By Jennifer Lynn Woodruff |
Lord of the Dance |
He was the Word, a wild and dancing Word,
before the world began; he danced in flame,
and galaxies were born, and songs became
the sinew of our bones, and he was Lord.
He danced in bread and wine, and in the bright
 blue fountains of the Water of our birth,
and all the bells rang, and along the earth
the incense of a prayer rose, fresh and light.
He danced in speech, in names that had a power,
in dreams with symbols vibrant and unknown,
and all that was and is and is to come
was whole in grace and worship in that hour.
But we have fenced him in and tied him down;
we think he comes as words and not as Word,
as only what we prove, what we have heard—
not seen, not tasted, and therefore not found.
We preach a thousand sermons, and we lift
a thousand prayers in motions memorized,
and stumble home and have not realized:
the dance is mind and heart—the dance is gift.
He seeks us in the bread we fear to break,
the banners that we lift with trembling hand,
the images we fail to understand,
the steps in God's strange dance we fear to take.
He is the Word, a wild and dancing Word;
he sings; his joy is fierce, his longing deep.
He calls us from ourselves and bids us weep
and dance and worship him, for he is Lord.
"Lord of the Dance" by Jennifer Lynn Woodruff. Reprinted from Weavings XVII/2, March/April 2002, "Creativity."
Prayer
Remember that we cannot earn, deserve, or force an experience of God's presence and communion. Our effort in personal prayer does not guarantee what can only be a grace. All we can do is open ourselves to God's mercy and friendship and dispose ourselves to receive divine love in the trust that it is a gift eagerly waiting to be given. God will speak to you in the ways and times most appropriate for you. Experience teaches us that time given faithfully to God is returned immeasurably enriched.
"Prayer" is an excerpt from Marjorie J. Thompson's article "Praying with Scripture" from Weavings V/3, May/June 1990, "Simplicity."
Writing for Weavings
Weavings promotes a pattern of faithful living marked by prayer, community, and engagement. Such living, to which laity and clergy alike are called, embraces all expressions of discipline and discipleship that mark the Christian's response to God's work of weaving together the torn fabric of life.
Weavings provides a space where questions posed by contemporary life and spiritual resources of Christian heritage can encounter and illuminate one another. It strives to create a forum in which contributors and readers can converse on important matters of common concern. Published quarterly and organized by themes (Click here for theme descriptions and due dates), each issue presents articles, stories, (fiction and non-fiction), meditations on scripture, sermons, prayers, and poetry dealing with:
- significant topics in Christian spirituality visible in personal, congregational, and public life;
- practicing spiritual disciplines;
- the role of non-discursive communication in spiritual formation (e.g. art, music, architecture, dance);
- linking individual and corporate renewal in the church;
- relating personal and social transformation;
- integrating contemporary experience and classical wisdom.
If you are interested in writing for Weavings, please visit the link above to read details about the upcoming themes "Diversity" and "Maturity."
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"Experience teaches us that time given faithfully to God is returned immeasurably enriched. " ˜ Marjorie J. Thompson
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