TLDR: The dance of life requires that we learn to give and take, lead and be led, accommodate and find accommodation, listen and feel. Lucky for us, God’s Holy Spirit is a great instructor. Read on for more.
Many of you may not know that I am a good Latin music dancer (Not so much for Country Western. But what can you do?) Growing up with five sisters made dancing a required skill. In Colombia, social convention mandates older sisters to teach younger siblings to dance. My sisters would have been utterly embarrassed and socially shunned had I not been able to dance cumbia, salsa, merengue, or bachata (which is not my favorite). Now, it is well known that to be a good dancer one must be able to discern the difference in various rhythms. There are times when you lead and there are times when you allow the other to lead you, there are times when you slow down and let the music penetrate your soul, and there are times when you twirl, turn, charge, retreat, and move your feet or body rhythmically as the music demands. Learning how to pause and slowdown is as important as learning when to change step patterns to adapt your movements to the music. Learning to give and take, to lead and be led, to accommodate and find accommodation, to listen and feel are all important skills without which no one could ever become a good dancer.
Life is just like a dance. We all enter life in the middle of the dance, and the dance will continue to unfold without us when we exit stage left. We are at the dance for just a little while, but how well we dance when we are on the great stage of life makes a difference in our lives and in the lives of others. If we are unable to keep any type of rhythm, we will intrude in other people’s space, and we will bump into others, making them trip up and fall. We will disrupt the harmony and excitement of the dance and cause great pain to ourselves and others.
I invite you today to assess the rhythm of your life. The goal for us is work balanced by play, a social life matched by a life of service, personal development perfected by spiritual growth, intellectual pursuits complemented by physical activity, professional advancement rooted in great humility, love of self which leads to love of others, and busyness wedded to rest. Balance is the key to a centered, productive, creative, and joyful life. If you are completely unyielding, unwavering, and intransigent you will not be able to lead and be led in a way that makes your life (and the lives of others) more joyful. There are times when you must stand your ground, but even at those times, humility, a sense of humor, and copious amounts of grace are required to advance your position without isolating or hurting others. I have often found that those who are right about everything tend to be the most lonely. Without humility and grace being right sometimes devolves into self-righteousness and higher-than-thou-ness.
When it comes to developing interpersonal relationships, there is no impediment greater than the belief that we are better, somehow more intellectually and spiritually advanced than anyone else. One of the things I regret the most about our current state of affairs in this country is that we have lost the ability to disagree gracefully. Somehow being right has become more important than having friends across the divide. We now demonize difference and stand firm on bits of truth that are often divorced from context and nuance. We have become duplicitous in our faith, claiming to love God and neighbor on Sundays, while remaining silent to the pain and suffering of others during the week. Our lives are out of rhythm. We are not dancing to the divine tune but to someone else’s tune, and this is a sign of a lack of nexus between what we say we believe in and how we choose to lead our lives.
The Holy Spirit leads God’s people into harmony and peace. It is the Spirit’s job to lead us into all truth and to remind us constantly about Jesus of Nazareth and his unwavering love, compassion, and grace toward us and the world. The Spirit reminds us daily that we are loved and that we were created for love of God and love of others. The Spirit is the moderator of the cosmic dance of the Holy Trinity, and it is the very rhythm that holds the universe together. One of the results of the New Covenant between God and humanity in his son, Jesus Christ, is that God’s Holy Spirit now dwells in our hearts. The Spirit whispers in the silence of our quiet moments, “You are the beloved, in you I am well pleased!” The Spirit also whispers, “Your neighbor is not your enemy, they too are the beloved, the ones in whom God is well pleased.” The Spirit shouts in the roaring noise of our moments of crisis, “You can do this! I am with you, and I will never leave you. Remember that Jesus loves you enough to die for you!” The Spirit also cries in our moments of fear, “Perfect love casts out all fears. Do not demonize your neighbors. Take a risk to love them as I love you.”
I am praying that God’s Holy Spirt will help us find balance in our life. I know that it is often necessary to speak to someone about ways in which work-life and faith-life balance can be achieved. Please remember Fr. Steve, Fr. Naty, and I remain available for conversation. We have a ministry for anyone who wants one and we would love to connect you to your heart’s passion. If we don’t have a ministry that interests you, we will be glad to create one. Just come and see us.
May our Lord continue to bless you with the gifts of health and balance. Amen!
Fr. Roman+
