The Final Act … Maybe???
The Cast of the Holy Dance:
Jesus … The Risen One/The Light
And a few others. Actually, many … ALL of US.
He Is Risen (Resurrection Sunday)
Matthew 28:1-8, Luke 24:1-12
I’m Baaaack! I AM Back!!!!
Curtains? Who needs curtains?
Lights? Miraculously fixed. Brighter than ever!!!!!
The Light is BACK!
(Oh wait, I am getting ahead of myself. I’m just too excited.)
Let’s begin again …
The stage is set and looks the same as it did in the last Act, except the guard is gone.
While nothing really ‘happened’, the audience can just feel that the tension is growing and knows someone is about to enter the stage.
Three dancers do just that. They are all three women.
After having spent the night weeping, and holding each other up, it is time for them to return to the tomb. To the resting place of the Messiah. The One who was crucified by ALL of the dancers. The One whom no one could save.
They are carrying in their hands, all that is needed to prepare Jesus’ body for burial. They have no idea how they are going to move the stone. A detail they will have to address when they arrive.
They approach the tomb and although no one had noticed before, the stone has been rolled away. Did you get that? The stone, the BIG stone, maybe as BIG as the Chief Cornerstone, the one that was rejected because it could not easily be moved, has been rolled away!
The audience and the women wonder, “Who moved it?”
“Who would be capable of moving it?”
Confusion. Perplexity. Surprise!
“What!?!?!! It has been moved!”
“Maybe the earthquake moved it?” There was an earthquake at dawn. Maybe that’s what happened?
Maybe.
The women sheepishly dance over to get closer.
A voice, an audible voice, speaks boldly.
The voice of an angel! “Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. 6 He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay” (Matthew 28:5-6).
The women fall to the ground.
Are they afraid?
They are definitely stunned!
Holy Awe … Fear of the Lord = Holy Awe
THE TOMB IS EMPTY!
LIGHTS! The stage lights begin to dance!
So very hard to describe. One has to see it, to experience it, to really know what it’s like.
Again, no words, no movement, no dance steps can fully express the Light.
AND, it has spread throughout the entire theatre! It is not confined to the stage.
LIGHT!
LIGHT EVERYWHERE!
There is just SOOO MUCH LIGHT!
The earthquake!?!!?!!!
Definitely! But, more than that! Let’s call it a God Quake!
They then do as the angel told them: “Then go quickly and tell his disciples: ‘He has risen from the dead and is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him.’ Now I have told you” (Matthew 28:7).
Fear of the Lord = Holy Awe That Leads To Obedience
A song begins.
There is no way for the women to hold back the JOY that is racing through their bodies. From head to toe, they are totally covered! They are FILLED with JOY!
Abundant JOY!
JOY that is contagious!
JOY that just pours out.
The audience is now on their feet. One by one, they can no longer be still.
EVERYONE in the theatre is DANCING!
The entire cast returns to the stage and dances.
They Dance for JOY!
He is Risen!
He is Risen Indeed!
The stage gets bombarded with people from the audience. They want to dance!
They want to dance with the cast, with the crew, with the disciples, the crowd, the women. They want to Dance with the LIGHT!
There are only a few audience members who restrain themselves and hold back.
When the song ends, the curtain (if there had been one) would have closed.
But the curtain was torn and there is no longer any separation between the dancers and the audience. There is no longer any separation between ALL and the DANCING LIGHT!
The dance goes on. It goes on and on and on. It will never end!
Maybe one day soon EVERYONE will be on stage.
Maybe.
No, that’s not right.
One day soon … EVERYONE will be on stage!
One day soon … EVERYONE WILL DANCE WITH THE LIGHT!
Reflection:
Words.
What words?
There’s only one.
GLORY!
He is Risen!
Today is about Celebration and Community.
Go to church! (Or find a service that has been posted online.)
Celebrate with family and friends!
Be the Body of Christ together. ALL of us!
It has been a long week. It has been a FULL week.
Today …
Glory
Hope
Peace
Shalom
Celebrate!
LET’S DANCE!
Prayer:
I believe in God, the Father Almighty,
maker of heaven and earth;
And in Jesus Christ his only Son, our Lord;
who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,
born of the Virgin Mary,
suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, dead, and buried;
the third day he rose from the dead;
he ascended into heaven,
and sitteth at the right hand of God the Father Almighty;
from thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the holy catholic (i.e. universal) church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and the life everlasting. Amen.
See you at Church!!!
- Comments on these devotionals are open and I would love to interact with you if you have something you would like to share.
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