Dancing in the Dark | Dr. William H. Curtis

I want you to listen to these words that

come to us from 1 Peter 1: 8 and n i

announce the title of my sermon in the

beginning so that you can begin to

resonate and connect with the theme as

you listen to the verses so I want to

talk to you today about Dancing in the

Dark 1 Peter chap 1 verse 8 and9 read

like this though you have not seen him

you love him and even though you do not

see him now you believe in him and are

filled with an inexpressible and

glorious joy for you are receiving the

end result of your faith the

salvation of your

souls

Dancing in the Dark you may be seated

even in the presence of the

Lord Gertrude muah Nelson tells a story

in her

provocative book to dance with God

subtitle family ritual and Community

celebration in which she says the

following some years ago I spent an

afternoon caught up in a piece of sewing

I was

doing the waste basket near my sewing

machine was filled with scraps of fabric

cut away from my intended

project this basket of discards was a

Fascination to my daughter anuka who at

the time was not yet 4 years

old she rooted through the scrap

searching out the long bright strips

collected them to herself and ran off

swiftly in her determined

Direction she then says when I took a

moment to check on anuka I tracked her

whereabouts to the

backyard where she had planted herself

in the back garden and I found her there

sitting in the grass with a long Pole

she was affixing the scraps to the tip

of the pole with great sticky wads of

tape she looked up at me and said Mommy

I'm making a banner for the

procession to which Gertrude said she

says to anuka why are you making a

banner and for what

procession to which young four-year-old

anuka looked up at her mom and said

making a procession so that God will

come down and dance with

us after having said that she proceeded

to lift the banner to flutter and wave

it in the wind and slowly she began to

dance and it was clear that young anuka

saw her relationship with God in a

specific

way that day she wasn't thinking about a

god of rules a god of commands a god of

judgment a God of

Correction she did not think of God as

an arbitrator or a defense attorney a

material provider or an unexpected

Uninvited Intruder on the thoughts and

actions attitudes and expectations of

those he has

created that day her image of God was

much more innocuous and innocent she

simply saw God as a joyous dance partner

well young anuka had the same

perspective apparently as Peter did

about how life in faith ought to embrace

a relationship with

God this letter of course to Christians

in Asia Minor who are facing all kinds

of persecution suffering social

ostracism these diverse communities

populated by both Jew and Greek and

they're all suffering together while

trying to understand their faith trying

to work it out what does it mean to love

God in this culture and

climate it's learning to live in the

middle tension of joy and

suffering Joy because they've been found

by

Christ suffering because those who find

them a threat to Imperial dominance are

making them endure all kinds of human

mistreatment for simply daring to own a

personal belief in Jesus Christ as both

Messiah and

King and what adds to the pressure

they're facing is this Christ that they

are devoted to and following is believed

to have died and rose again from the

dead because he was not just the Son of

God he was believed to be God the

son so those Peter's writing to a

following a god they have not seen he

says that expressly they can only shape

their faith in God by believing that God

is real

and Peter wants them amidst all the

pressure and suffering and ostracism

being pushed to the periphery of life

everything they're facing the threats

that are looming large he wants them and

here's really what he's saying he's

saying a relationship with God does help

you to dance but only if you're willing

to dance with him in the

dark I don't know your dominant view of

God I don't know how you image your

relationship with God and I would

suspect that in this gathered assembly

both in person and online there very

well might be as many different views of

God as there are the people gathered

here God is Savior and sustainer

provider protector judge king arbitrator

God is Beauty and Brilliance and

blessing God is Redeemer and ruler and

forever reigning

King and how you view God determines how

you relate to him

if you view God as judge you spend your

life trying to run from

him but if you view God as love you

spend your life trying to run to

him and Peter knew of these diverse

views held by those trying to live out

their faith with that looming shadow of

the Empire causing great distress worry

and

concern but Peter also knew that God

wants to be seen and viewed related to

an intera it with based on Joy

too Peter's invitation however is for

them to learn to dance you can dance and

your relationship with God has to be

fueled infused with joy but only if you

can learn to dance with God in the

dark because it's really how God wants

to relate to us all knowing that life

will have these recurring dark

moments and our faith is believing in

God we've never seen it's living with

both Joy and suffering and while we

would wish that we could eliminate the

suffering side of life the greater

expectation that Peter lifts is the

Revelation that while you can't erase

having to navigate seasons of suffering

and darkness you can learn in Christ how

to dance in the

dark and this is what every one of us

needs isn't it especially in these days

of great consternation there's this

