowledging their giftedness. Not measuring
themselves against others. Celebrating what they are able to do with God's grace, and delighting in sharing it with others.
I laughed with a playful God: drumming, strumming, dancing, singing. There is a delightful children's book by Nicholas Allan called 'Jesus' Day Off'. In it, God shows that by being himself and not trying too hard, he brings life to others. The participants in this concert, simply by being themselves and having fun, certainly gave life to me.
This morning's concert was a liturgy: a chaotic, rowdy, steaming work of the people.
This morning's concert was a litany: remembering and naming some of the faces of the divine – hospitable God, creative God, courageous God, creative God, delighted God, empathetic God, playful God,
storyteller God, artistic God, laughing God.
This morning's concert was exegesis: it broke open the Word of God. “Preach the gospel, if necessary, use words!”is a saying attributed to St Francis. I saw it in action today.
This morning's concert was sacrament: an encounter with the divine. God was present. I am grateful that I was there.
The creator, the creation, and the creating were revealed in this dance: a secular liturgy.
“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.”
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Allan, Nicholas Jesus' Day Off, Red Fox, 2002
bailey, elinor peace Mother Plays With Dolls EPM Publications, Inc(out of print)
Carter, Sydney Lord of the Dance Lion Publishing, 1998
