From Wild Lament to Whirling Dance
Psalm 30:11-12 (The Message)
You did it: you changed wild lament
into whirling dance;
You ripped off my black mourning band
and decked me with wildflowers.
I’m about to burst with song;
I can’t keep quiet about you.
God, my God,
I can’t thank you enough.
Why do we worship? Why do we show up each week? Is it merely to see one another after 7 days apart? Is it to hear inspirational words from our clergy? Or is it to join in song to sing God’s praises? I think we can agree that it is each of these things…all these things. But I also believe that it is also for even greater reasons than these…for the renewal of God’s Holy Spirit in our hearts and lives.
The Temple in Jerusalem had already been dedicated (or rededicated) five times from the time of David to the time of Jesus and Herod the Great. It had been built, renovated and rebuilt over the centuries due to war, neglect and conquest. The 30th Psalm would have been sung as part of the celebration for each event. Every time the Temple was built or rebuilt, it was done in order to have a holy place in which the Jews could worship, fellowship, sing and dance! Yes, dance! That is one element missing from most modern worship services. But it was an integral part of worship for the Jews. Have you ever noticed that it’s virtually impossible to really dance if you are sad or depressed?
The Psalmist writes that God’s presence with us in worship had “changed wild lament into whirling dance” and as a result, “I’m about to burst with song; I can’t keep quiet about you.” Worship in the Temple always centered around remembering and celebrating our part in The Covenant God made with Abraham and his descendants and the ongoing relationship with God it created. The Bible tells stories over and over again of imperfect humans struggling to understand and keep that Covenant alive and well…and repeatedly failing to do so.
Life is tough. It can often beat us down to the point where it’s possible to lose sight of God’s presence in our lives or perhaps we begin to doubt God’s Love. But God is faithful to the Covenant and through the Holy Spirit keeps reaching out to us in a myriad of ways to reestablish or rebuild that relationship with us. And in those moments of “faith flashes,” our joy and confidence is restored to us. That allows us to rededicate ourselves to God’s Will and Work in the world in which we live every day.
I pray that in our hours of lostness, we may have our “wild lament” transformed into a “whirling dance” that lifts our hearts into the sunshine and joy of God’s Love.
God bless us all,
Jim McGrath
