By Nick Gier | FāVS News Columnist
I danced in the morning when the world was begun,
I came down from heaven and I danced on the earth,
and at Bethlehem I had my birth.
–Jesus, Sydney Carter’s “Lord of the Dance”
In the old Cornish Christmas carol “Tomorrow shall be my dancing day,” Jesus comes into the world dancing. As he moves, he calls his “true love” to dance with him. Who, pray tell, is this “true love”?
This carol is said to be the inspiration for Sydney Carter’s hymn “Lord of the Dance” written in 1963 and now performed by a Celtic dance troupe. In Carter’s version Jesus dances the world into existence, just like the Hindu god Shiva. Carter tells us that a statue of Shiva stood on his desk as he wrote the hymn.
Scripture’s call to dance
There are at least 11 references to dancing in the Bible, and here is one example: “Praise him with the harp and lyre, praise him with tambourines and dancing, praise him with the strings and pipe” (Psalms 150:4).
Carter says, “I see Christ as the incarnation of the piper who is calling us. He dances that shape and pattern which is at the heart of our reality.” This is exactly what Lord Shiva does and Carter acknowledges that: “By Christ I mean not only Jesus; in other times and places, other planets, there may be other Lords of the Dance.”
Carter continues, “Whether Jesus ever leaped in Galilee to the rhythm of a pipe or drum I do not know. We are told that David danced “mightily” before the Lord (2 Sam. 6:14), so it is not impossible.” I submit that it is quite probable given all these biblical references.
The “Infancy Gospel of James,” which details the life of Mary before she conceived Jesus, was popular among Christians for centuries. At the age of 3, Mary is sent to the temple where she is given the honor of weaving a temple curtain. One day she “dances with her feet and the house of Israel loves her.”
Martin Luther imagined Mary as an ordinary woman “milking the cows, cooking the meals, washing pots and kettles, and sweeping out the rooms.” Luther was the only Protestant Reformer who approved of dancing, so one could also conceive of Mary joining her family in the Jewish rituals of Nazareth, which of course included dancing and singing. To deny this possibility is yet one more unwise attempt to deny the humanity of Jesus and his mother.
Medieval Christianity
From the ninth to the 16th centuries, dance was an integral part of Christian worship. Kathryn Dickason, a scholar at the University of Southern California, has found that many convents allowed the sisters to dance, and that St. Francis of Assisi was said to have frequently fallen into ecstatic dance. She also discovered that female mystics were reported to have danced erotically with Christ. It is obvious who their “true love” is here.
In addition, she found a 13th Century manuscript that proposed that David dancing naked (according to the Latin Bible) “signifies Jesus Christ who celebrated the poor and the simple and showed great humility.” She also found a picture book that “juxtaposes the dance of David with the Crucifixion of Christ. Because David danced naked, it had a resemblance to the humiliation of one who had to suffer and die.”
At the highest level of heaven in Dante’s “Divine Comedy” the souls of the blessed perform a circle dance in sync with heavenly harmonies. The souls in Purgatory also dance in a circle, but they are still carrying the weight of their sins.
The melody of Carter’s “Lord of the Dance” was adapted from the Shaker hymn “Simple Gifts.” The Shakers were notorious dancers, and the celibate men and women, separated from each other, were observed “whirling, collapsing, or jerking around.” One disgusted apostate wrote that their behavior was like the “sins of Babylon.”
Liturgical dance has always been a part of worship for some religions (notably the Sufis), and it has made a comeback in several Christian churches. African American churches are the most involved followed by some Anglican, Methodist, and Lutheran congregations. I have on occasion joined local Sufis in their circle dances.
Joining the circle
Dances of Universal Peace has chapters all over the world and participants perform “meditative, joyous, multi-cultural circle dances that use sacred phrases, music, and movements to touch the spiritual essence within ourselves.”
I close with one more couplet from Carter’s lyrics: “Dance wherever you may be, I am the Lord of the dance, said he.”
The views expressed in this opinion column are those of the author. They do not necessarily reflect the views of FāVS News. FāVS News values diverse perspectives and thoughtful analysis on matters of faith and spirituality.
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Thanks, Nick, for this theological dance. It’s interesting that Jesus’s precursor/rival, John the Baptist, was done in by the dance of Salome’s daughter. Some dances resonate with life, others with death.