DANCING WITH GOD
Proverbs 8:1-4, 22-31, John 16:12-15
Preached by the Reverend Kathy Peters
May 30, 2010

There is nothing that expresses pure joy more fully than a dog who knows that you are about to take him for a walk. I don’t know how he realizes it, maybe it is the activity of getting sneakers on near the back door or the gentle words of encouragement we give to Sarah as we insist that she join us, but as soon as it becomes clear that we are going…the dance begins. It is pure delight personified…….first of all our dog grins….Honest he has a smile on his face, his ears and eye brows perk up, his tail is wagging to beat the band and then the prancing starts. Yes he really dances in anticipation of being out in the world of wonderful sights and smells and he has the ability  to literally pull us along in his enthusiasm. There is not a tree or a blade of grass or chipmunk or squirrel that escapes his attention and if another dog or human being comes into view he strains to go and greet them. Can you imagine if we danced through life with such enthusiasm!

Our words this morning from Lady Wisdom in Proverbs call us to delight in the world and the ways of God.  Jesus in his final discourse to his disciples before the events of the last week of his life invited them and us to be open to the teachings and the ways of the Spirit who will continue to guide. Such is the spirit’s and wisdom’s call : to live in a daily dance with God and all creation. Such is the way of life: to learn how it is that we need to live so that we to will appreciate all that God has set before us. There is an often repeated refrain that "the fear of the Lord" is the starting point for right living. This phrase refers not to cowering anxiety about God but to an appropriate and deep reverence, and awe, before the One who made us and is actually the source of all true wisdom. A creating and loving God who made us, wisdom taught us by Jesus Christ and the presence of the Spirit to guide us in this dance called life.
This is Trinity Sunday, a day that invites us to explore of three aspects of the Divine Presence: Creator, Christ and Holy Spirit. God and Jesus, I think we have a somewhat better handle on than on the Spirit.

But our confirmation students gave wonderful descriptions of the spirit in their statements of faith:  Sean called it a fire within us that keeps us going and motivated, a silent tour guide who guides us even if we don’t know it.  Bailey called it our GPS that is set on one course, a course to bring us closer to God. Sten described the spirit as an assurance of faith.  Sena thinks the spirit is the feeling of faith that helps people believe in God.  Derek sees it as part of a comfortable and personal God who listens. Sarah poetically described the spirit this way :
“Inside of us lies a Holy Spirit, which provides us with the ability to always share and spread your message and love. With your Holy Spirit we preserve God’s message and improve the lives of others , along with our own.”

And the translation of Eugene Peterson (in the Message) of our scriptures might also add to our understanding:
From Proverbs: “Do you hear Lady Wisdom calling?  Can you hear Madam Insight raising her voice?  She’s taken her stand at First and Main, at the busiest intersection.  Right in the city square where the traffic is thickest, she shouts,
“You – I’m talking to all of you, everyone out here on the streets!  Listen, you idiots – learn good sense!  You blockheads – shape up!  Don’t miss a word of this  - I’m telling you how to live well, I’m telling you how to live at your best. Day after day I was there, with my joyful applause, always enjoying his company, Delighted with the world of things and creatures, happily celebrating the human family.”
From the Gospel of John:  “I still have many things to tell you, but you can’t handle them now.  But when the Friend comes, the Spirit of the Truth, he will take you by the hand and guide you into all the truth there is.  He won’t draw attention to himself, but will make sense out of what is about to happen and, indeed, out of all that I have don and said.”

The Spirit is what will take our hand and guide us in ways to live well.
The Spirit will be move us to delight in the world that God has created for us and in the people who God surrounds us with …
Even the person we are is a source of delight to God…so can we be any less to ourselves?
The Spirit will provide us with the dancing shoes …if we dare to put them on!

Barbara Brown Taylor  (from An Altar in the world p. xvii) writes;  “…there is no spiritual treasure to be found apart from the bodily experiences of human life on earth. My life depends on engaging in the most ordinary physical activities with the most exquisite attention I can give them.   (I want to engage in the task) of becoming more fully human, trusting that there is no way to God apart from real life in the real word.”

So I invite you to dance out into the world with enthusiasm and exquisite attention…don’t miss sight or a smell , a tree or a blade of grass or even a squirrel or a chipmunk and if another human being should come into view, don’t hesitate, don’t turn away, strain to greet that person and get to know how it is that you might love them. And when the day is done, give a deep sigh and rest and know that  God delights in you, beautiful dancer!