There is a time to mourn and a time to dance. How do we know what time it is? We said goodbye to Vinona Malaguilla on Saturday. She passed away in February of 2020. Her celebration service was our first postponement in March of 2020. This weekend, three and one-half years after her passing, we finally celebrated her life. It was a beautiful celebration. In the congregation were several Flamenco dancers. Vinona was a gifted dancer who studied the culture and history of Flamenco dancing. To my knowledge she was the only Flamenco dancer in any of the congregations I have served. Vinona loved the Lord and she loved her neighbors as she loved herself. With a radiant smile, she honored the Lord.
When the Ark of the Covenant was finally restored to Israel, David worshiped with abandon as he danced before the Lord with all his might. In fact, it was embarrassing for his estranged wife to behold. Saul’s daughter Michal berated David for dancing before the slave girls. David corrected her, “I danced for God.”
Solomon wrote in Ecclesiastes that there is a time to dance. I don’t remember our pastors preaching that text when I was growing up. Unfortunately, Baptists back then were known more for what we did not do than for what we did. We did not dance. I once heard Pastor Jack Hayford teach about worship. Some in his congregation had danced before the Lord. Jack, presumably as rhythmically impaired as I am, shuddered at the thought. He even said aloud, “I will never dance.” One day as he prayed, God asked him, “Would you dance for me if I asked you to?” In surrender, Jack danced before the Lord in private worship.
I used to wonder if we would dance in heaven. With our sister Vinona and King David there, I am quite sure we will. Someday God will turn our mourning into dancing, as he did for David. In a beautiful hymn, we find these words:
Dance, then, wherever you may be,
I am the Lord of the dance, said he,
And I'll lead you all, wherever you may be,
And I'll lead you all in the dance, said he.
