I am the Lord of the dance, said he

I wasn't brought up as a Christian so I missed out on lots of lovely Sunday School songs. We sang a few at my primary school, though, and I quite liked some of them. Had no idea what most of the lyrics were about, mind you. 'Open the door and let the fruit grow' – what on earth does that mean?

Anyway, I was recently reminded of one of those songs we sang at school that I really did like, even though I don't think I got what it was all about. I looked up the lyrics earlier and, just wow. They've hit me harder (in a good way!) than I've felt in quite a while. Check it out:

I danced in the morning when the world was begun
I danced in the moon and the stars and the sun
I came down from heaven and I danced on the earth
At Bethlehem I had my birth

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

I danced for the scribe and the Pharisee
They would not dance, they wouldn't follow me
So I danced for the fishermen, James and John
They came with me and the dance went on

I danced on the Sabbath and I cured the lame
The holy people said it was a shame
They whipped and they stripped and they hung me high
Left me there on a cross to die

I danced on a Friday when the sky turned black
It's hard to dance with the devil on your back
They buried my body, they thought I'd gone
But I am the dance, and I still go on

They cut me down, but I leapt up high
I am the life that'll never never die
And I'll live in you if you'll live in me
I am the Lord of the dance, said he

I am loving the metaphor of life with Jesus being a dance. It works on so many levels; individual, family, community, right up to the cosmic. In fact, next time someone asks me, 'So, what's this Christianity lark all about?', I might just give them the words to Lord of the Dance.