K. Sarles, First Pres.

, Bluefield

6-19-2016

Dance, Then, Wherever You May Be

Galatians 3:23-29
23

Now before faith came, we were imprisoned and guarded under the law until faith
would be revealed. 24Therefore the law was our disciplinarian until Christ came, so
that we might be justified by faith. 25But now that faith has come, we are no longer
subject to a disciplinarian, 26for in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through
faith. 27As many of you as were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with
Christ. 28There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is
no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus. 29And if you
belong to Christ, then you are Abrahams offspring, heirs according to the promise.
John 10:9-10
9
I am the gate. Whoever enters by me will be saved, and will come in and go out
and find pasture. 10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that
they may have life, and have it abundantly.
1 Thessalonians 5: 16-18
16
Rejoice always, 17pray without ceasing, 18give thanks in all circumstances; for this
is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

I love to dance! I love to dance about as much as I love anything! When

rhythmic music is playing especially live music, played loud I cant sit still. I
dance in the kitchen, in the living room, in my car, wherever there is music, and
usually when no one is watching! (although my boys have suffered a lifetime of
embarrassment!) I also love to watch other people dance people who love to
move, to express with their bodies the rhythm and mood of music.
Growing up, I took tap lessons and attended ballet classes at Miss Judys
School in Hagerstown, MD. On Saturday nights, I watched my mom and dad
foxtrot around the living room to the Big Band classics of the 40s. Sometimes I
stood on my dads shoes and danced with him, too. In junior high school, Friday
night dances at the Fire Hall was what we waited all week for. The first year we
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K. Sarles, First Pres., Bluefield

6-19-2016

were married, I took ballet lessons in Morgantown (until I was not-so-tactfully

encouraged by my instructor to pursue hobby I was better suited for!).
As a teenager, I was aware of other young people who were forbidden to
dance Amish, Mennonites, families of strict Pentecostal faith. I understood the
prohibition from the standpoint of the kind of dancing that teens of every
generation have done, but I hoped that these kids could do some kind of dancing. I
hoped, at home, they could swing, and swirl, and spin to some kind of joyful
music!
After all, dancing is so much fun, and Christians, of all people, should
dance. They have good reason to dance. They are people of the dance. So let me
back up to this mornings lessons and bring you along to this conclusion. And then
we can dance together!
Pauls letter to the Galatians is a very carefully crafted message in response
to a problem. In the area known as Galatia, some Jewish converts are preaching
what Paul considers a false gospel. They are insisting that Gentiles must be
circumcised in the custom of the Jews; in other words, these non-Jews cannot
become Christian unless they first become Jewish. Paul who was once a Jew and
is now a follower of Christfinds himself in a tricky place. He believes that both
Jews and Gentiles who now pitch their tent with Jesus are free from the shackles of
the complex Jewish law, and that circumcision has nothing to do with
righteousness. But since many of his listeners are Jews, he cant disparage the Law
of the Torah. He cant say that what theyve lived by for a millennium is now null
and void, so he says Now before we had Jesus to place our faith in, we were
imprisoned and guarded under the law. The law was our disciplinarian until
Christ came. It served a temporary purpose, but was never intended to give life.
Now the law is fulfilled in Christ. It is our belief in Christ that saves us, and not
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our obedience to the Law. All who are baptized into Christ Jews and Gentiles-are equal children.
In fact, says Paul, when we were baptized, we put on Christ. The NIV
version says, we clothed ourselves in Christ. New Living Translation reads,
And all who have been united with Christ in baptism have put on Christ, like
putting on new clothes. It was this phrase that reached out to me as I prepared for
this morning. . . . like putting on new clothes. Hmmmm so with our baptism,
we get a new uniform, a new identity. Huh!
My experience with uniforms is probably a lot like yours. When I was 6 or
7, I got a little Brownie Scout uniform, and each time I wore it I pledged to serve
God and my country and to help people at all times. Several years later, I began to
sport 4-H badges as I pledged my HEAD to clearer thinking, my HEART to greater
loyalty, my HANDS to larger service, and my HEALTH to better living.

Next

came band uniforms of South Hagerstown Junior High and South Hagerstown
High School, the waitress uniform of Harrys Seafood House, the nurses aide
uniform of Reeders Nursing Home, and then the conservative clothing and
practical pumps of a teacher. With every set of new clothes, I took on a new
identity, and with it came expectations and responsibilities. By far, the most
significant yet terrifying uniform is the one Im wearing now. To wear this stole is
to shoulder enormous accountability to God.
There is definitely a moment of something when you put on a new uniform
for the first time. Realization? Pride? Worry? Fear of not measuring up? I bet
David remembers the first time he put on his military uniform. I bet Becky Allen
remembers her first nurses uniform, and April her first set of scrubs.

