For the past couple months I’ve been taking dancing lessons. It’s tons of fun, and I recommend it to all. The last time I took dancing lessons was in seventh grade. Admittedly, lessons back then were NOT fun.  Being the smallest boy in my class, I dreaded being paired up with the tallest girl as the rest of the class would stand back and laugh.  That experience almost soured me on dancing forever! This time around, however, it’s different. Being an older person, I really don’t care what I look like.

For some, dancing comes naturally; for me, it requires much concentration and work. Of course, it’s not just a matter of learning the steps. Dancing entails hearing the music, finding the rhythm, allowing the flow of the music to course through one’s body. All of that can be tricky as one is first learning. Little by little, however, I think I’m getting the hang of it. 

As he was talking to the religious leaders and people of his day, Jesus said, “But to what will I compare this generation? It is like children sitting in the marketplaces and calling to one another, ‘We played the flute for you, and you did not dance” (Matthew 11:16f.).  Jesus explains that John the Baptist and the other prophets spoke of God’s way and will, but most people, even the most religious among them, refrained from responding.  When inundated with the music of God’s love and life, the leaders and people chose not to hear.  When invited to join the dance, they chose to remain still.

“We played the flute for you, and you did not dance.” To be honest, I think that is perhaps the saddest verse of all Holy Scripture. And it makes me wonder why.  Was it that the people did not hear the music? Was it that they heard, but they didn’t like the rhythm? Was it that they were too timid or afraid? Was it that learning the dance was too much work? Whatever the reason, they did not dance. Tragic.

Well, what about us? Do we hear the music of God’s life in our heads and hearts? Do we allow the rhythm of God’s love to find its way into our lives? And if not, why? Each day, each hour, each minute and moment, Jesus is inviting us to listen to the music, to find the rhythm, to join the dance. Don’t wait. Today, accept the invitation and commit to allowing God’s Spirit to teach us how to dance.

~Father Art