So, if forgiveness is a key ingredient to spiritual community, far more is love. And I’m not talking about that fickle self-serving capacity that I can drum up on my own. I’m talking about the kind of love that can only come from reckless abandonment to the invitation of the Trinity to dance with them in perichoresis.
I really liked watching the television program, “Dancing with the Stars” for about the first two seasons. It felt about as real as reality TV can get. The challenge was for award winning, championship ballroom dancers to take accomplished (but kind of “washed up” or not so well known) stars and athletes and, over the course of a season, train them into bona fide ballroom dancers. I liked the first couple of seasons because no one knew if the show would be successful and they really gave a lot of background on the dancers and the competitors. There wasn’t a lot of “Hollywood” spin in it.
In the early weeks of the competition, they would show outtakes of each of the couples in the competition and their intense practice sessions. There were many mess ups, including missed cues and stepping on toes. Feelings were intense and expressions from both the teacher and the student were sometimes less than desirable. But they appeared to always be honest, even when there were personality differences, which were very apparent in the early days of the season. They had to be honest, it was the only way to effectively accomplish the goal, which was winning the competition.
I often wondered why, besides money and potential fame or notoriety, one would agree to attempt this sometimes humiliating feat. And it came to me, it’s all about love. Dance is a physical expression of inward passion. Seasoned professionals become willing to risk their reputation and quite possibly their livelihood by gambling on their ability to shape inexperienced and naïve wannabees because of their love of the dance. I heard them say over and over, “we’re just out here having a good time.” And the further one got in the competition, the more passionately they said it. Regardless of what the judges might have to say or the way the actual performance turned out! The champions infused their love of the dance into each practice session, and the students caught a glimpse of what they were capable of, releasing their energy into the competition. It was truly amazing to watch the students blossom.
Love in the spiritual community is a lot like this. One becomes a “champion” first by being in relationship with the One True Champion. We enter the dance of the Trinity and find ourselves there, and only there, truly fulfilled. We bumble along, sometimes not so attractively, but eventually find our footing and we grow radiantly smooth! Pretty soon, someone notices the beauty of the dance in us and they want to join. It’s in the safety of this relationship, in the knowing and being known in a perichoretic relationship with God, that we are able to offer ourselves in a dance with someone else and release the passion that has been building up in us.
The Word says that, “perfect love casts out fear” (1 John 4:18.) Make no mistake, there are many things that will be concerning. What if someone takes advantage? Someone might get hurt. I might look like a fool. What will people think? Will they deserve the kind of love and forgiveness that spiritual community requires? I have more questions than answers. But for each question that I bring to the Trinity, I find that there’s a sufficiency in the specific answer for each situation. No broad applications like a “how to” manual, just very specific direction that makes each step of the dance more valuable and beautiful.
Just enough light for the step I’m on as I journey with those who see something beautiful happening in me. And the freedom to be real powerful when bridled by the strong and mighty hand of God!