looming anxiety some might confess an

emotional dismay every one of us carries

questions centering around the same

concerns how in the world did we get

here and now that we're here how do we

respond to it while that is on the

social scale we also have our private

anxieties as well don't we ranging from

issues of mere personal survival to the

anxiety attached to our dreams and the

chasing of our personal goals will I

ever and can I just and I hope it does

and how long before and please let it

happen and God can you make this go away

and God can you keep this here forever

God don't let this happen God why did

this

happen well Peter stands right in the

middle of all of this and he says to us

today child of God you have to learn how

to dance in the dark too you got to find

joy in your walk with me despite never

having seen me find your joy in your

walk with me despite what your living

conditions are at present I don't mind

dancing with you if sometimes you don't

mind dancing with me in the

dark you know what this means this means

you have to offer faith that is tuned to

the song of the Lord that he plays The

rhythms he offers and turn it up loud so

much so that the somber notes of life

realities are drowned out as you dance

with God who is the center of your joy

it's it's learning how to turn power

outages into moments of fun

togetherness it's what I used to do on

the backend Bishop washing and drying

clothes and I despised both that is

until my daughter Houston was really

little and she experienced on a day when

I was in a playful mood something that

turned into Fun togetherness against the

backdrop of washing and drying clothes

drudgery I took the warm clothes out of

the dryer and I found her in the master

bedroom on my bed on my side watching

one of her favorite shows and because I

was doing chores and she was chilling I

took the basket and dumped the warm

clothes on top of her she found it to be

so much fun Bishop that every time she

would hear the sound of the dryer go off

she knew I was taking warm clothes out

of the dryer she would beat me to the

bedroom jump up on the bed and when I

would come in she'd start already having

her low physical gyration because she

knew here comes the basket and the warm

clothes would be dumped on her you know

what that turned into I started coming

home from church after long day of

counseling and ministering to people and

helping them to interpret the word and

dealing with what it means to have to

handle the custodial chores of the

institution itself and I'd be on the way

home and I didn't even have anything to

wash but you know what I would do I

would find something to put in the

washing machine put it in the dryer put

it in the basket holla upstairs hey

Houston guess

what and I'd hear her be line down the

stairs into the bedroom up on the master

bed my side of the bed because she knew

that warm clothes were about to be

dumped right on her all I'm trying to

tell you is we learn how to turn my

drudgery into Fun togetherness because

we found a way to dance even in the

midst of the chores this this has to

be this has to be how you do these

jobs you've been hired to

perform this is how you sit in your

cubicle next to the person you know

despises you and not let them dilute

your joy for the day am I talking to

anybody in here this is how we find life

a blessing while we're made to walk

through these challenges physical and

emotional and relational and maybe even

spiritual when we're caught in these

crevices and conundrums in life knowing

we have to walk through them and we want

to dance and God said don't wait until

the sun returns to dance with me learn

how to dance with me even if we dance in

the dark

this really becomes a spiritual lesson

for us because God enjoys doing for us

but can I tell you God also enjoys doing

with

us you join God in the progression of

your life you participate in the

blessing of your own life you do what

you can you make your moves you step

side to side you move to the left you

move to the right you crisscross you

clap your hands everybody clap your hand

yeah yeah that

yeah and God will excitedly dance with

you although you haven't seen Jesus you

still love him although you don't see

him you do believe in him and you

celebrate with a joy that is glorious

and beyond words here's what one

translation says of verse 9 because you

are receiving the salvation of your

souls as the result of your faith this

text teaches us and it won't take me

long

that life is lived not in the absence of

Darkness but in the spiritual

discipline to Steward the necessary

coexistence of joy and

despair do I need to say it again okay

y'all were quiet just like my church

that's how I know I had to say it about

five or six times here it

is life is

lived not in the ABS ense of

Darkness but in your

discipline to Steward your

faith with the

coexistence of joy and

despair strength and

weakness confidence and

skepticism excitement and

indifference we do not walk in spaces

and have encounters that are not peered

with both realities at the same

time H it to have fun only to be

impacted by

traffic and instead of letting your joy

slip away from you you learn to let it

co-exist but you own the

choice did you catch

it I can't get rid of Despair comes with

life I can't and always sidestep

suffering it comes with

life I'm grateful for the joy I have in

my relationship with Jesus but my joy in

Christ doesn't always get rid of my

necessary seasons of

suffering they always going to be

there the coexistence of the two is a

real

reality but because of who I am in

