 Pastoral Reflections
By James Lamkin
"Not Done with Dancin'" This past Sunday I preached on dancing. For too long, we in the religion business have fostered a cut-off between the soma (the body) and the soul...between the spiritual and the sensual. But, the Old Testament writers knew better. We don't have a soul, we are a soul. When we break a leg and our body is impaired, our spirituality also will limp (at least for a while). When we walk along the beach and the sunset splashes pastel splotches on the canvas of every available cloud...responsively, our lungs rise like the tide and release a healing, satisfying sigh. Suddenly, there is less tension between your shoulders; and the weight of the world seems lighter. Explain that? Meaning and motion are joined at the hip, pun intended. According to Qoheleth (Ecclesiastes), the Hebrew Bible's Curmudgeon-in-Residence, there's a time for everything under heaven, including "a time to dance." Twyla Tharp is one of the world's great dancer/choreographers. Even the Joffrey and London Ballets are buried near the bottom of her resume. So, get this: she says, "I can size up a dancer and determine if he's right for a production by the way he comes in the door and puts down his bag. That, plus asking him to come forward and move into fifth position, will tell me all I need to know about his training, his attitude, his propriety, and his modesty...." That is an amazing statement; and a frightening one. To a trained eye, and perhaps even an untrained one, we are transparent. "By the way he comes in the door and puts down his bag." Well, I'll be. Looks like our soul/body dances through this ole' world revealing more than we know: our history, our hope, our hindrances, and even our journey toward healing. Every Sunday we do the same as we enter the church house and gather for worship. We slouch, we strut. We plod, we process. For me, it's not about silence or sound...it is about presence. This is prayer. Our bodies begin praying before our minds are even aware, and certainly before our words are arranged. God hears our bodies pray. This is community. The way we are present with ourselves says to one another...and our guests...who we are, what we believe, and how we live it. I've always said that visitors can smell anxious neediness a mile away. They also can spot confident joy...a joy that celebrates life as a gift, and the gift of sharing that joy with neighbors, friends, strangers, and family all together in the presence of God. We are not yet done with dancin'. When Sunday comes, walk in the church door. Put down your bag. Rest your burden. Be present to grace. God knows who you are; and that is good news. | 
Missions Corner 
