"why not come dancinghow can i not show the video for this classic song! it is beautiful, awesome, ... outstanding! please, enjoy the song, then come back to read my homiletical disaster! and what better English group, from North London, to introduce my Olympic post.
it's only natural" (The Kinks - Come Dancing, 1982)
i'm currently on my 80s kick. not jetlag, but just good memories! some music transcend time and space. and this has to be one of those songs, it must, it has to!
come dancing, it's only natural! almost eleven thousand athletes (population of Hawkesbury) have come to dance in 26 sports in the Olympics, London 2012! there is twenty-one thousand media peeps in the house, with over 1.1 million tickets in play. that's a lot of dancing to the big bands! good times. [Olympics fun facts] all this dancing reminds me of God, in the Holy Trinity.
they too, dance, in other words, perichoresis! the love that exists between God, in the Holy Trinity - Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, has often been described as a dance of love among the three Persons of the Trinity. i remember this from "Trinity 101" in the seminary - and it has always stuck with me. i may not fully understand this mystery, but i do indeed love it! come dancing, it's only natural! (see Cardinal Marc Ouellet and his book, Divine Likeness for more info)
i too have started dancing! no, not swing dancing, but ultimate frisbee! i have rekindled my love for layouts, the hammer, the flic (forehand, à la français), and best of all, fellowship. with the help of M. Lauzon (Philippe), we started a informal ultimate frisbee league, dance, in Hawkesbury, every Monday night for students of l'École secondaire catholique régionale de Hawkesbury! i must stay we have a great time, and it has lead me to meditate more on the Theology of Sports.
you can learn a lot about a person on how they play team sports. are they interested? are they part of the huddle? do they exagerate, competitive, etc.? the above picture is of the Olympic dude playing ping pong, a reminder for me that i have a match scheduled against Fr. Titus, neighbouring pastor over at St. Jude's! i'm a bit nervous at my chances at winning. what if i said that i would not play, if i could not win?! what if all athletes thought the same way? what if all Christians, Catholics, thought that way? come dancing, it's only natural! there is much to learn from the Theology of Sports, so more on this later!
the good news according to one of the greatest coaches of all time, Vince Lombardi, is that sports are just a game. somebody wins, somebody loses. however, life continues with its higher expectations and challenges. (Fr. Gallagher, chaplain to Indiana Colts). but - à la Lombardi - , sports do teach us about perseverance, self-denial, hard work, sacrifice, dedication and respect for authority. enjoy the dance, the games, and please continue to pray for the ongoing success of the ultimate frisbee dance in Hawkesbury. peace.
ps. maybe a small prayer too for my win in ping pong! over and out.
Reminds me of the hymn "the Lord of the Dance":
ReplyDeleteLord Of The Dance
I danced in the morning
When the world was begun,
And I danced in the moon
And the stars and the sun,
And I came down from heaven
And I danced on the earth,
At Bethlehem
I had my birth.
Dance, then, wherever you may be,
I am the Lord of the Dance, said he,
And I'll lead you all, wherever you may be,
And I'll lead you all in the Dance, said he
I danced for the scribe
And the pharisee,
But they would not dance
And they wouldn't follow me.
I danced for the fishermen,
For James and John -
They came with me
And the dance went on.
Chorus
I danced on the Sabbath
And I cured the lame;
The holy people
Said it was a shame.
They whipped and they stripped
And they hung me on high,
And they left me there
On a Cross to die.
Chorus
I danced on a Friday
When the sky turned black -
It's hard to dance
With the devil on your back.
They buried my body
And they thought I'd gone,
But I am the dance,
And I still go on.
Chorus
They cut me down
And I leapt up high;
I am the life
That'll never, never die;
I'll live in you
If you'll live in me -
I am the Lord
Of the Dance, said he.
Chorus
cool!
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