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And all who have been united with Christ in baptism have put on Christ,
like putting on new clothes. So, what is the Christian uniform? What is the
identity we should be wearing? IN Ephesians 6, Paul calls it armor: Therefore,
take up the whole armor of God, so that you may be able to withstand that evil
day . . . . Fasten the belt of truth around your waist, and put on the breastplate of
righteousness . . . the shield of faith . . . and the helmet of salvation. (Ephesians 6:
13 17) Pauls image is a good one. Our faith, he says, must be as strong as
armor. But it isnt to be taken literally. Paul wasnt suggesting that Christians
should clank around in full metal jackets!
In Deuteronomy, God issues literal instructions: The Israelites are to wear
his commandments as a uniform: Keep these words that I am commanding you
today. Recite them to your children and. . . .[b]ind them as a sign on your hand, fix
them as an emblem on your forehead. . . . To this day, orthodox and conservative
Jews wear two small, black, leather cubes called phylacteries. These small boxes
contain tiny pieces of parchment inscribed with the verses I just read and several
others. One phylactery is attached with straps to the left arm and the other to the
forehead during weekday morning prayers.
As to womens attire, Pauls famous admonition in I Timothy, Chapter 2
says, . . . [W]omen should dress themselves modestly and decently in suitable
clothing, not with their hair braided, or with gold, pearls, or expensive clothes, but
with good works. And, yes, 2,000 years later, many Christian sects including the
Mennonites and Amish, still wear this modest uniform.
But what is our uniform to be? Lets listen to Christs words in John 10: 910: I am the gate. Whoever enters by me will be saved, and will come in and go
out and find pasture. 10 . . . I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.
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I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly that they may have lots of
life, that they may overflow with life, that they may have the same spiritual life
force that is in me. That they may attract others through their own unquenchable
spiritual energy!
Do you have abundant life? Do you live abundantly? How do we tap into
that abundance? What does abundant living look like? Paul answers the question
very simply. You will live abundantly when you, Rejoice always, pray without
ceasing, and give thanks in all circumstances . . . . ( 1 Thessalonians 5: 16-17)
Above all else, Christians are to be filled with gratitude! Why?? Because we
have a friend in Jesus. Because we are forgiven. Because this life is not all there
is!

Because God has put his spirit of strength, and love and self-control in our

hearts. Because nothing nothing, not death, not life, not things present or things
to come, not anything else in all creation can separate us from the love of God in
Christ Jesus, our Lord. (Romans 8: 38-39). Of all people, we have reason to smile
and to dance! We are people of the dance!
Of course, this doesnt mean that our lives are perfect, that we will not have
problems, that we will always hear the music. Sometimes, we dont feel like
dancing, but that is when dancing is most needed. I recently heard a feature on
NPR about a very old West African dance called the Cumb. Its basic step is a
quick shuffle to a very rapid drumbeat, and the dancers dance very close together,
hip to hip, side-by-side. According to Eduardo Diaz, director of the Smithsonian
Latino Center, the basic shuffle step originated by slaves who had their legs
shackled together. Though shackled together, they danced! Something in them
made it necessary to express themselves whether an act of prayer, dignity, or
defiance. They danced!

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During the black and terrible years of the Holocaust, Germans formed
orchestras from among their Jewish prisoners. At one point, Auschwitz had six
orchestrasincluding a womens orchestra. The Gestapo forced the musicians to
play at the compound gates as the prisoners marched through for another day of
back-breaking work. They were made to play as thousands passed on their way to
the gas chambers. The orchestras also played for the pleasure of German camp
personnel. But though they were forced to play, their selections were generally not
dictated. So, in their choice of music and interpretations, the musicians could
express their prayers, their desperation, their defiance, and their humanity. They
were caged birds, yes, but in music, their souls could fly. Though shackled, they
could dance.
Acts 16, tells us the story of Paul and Silas imprisoned in Philippi. They
were flogged with barbed whips, then thrown in the innermost cell, their feet
fastened in stocks. But they did not despair; they sang! They prayed and sang
until an earthquake shook the prison and opened the doors.
You see we are people who sing, who play, who dance. Whatever uniform
we wear it should allow us to dance to sing, to move, to pray, to live gratefully
and abundantly. Whenever possible, our uniform should include a smile, a gentle
word, and a prayer. Put away all bitterness, wrath and anger, wrangling and
slander, Paul writes, . . . be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one
another, as God in Christ has forgiven you.
We are sent to share the good news. Good news. To let People see Christs
abundant spirit in us! So put on your dancing shoes and live abundantly! AMEN.

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