Pentecost 18 (NL1) John B. Valentine
Exodus 19:3-8a / 20:2-17 October 9, 2022

“DANCE IT OUT ....”

I take as my text this morning those words we heard read from Exodus 19 ... wherein:

“Moses went up to God and the Lord called to him from the mountain, saying, ‘Thus you shall say to the house of Jacob, and tell the Israelites: ‘You have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles’ wings and brought you to myself.

Now therefore — if you obey my voice and keep my covenant — you shall be my treasured possession out of all the peoples. Indeed, the whole earth is mine, but you shall be for me a priestly kingdom and a holy nation.’ These are the words that you shall speak to the Israelites.”

So Moses came, summoned the elders of the people, and set before them all these words that the Lord had commanded him. The people all answered as one: ‘Everything that the Lord has spoken we will do.’”

And the question I want to ask you is “Where did you learn to do that dance?”

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Seriously ... I’ve been thinking about dancing this week ...

NOT because it’s about time for one of Bethany’s favorite dance shows to apparently start up again ...

NOT because there’s been a pair of young grandson feet practicing their best dance moves in our entryway over the past couple of days ...

But because ... honestly ... this morning’s Bible story gets me to thinking about dancing.

You see ... the lessons which we’ve been reading in the context of worship over the past month have all ... in their own way ... had something to do with this thing called the “Covenant”.

• God’s promise to Noah and all of creation ...

• God’s promise to Abraham and Sarah and their extended family ...

• God’s promise to the whole people of Israel ...

God’s promise that God will be their God and that they will be God’s people.

The Covenant is this radically crazy commitment from God to the descendants of Abraham and Sarah ... not because they are so wonderful or special or uniquely gifted ...

But simply because God is good ...

It’s this promise by which God chooses them ... and uses them ... to be a blessing to all Creation.

But after you get past the initial “Oh wow!” of all that ... that God would choose to use any people .... and/or particularly these people ... and/or ... by extension ... that God would choose us ...

You come against the question of HOW one actually DOES such a thing.

• HOW does one actually DO this “be the people of God” thing?

• HOW does one live into this relationship which God has established?

• HOW does one actually BE that “treasured possession” and that “priestly kingdom”?

• HOW does one actually do the dance that is the dance of this covenant which God has made?

• HOW does one actually dance as a partner with God?

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Call me “curious” ... but how many of you style yourselves dancers ... or have you styled yourself a dancer at some time in the past????

I ran across a list of the “most popular dance moves by decade” the other day ... and got to wondering if any of you know how to do any of them?

• The first decade on the list was the 1910's. Any of you ever know how to dance the TANGO??

• Then came the 1920's. Anyone ever know how to JITTERBUG??

• The top dance move of the 1930's was the CHARLESTON. Anybody ever know how to do the Charleston?

• The 1940's brought the LINDY HOP. Who mastered the Lindy Hop?

• Any of you learn the CHA-CHA in the 50's??

• The TWIST in the 60's?

• The HUSTLE in the 70's?

• Anyone MOONWALK their way through the 80's?

• MACARENA their way through the 90's?

• Who KRUMPED in the 2000's?

• And who will own up to knowing how to do the HARLEM SHAKE right now??

Now here’s a couple three things worth noting about our little test ...

Thing One ...

NONE of those dance moves came naturally to anyone ... not even their originators .... each and every one of them had to be learned.

Thing Two ...

It took practice ... and in some cases time and attention and a whole lot of practice ... to get good at doing each and every one of those dance steps ... even if you styled yourself a fairly competent dancer.

And Thing Three ...

Pastor John didn’t raise his hand for any of them ... because Pastor John can’t much dance!

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But ... seriously ... here’s the reason this morning’s Bible lesson gets me to thinking about dancing ... if you haven’t figured it out already.

God has called the descendants of Abraham and Sarah ... of Isaac and Rebekah ... of Jacob and Leah and Rachel ... into this relationship ...

God has said to these ‘chosen people’ ... “Let’s dance!” ...

But these people say ... “But we don’t know how to DO that dance! It may look cool ... you may think it’s all the rage ... but how do you actually DO it ... God??? We’ve never seen anybody try to actually DO that dance before! Much less actually get it right!!”

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Now ... seriously ... for the longest time ... I though that God’s answer to that question had two basic parts ... the first part and the second part.

• The first part being the ‘LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART AND SOUL AND STRENGTH AND MIND’ part ...

• And the second part being the LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR ... LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF” part.

The first part ... the ‘Love the Lord your God’ part ... has got three of the commandments ...

• Don’t worship anyone or anything but me ...

• Don’t misuse my name or mess with my reputation ...

• And don’t forget to pause ... to rest and remember that I am the Lord you God ... i.e. don’t get so wrapped up in your own stuff that you forget about the stuff that matters to me!

And the second part ... the ‘Love your neighbor as yourself’ part ... it goes like this:

• Treat life with respect ...

• Treat relationships with the respect ... especially relationships which involve physical intimacy ...

• Treat other peoples’ possessions with respect ...

• Treat other peoples’ reputations with respect ...

• And don’t get fixated on wanting stuff that isn’t yours!

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But ... Increasingly ... I’m thinking that there’s a third part to that dance ... hiding in plain sight in Commandment Number Four ...

The one that says "Honor your father and your mother, so that your days may be long in the land that the Lord your God is giving you.”

You see ...

• The Fourth Commandment is one of only two commandments that is written in the affirmative ... “DO do this” ... rather that “DON’T do this” ... and

• The Fourth Commandment is the ONLY commandment that comes whith a promise attached to it ... “So that your days may be long in the land that the Lord your God is giving you."

It’s as if the Fourth Commandment is the pivot point ....

• Between how we deal with the things of God ...
• And how we deal with the things of the outside world ...

That there’s this family thing ... this household thing ... that is a third primary arena for our living out our faith ... in the context of our extended family units.

And that’s a good thing ... a good arena ... in which to live out your life of faith.

That honoring your parents ... and your grandparents ...

Taking care of your parents and your grandparents ....

And your siblings ... and you children ... and your grandkids ... and anyone else whom you consider to be part of your household ... for that matter ...

Is a hope that God has for each of us.

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But ... in any event ... whether we see this dance and a two-step or a three-step ... the people say ... “We’ve got this ... Everything that the Lord has spoken we will do.”

And then ... for the past three thousand years or so ... we’ve been proving to ourselves and to the world ... that this Dance is a whole lot harder than it at first appears!

• Even with thorough explanation ... we don’t much get it right ...

• Even with rigorous practice ... we don’t much get it right ...

• Even with the best instructor ... we don’t much get it right ...

We somehow butcher this Covenant Dance six ways from Sunday every time we try to dance it!!

Or ... even worse ... even though we haven’t perfected dancing on our own ... we style ourselves as dance critics and complain about the failings of others ...

Because ... if there’s ONE thing I’ve learned from watching dance show with Bethany ... is that ... soon enough ... you too will know just enough to critique what others are doing ... even if you dance as poorly as I do!

But NONE of that means we have permission to stop trying ... or quit practicing ... or change its steps to better suit OUR needs.

FOR WE ... MY FRIENDS ... ARE PEOPLE WHO’VE BEEN CALLED TO DANCE!

To “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and soul and strength and mind” ... and “Love your neighbor, love your neighbor as yourself.”.