“Dance, dance wherever you may be I am the Lord of the dance says he, and I’ll lead you all wherever you may be and I’ll lead you all in the dance says he.”
In today’s gospel St. Mark presents us with two miracle narratives which have the explicit purpose of revealing Jesus, not only as the Son of God; but also as the Lord of the Dance. In the Hebrew Scripture (aka the Old Testament) Psalm 62 tells us: “In God alone there is rest for my soul. He is the source of our hope and our safety; with him as my rock, I can never fail. Unburden your hearts to him for he is our shelter”. (Ps 62.5-8)
The first of the two miracle stories involves a man named Jairus and his terminally ill 12 year old daughter; the second involves a nameless woman. All three desperately desired to be healed and had exhausted all of their traditional and alternative courses of medical treatment. Yet, for both the ill and the caregiver - life was still draining from their bodies. .
The gospel tells us that Jairus was a man who held a position of great prestige. As the ruler of the synagogue, he was one of the most important and most respected men in the community. As an orthodox Jew, he most certainly believed that Jesus was a heretic.
Yet in his hour of need, his pierced heart led him down a totally different and unexpected pathway. In an act of desperation, Jairus left his daughter’s bedside with the hope of finding the rabbi, the miracle worker, the one called Jesus. For Jairus was well aware of God’s promise –
“seek the Lord your God, and you will find Him if you search for Him with all your heart and all your soul. When you are in distress … you will return to the Lord your God and listen for His voice. For the Lord your God is a compassionate God; He will not fail you nor destroy you.” (Deut 4:29-31).
Jairus discovered the Son of God and in utter astonishment to those present, this respected synagogue official threw himself at the feet of Jesus and begged and pleaded with him to heal his daughter.St Mark’s message is clear. If we live a life of faith and prayer and place our trust in Our Lord God Almighty we will discover the Son of God. We will also discover that the Son of God is the Lord of the Dance who comforts, heals, and most importantly opens our ears so that we may hear him say “talitha cumi” - “I say to you - arise.”
“Dance, dance wherever you may be I am the Lord of the dance says he, and I’ll lead you all wherever you may be and I’ll lead you all in the dance says he.”
In contrast to this esteemed synagogue official, the evangelist also presents us with a unidentified woman – who was cast aside from her community because of her illness. She had spent all of her money looking for a cure, yet instead of getting better, she only grew worse. Desperately seeking a cure, she hid within the crowd and snuck up from behind Jesus and ever so gently touched the fringe of his garment.
With no one else to turn to, this woman positioned herself to experience God’s saving love. She did not go away disappointed. From the moment Jesus came face to face with her, it seemed to be nobody there but the two of them. It was - as if - time stood still. The crowd was forgotten, the procession to Jairus’ home came to a halt, and this unimportant woman took center stage. Her faith in Jesus transformed her life. Not only was her affliction healed but she also received an abundance of grace to: “Go forth and live in peace.”
However, this woman’s actions were a significant interruption for Jairus. So much so, that the delay resulted in the death of his daughter before Jesus could reach her. Apparently the cure that Jairus so badly sought for his beloved daughter was not meant to be. But to prove that the Lord of the Dance has power over life and death, Jesus entered the house, took the little girl by the hand and said, “Talitha koum” - “Rise and get up.” To the astonishment of all, she immediately rose and was reunited with her family.
“Dance, dance wherever you may be I am the Lord of the dance says he, and I’ll lead you all wherever you may be and I’ll lead you all in the dance says he.”
Today
we live in a world that demands so much from each of us, and those demands place a significant burden on our spiritual well-being. We live in a world that is extremely complex and yet we desire to wield complete control. We live in a world where we crave authority and demand respect, yet we turn a deaf ear to those who are most in need, to those who have no voice in our society. We live in a world where the rich are getting richer while the poor remain in poverty. We live in a world where we seek many things that bring us pleasure with the mistaken belief that THEY will fill the spiritual emptiness we feel in our hearts. You see - in spite of our shortcomings, we live in a world where we believe that we are the Lord of the Dance.
That is, of course, until our lives reach the point of desperation and then we cry out to God for his compassion and mercy. We do so under many circumstances. Situations such as - after taking forty-five (45) minutes to rock your newborn to sleep, your two year old suddenly decides to throw the mother of all temper tantrums. Such as - when you open your refrigerator door and discover empty shelves and know that you have an equally empty wallet. Such as - when you find out that your teenage years will be interrupted by a pregnancy and you have no one to turn to for advice. Such as - when you feel unloved and unappreciated and realize that you’re right! Such as - when you hear gunfire in the street outside your apartment and pray that all of the commotion and the tears which are being shed are not for any of your loved ones.
In all of those situations, and in all of the other situations which force us, as a last resort, to turn to God in fervent prayer, God compassionately responds by saying:
“Dance, dance wherever you may be I am the Lord of the dance says he, and I’ll lead you all wherever you may be and I’ll lead you all in the dance says he.”