The dance of love

John 1:9-10

The Life-Light was the real thing:

Every person entering Life

he brings into Light.

He was in the world,

the world was there through him,

and yet the world didn't even notice.

This week, as I was pondering God as a dance partner in mission, I'm grateful to colleagues who pointed me to the Perichoresis - the dance of love between Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

That set me off on a whole new image fest- Rather than the sedate ballroom style dance, like that portrayed in Jack Vettriano's 'Dance me to the end of love', my imagination whirled off to a Ceilidh - and I imagined a Strip the Willow or an Eightsome Reel or even a Progressive Canadian Barn Dance with God in the midst of the action. The sound track accompanying my sedate waltz with God,  played by a tux wearing pianist, morphed into a jig with crazy Scottish snaps in the music and fiddle bows flying over strings in a blur. 

Mission imagined at a slow, dignified pace became Mission in the melee - Perhaps a much more realistic image of partnering God in mission.

I'm not sure who it was who said: "Show me your gods and I will show you your people" but a God of the ceilidh is perhaps a more arresting image than the God of the ballroom. And now I am picturing God weaving in and out of the reel or sedately joining in a two step to a melancholy air. God, who takes time to learn the basic steps but who is comfortable with improvisations, often instigating a change of pace. But, above all, God who continues to invite us all into the action, to risk looking foolish alongside God, taking two steps forward and one step back, to dare to make it up as we go along, experimenting and learning from failure, all the while dancing in the dance of the Trinity of love, Father, Son and Holy Spirit who call us to be partners in mission in God's world