Christ I possess the stewardship of the

choice and I can choose to let the

suffering impact my spirit and

emotionality until it ruins my day my

week my month my

season or I can make the choice if

sufferings got to ride along suffering

is going to have to deal with the fact

that my choice is to focus on the

joy I can explain it how many of y'all

have ever been around a crowd of people

where you know some of them in that

crowd don't like you that's what I

thought you can make a decision when

entering into the space that is housing

the event that I'm going to give in

emotionally and direct all my attention

to the people who wish I invited to the

room or I can enter into the room and

decide since I got dressed since I own

my mind my body since I decided to make

the choice to RSVP that I'd be there I'm

going into the room and I'm going decide

that whether or not they like me in here

I'm eating all the strength and I'm

drinking all the non-alcoholic drinks

and I'm dancing to every Melody and I'm

going to Hob Knob and interact with

every person in the room I can't get

them Uninvited the coexistence is going

to be there but I get to choose whether

when I leave I was Greatful that I've

been invited in the first place who am I

talking to in

here that's what somebody now needs to

do just look down your row and everybody

who has not moved our worship long just

make your choice tell I'm not going to

let their lack of movement make me not

give God praise after the week I've been

through after what I'm facing after what

we have in this toxic political climate

the fact that I'm in safe space and

somebody has declared this is the day

that the Lord has made I'm going to make

my declaration and I shall

rejoice and be glad in it you can't let

circumstances and

experiences that you wish you could get

rid of stop you from enjoying

Jesus everybody say enjoy your life

enjoy your life say Enjoy your path

enjoy your path because you can't

separate yourself from some things in

life but you don't have to let what you

can't separate from make you sacrifice

what the Lord has blessed you

with here here's the principle here's

the principle let them

coexist stop thinking something's wrong

with your spirit or there something's

wrong with God because he doesn't

eliminate your

suffering no let him coexist

and make the choice that if I have to

wait to dance in the

light then I'll learn to enjoy dancing

anyway even if it's in the

dark cuz it doesn't matter when or under

what conditions I find myself as long as

I'm dancing with

God this is what God is nurturing in us

all learning to live in Him in all

circumstances and conditions I'm going

move and whatever state you're in living

in or between certain realities and

Seasons it doesn't change the thing I

don't have to see God to know he's

real I can experience God in the ways

that he leads me and watch it let's stay

with the metaphor and the image I know

there is a God cuz I don't always like

leading the dance

moves and the fact that God

leads moves and shapes me the way he

wants I'm sorry y'all don't know me but

I'm having so much fun up here

already I enjoy

dancing especially when he

leads because you and I have been graced

by God theological term here we've been

graced by God to live in Transcendence

Let the church say

Transcendence it's a gift of faith to

you child of God that wherever you

are you are

there and somewhere else at the same

time you are always where you

are and always living above

it at the same time and here's how you

know it when others around you are

describing ground level

realities and somehow you are seeing and

interpreting the same thing but from a

Beyond

place your comments come out a little

different and Peter is really releasing

this truth when he defines what dancing

with God in the dark means he doesn't

say it results in Joy he uses the

Transcendent thought watch it it's an

inexpressible

Joy operative word is

inexpressible meaning when you dance

with

God you have so much

joy you can't even find language

categories to put it in now I can make

sense out of this because people are

around you will want you to

describe how you have mastered your

environment to not be affected by

it and if you're like me the only thing

you can say inadequate response is I

don't even know why I'm not

worried I don't know

why I'm not scared I can't put words on

the peace I have even in the midst of

all this toxicity and

fragility the incredulity of it all

we've got people trying to plot us being

put out of this

country and yet I woke up this morning

and said Lord I Thank

you for a brand new day and if somebody

was to ask me why I have that much joy

and confidence I don't always I don't

always have a language category to put

it in because

inexpressible the only thing I can tell

you is I'm seeing life at 30,000 ft even

while I'm relating to people who are

seeing it from ground level so when

they're talking pessimistically I can't

join that conversation because I'm

seeing it from a different level here's

the level I'm seeing it from and all

things work together for our good

because we're called by God and

according to his purpose do I have any

Transcendent people in here who can

testify it's going to be all right I

don't know how and I don't know when but

tap somebody on the elbow and tell them

everything is going to be all right fret

not yourself because of

evildoers you and I don't have to be

scared of anything here's all we need to

do in everything learn how to give him

thanks and know that he walk with us and

he talks with us and he tells us that we

