My last entry focused on the marching and military themes of some of our recent hymns, but today I want to focus on the second part of my title: dancing. Our communion hymn on Trinity Sunday was "Come, Join the Dance of Trinity," and the poetry and imagery of the text were a poignant contrast to the march tunes we've sung lately.
Perhaps my mind was on the beautiful spring weather that day, but when I read the text of the dancing, interweaving trinity the image that sprang to my mind was of a May Day celebration, with a crowd skipping around a Maypole. The inclusive call to dance also brings to my mind wedding receptions - the one social occasion where people of all ages (and dancing abilities) will head for a dance floor together. To dance is to embrace the duality of rhythm and freedom. Unlike the lock-step of marching, we can all move to the same rhythm but in our own way, with our own step, unified but individuals. That's such a beautiful image of a dancing trinity: three in one and one in three.
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
I'm glad you used wedding receptions as an example. I don't think we were considering it at the time the hymn was picked, but in retrospect, singing about the dance of the Trinity by the faithful as we celebrated Communion leaves a powerful image of the church as the bride of Christ, joyfully dancing at the feast.
ReplyDelete