Do We Dance?

There was nothing.
Void.
Emptiness.
Darkness.
A wind swept across the earth
The breath of God.

And the Father said,
“Let there be light.”
And the dance began.

The world was beauty,
Mountain bowed to the ocean,
And waves saluted the beaches
With a loud “Alleluia”
Trees reached toward heaven
With their leaves rattling in the wind.
But sin crept into the picture
And the darkness returned.

And the Father said,
“Let there be light.”

Mary answered, “I am blessed;
Let it be as you say.”
And Joseph said, “I am yours;
I will obey.”
They joined the dance.

Into the world was born a baby
A tiny, fragile life.
Created by his heavenly Father,
Nurtured by his earthly parents.
Loved.
Love incarnate.

In a stable there was beauty
Shining as bright as the star above.
Kings bowed to an infant,
And cows stomped their hooves
Their rhythm imitating the heartbeat of life.
A baby lifted his hand from the straw
And reached toward heaven.
And the darkness retreated
In the face of the light of the world.

The son said,
“Let there be light”
and a promise was fulfilled.
The son taught the children
The steps of the dance.

The Light walked the earth,
The Word roamed the streets.
The impossible became possible
Lepers were healed.
The blind began to see.
Men walked again
And women celebrated
As the son pushed away the darkness.

Until the day when the heartbeat was stopped,
Hanging on a cross.
Silence.
Darkness.
Sin crept across the crowd,
And the music was extinguished.

In the silence and darkness
The Father said,
“Let there be light”
And there was light.
Death was defeated
As love breathed again,
The spirit rushed across the people
Bringing life,
Bringing hope,
Bringing fire.

The Spirit said,
“Let there be light!”
And it shown across the world.

We live in the now and the not yet.
We live in a time of sin and a time of light.
We live with choices.
Shall we dance?
Shall we listen to the music,
And move our lives to the rhythm of the heartbeat?
Do we echo Mary’s faith?
Do we imitate Joseph’s trust?
Do we carry the light of the son,
The breath of the spirit,
To the world?
Do we say,
“Let there be light”?
Will we dance?

When the homeless child reaches out of the darkness,
When the man who is lost,
Or the woman who is in pain,
Cries out for the light,
Do we shine?

When a world suffers in sin and pain
When God is the only hope that can be offered,
Do we answer His call?
Do we shine with His light?
Do we hear the music of His love?
Do we dance to the rhythm of His heartbeat?