Along with my "Dancing Jesus" came a little booklet of instructions explaining how to dance.
The table of contents lists these dances:
The Water Walk
The Carpenter Clog
The Temptation Tango
The Temple Slam
The Lazarus Lurch
The Judas Hustle
The Cheek Turn
The Last Supper Stomp
The Pilate Shuffle
The Ascension Swing
My initial feelings were offensive disgust. I perceived that the figurine was trivializing something sacred, yet I couldn't react in any way that suggested repulsion because the "Dancing Jesus" figurine was a gift from my four-year-old granddaughter. And the look on her face when she gave the present was pure proud pleasure. She thought she was giving me the best present, ever.
So she asked to dance. She thought the Temple Slam sounded like fun so we followed the directions:
Shake your moneymaker at the moneychangers.
Inspiration: When Jesus visited the Holy Temple in Jerusalem, he found it overrun with everything from moneychangers to merchants and livestock dealers. But not for long. In the New Testament's only example of messianic butt-kicking, Jesus chased them away with an improvised whip. Commemorate the one-and-only time the Prince of Peace morphed into a man of action with these moves designed to clear the dance floor of moneygrubbers, blasphemers, and wallflowers.
FOLLOW THE MASTER
- Make sure your partner is ready, willing, and well-padded. This is a rough freeform romp.
- Once the music starts, look surprised and angry. Hey, there's a guy exchanging drachma for shekels! Get him!
- Flail your arms and pogo around the dance floor.
- Fashion a pretend "whip" and start slinging it. If you've got one, feel free to use a scarf or belt. Take that, moneychangers!
- Tip over some pretend tables! (Caution: Do not, no matter how much you're feeling it, tip over real tables. This could earn you a very un-Jesus like ejection from the club.)
Well. I realized this was a unique way of teaching Matthew 21: 12-13. My four-year-old now knows the story of Jesus cleansing the temple. She had fun; I enjoyed it, in spite of myself.
1 comment:
The temptation to say: "See! This is why we don't say G-D's name! This is why we don't make images of The Holy One! This is why Infidels must be killed!" is strong isn't it?
But children do have a special place in Jesus's heart. And we have the only religion that actually states: "Everyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven" (Luke 12:10, Matthew 12:31), which is unique only to Christianity and no other religion that I am aware of.
In fact, your two posts reveal God's love in manner consistent with comiing to us in the Flesh, as a child, born poor, delivered in a stable where sheep and goats sleep in straw.
Sometimes, when every fibre of faith inside us tells us to unsheath our sword and cut off an ear, the real Godly act is to Love greater than no other person has ever loved.
Children have a wonderful of bringing that love out in the worst of us.
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