So…who won? I missed the final show and am so out of touch. *sigh*
Actually, I’m not much of a reality TV fan, even though I did see some of American Idol this year (thank you, Crystal) and even several bits of the dancing excitement. That’s probably why it is still in my head as I’m thinking back on this past weekend’s consideration of the Holy Trinity.
Trinity is such an obscure and difficult notion. As a preacher, I struggle with it every year. (The folks at Grace can attest to that.) But there is something simple, elegant and engaging at the very core of all the theological constructions about imminent and economic relationships…something as simple as a peasant dance of joy.
The Greek word often used to describe this mystery is “perichoresis.” It literally means “to dance around.” And by that I don’t mean “to dance around the meaning of the Trinity.” I mean, literally, to join hands and dance in a big circle…kind of like the celebration at the end of “My Big, Fat, Greek Wedding.” Indeed, all the theological consternation and literary back-flips come down to this: God, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, in an extravagance unimagined by the human mind, has invited you to dance…to join hands in love and life and celebration so that the joy which first spilled over into the created order might come shining through in our lives, too.
Here’s reality for you…dancing with the stars and angels and saints in the embrace of the Almighty. In a sense, it’s what we already do each time someone is washed at the font and each time we gather around Christ’s table…each time we lift our hearts in prayer and our hands in praise. We take hold of one another as God’s fellow beloved. And we dance the divine mission into the world for the sake of its reconciliation to One who loved it always and loves it still.
Dear friends, the music plays on. And the Holy One invites: may I have this dance?
