Psalm 149:1-9 Praise the LORD! Sing to the LORD a new song, his praise in the assembly of the faithful. 2 Let Israel be glad in its Maker; let the children of Zion rejoice in their King. 3 Let them praise his name with dancing, making melody to him with tambourine and lyre. 4 For the LORD takes pleasure in his people; he adorns the humble with victory. 5 Let the faithful exult in glory; let them sing for joy on their couches. 6 Let the high praises of God be in their throats and two-edged swords in their hands, 7 to execute vengeance on the nations and punishment on the peoples, 8 to bind their kings with fetters and their nobles with chains of iron, 9 to execute on them the judgment decreed. This is glory for all his faithful ones. Praise the LORD!
For all the range of emotion that permeates the psalms, the collection ends on a crescendo of praise. In this penultimate song there is unbridled exuberance, from raucous music and dancing, to shouting from the couches, to those who are called to bring justice to the nations. We are to take joy in our living to the glory of God. God, too, takes pleasure in God’s people, the psalmist asserts. We are in a relationship of celebration and joy, even when we do the difficult task of seeking justice.
“Tomorrow Shall Be My Dancing Day” is an English carol that presents the mission of Jesus to invite us all to join in the dance. In his own voice, and with his life, Jesus calls all to dance with joy this gift of life eternal. It could be argued that a saint is someone who says yes to that invitation. All Saints Day might be a stumbling block for some. While we all have those we might consider saintly, most of us would never consider ourselves to be so. Saint sounds like perfect, a word we know better than to apply to ourselves.
If Psalm 149 can be believed, the beloved of God are those who accept the invitation to dance. A saint is one who knows something of the joy of living, even in the hardest moments of life. A saint is someone who knows something of the exuberance of praise, even when the tears fall like rain and sweat like great drops of blood. On All Saints Day we remember those whose dancing with their Lord has given us all hope. And we aspire to follow the music and dance.
“Tomorrow shall be my dancing day; / I would my true love did so chance / To see the legend of my play, / To call my true love to my dance; Sing, oh! my love, this have I done for my true love”
Yes, it seems odd to be writing about All Saints Day here in the middle of July. But what’s even stranger is that I’m writing about All Saints Day 2022! And then my next project for work is to plan for the Advent worship series for this year. Whew, it’s hard to keep it all straight. I feel somewhat disconnect from time.
I used to work ahead, that’s true. I began a process of setting a preaching plan a year out, so yes I was thinking and working months out. But the intense work happened closer to the time. Now it all seems somewhat disjointed. Like I don’t really know what day it is, or month, or time.
That’s the effect of the pandemic, too. I saw a meme with the declaration that “from now on the days of the week will be “this day” and “that day” and “the other day”!” Makes sense to me, I suppose. The days flow together, the rhythms are off. We all want to get back to normal, even though we realize we never will.
But what if this is just an exercise in eternity? How will the days be marked in heaven? Will we know one from another? Maybe we don’t need to know. Maybe the object is simply to lose ourselves in the dance. Maybe heaven will be marked not by time, but by opportunities to love, occasions to praise, moments of music and dancing.
We already know a good movie by how we lose track of time when we’re watching it. We know a good party when we don’t even realize that it’s gotten so late. So, why don’t we start living in eternity now? Just say yes to the One who invites you to dance and lose yourself in loving.
And forget what day it is. Happy All Saints Day! And Advent season. And July 2020. All at the same time.
Shalom,
Derek
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