The second half of verse 4 in Ecclesiastes 3 continues the theme
and contrast of sorry and joy. We are told that there is a time to mourn,
and a time to dance. In other words, there is a time to lament, and there
is a time to leap in dance. We may think of dance as a waltz, or perhaps
break-dancing. The writer of Ecclesiastes is thinking of the Hebrew dances for
weddings and other celebrations. Like most folk dances, this involved specific
steps, jumps, and twirls by the men and/or women.
Jesus refers to this verse in Matthew 11:17. He tells the
crowd there are like children in the market, adding we have piped to you,
and you have not danced; we have mourned and you have not lamented. Jesus goes on to
compare his life with John the Baptist. He notes, John came neither eating
nor drinking, and they say, “He has a demon”; the Son of Man came eating and
drinking, and they say, “Look, a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of
tax-collectors and sinners!” (Matthew 11:18-19)
It seems that too often we cannot be satisfied no matter
what someone does, or doesn't do. It isn’t just mourning and dancing, either. If you see
someone without a mask you may immediately think they are foolish. Conversely,
if you see someone with mask, face shield and gloves, you might think that they
are going ‘too far’. If you see someone with a rifle rack in their pickup
truck, you could infer that they are a hunter, or you could name them
‘redneck’. Kneeling during the National anthem can be condemned as disrespect
for the flag or seen as respect for and solidarity with BLM. The waltz might
get a sneer from someone who prefers more free-form dances of self-expression.
Labeling anyone on the basis of outward appearance, like
whether they are mourning or dancing, eating or fasting, or by their skin color
or religious faith is not helpful.
We are complex beings, created in the image
of God. Each of us has our own way of expressing our God-given uniqueness. We may paint
or write. We may sing or preach. We may teach or build. Whatever we do, we are living
our calling, our ministry, to God’s glory.
During this COVID-tide, we may in fact feel like mourning
one moment and dancing or laughing the next. It can depend on what the latest
‘numbers’ or latest directives are. It can fluctuate based on our whether our
Facebook news feed is filled with cute cats or angry posts. We can be joyful
when we hear someone recovered from Coronavirus, and we can mourn at the rising
death tolls. Protests and demands for change can make us both joyful that long
denied biases are being exposed while at the same time we can be sad that it takes
death to bring such problems to light.
What makes you feel like dancing even now?
When do you feel like mourning during this time?
As I suggested last week, we/I need to spend more time in
quiet and Bible reading, in prayer and worship, than in scrolling through news
or listening to commentators. In a recent conversation with my spiritual director,
I remarked that I feel the need to find more child-like activities to help cope
with these assorted stresses-the external ones and the ones I place on myself
with my ‘to do’ lists. Because I tend to add things to my list instead of
shortening it, I’m allowing myself to take a break from this Ecclesiastes journey,
so I can focus on the Lord’s Prayer study. Starting next week, you’ll find a
link to the video from the previous class, plus some of the discussion points on this site. (In other words, the July 24 class will be posted on August 2, etc.) Then
on September 20, we’ll resume Ecclesiastes.
You can still join the live Zoom study of my just released
book: The Lord’s Prayer: Walk in Love each Friday. Just email me for the
link.