are his CH somebody toss your head back

find a praise and offer it to a God who

gives you inexpressible

Joy we walk through the same

realities that impact other

people and yet we see them totally

different when you're standing in the

middle

between joy and

suffering don't Focus so on trying to

eliminate the suffering that you forget

how powerful is the

joy that helps you to transcend all of

this because here's the truth you don't

just

endure you don't just survive you don't

just trust and Obey you don't just hope

and believe you don't just show up and

suffer through it you don't live like

these are your current reality ities you

transcend these

realities so that you're always living

with a loftier view of your life because

of the grace that has been given to you

from God to see your life through his

lenses everybody say

Transcendence I only have one more thing

I'm done I think this text that Peter

offers to the church is also

teaching

that

belief is actually a proof more

powerful than

seeing now let it

simmer

belief is actually more a

validation than

sight here's how he puts

it you never saw

him yet you love him

in fact you still don't see

him yet you trust

him and one translation puts on the back

end of that you trust him with laughter

and singing and then he gives the why

because you kept

believing now doesn't that mean it's

very simple you don't need Seminary

education to get this because here's

what it means I've never seen him but I

love

him I don't see him now but I trust him

with laughter and joy and what's my

rationale because I believe

him which means

belief

becomes a greater

validator than sight now I know I'm

culturally swimming against stream right

because people say seeing is what I love

this

church but Faith inverts the

Assumption because here's what faith now

teaches

believing is

seeing you got it people are more likely

to believe something if they can see it

in culture but what is more true

spiritually is we are more likely to see

something because we believe it

and how do we know this because we've

never seen God but we know there is a

God I was competing in this golf

tournament several weeks ago at one of

the really really lovely places in the

country and they have these undulating

Fairways Jagged edges indentations made

by the strength and resilience of water

that has for centuries crashed all along

that gorgeous landscape Joe who was my

teammate M for the day competing with me

and two others in the tournament while

we're walking along one of the fairways

he looks at me and he says reev this is

a beautiful place isn't it I said Joe

not only is this a beautiful place but

it is confirmation that there is a

God because no human could have ever

engineered this Earth or our bodies and

the balance necessary to sustain life I

don't need to have seen God face to face

though hoping one day to do just that I

know there is a God I know that Jesus is

real and my validation is I

believe so I dance with God because I

believe I'm never dancing alone you're

never facing your live realities alone

and if you can accept that there is Joy

even in your suffering and strength even

in your struggles then you can let them

coexist because your belief is that God

shows up in every genre in life and

whether the music of life is upbeat or

festive or whether the music of night of

of life has notes and sounds of the

Blues God will dance with you until the

only way you can describe it is to admit

that I have in expressable

Joy and Peter knows doesn't he that what

grows our belief is living in faith on

both sides of Human Experience because

brothers and sisters it takes belief to

accept that all your blessings come from

God but it grows your belief to look at

dark moments and believe that God has

blessings in dark moments as well both

provide blessing but stronger belief is

needed in one reality that may not need

to be as strong in another I'm done it

wouldn't have been difficult to believe

in God if staring in his face were

possible I I I heard Pastor T talking

about giving and doing his stewardship

remarks this morning and while I was

musing over the sermon as he was leading

I was thinking to myself I would that we

could get to a place that in all of our

churches we don't have to try to

reorient you every

week about what it means to be generous

to God but every week the pedagogi has

to be

repeated because in between life be

lifen but if God could physically

manifest in this Sanctuary right now

you'd be empty in pocket and purse

running up to the Altar and placing it

at his feet why because of the

validation of sight and what I'm trying

to tell you is if you you believe that

there is a God your actions and activity

and attitude ought to be the same so

guess what y'all the king is

here and I wonder how you respond to the

king when the King has manifested his

presence but I can tell you he's here

because this is his holy Temple and

scripture says you ought to be still and

know that he is God who am I talking to

in here

because that means every promise he

makes would Inspire out immediate

obedience I promise here it is Robert

Smith Bishop such a gifted preacher

Professor author recently retired he has

a book that he entitled doctrine that

dances he says when he meditated on the

word guidance gu UI d a n c e he kept

seeing dance

at the end of the word and he says I

remember reading that doing God's will

is really a lot like dancing when two

people try to lead nothing Feels Right

Movement doesn't flow with the music

everything is quite uncomfortable

sometimes even jerky when one person

realizes that and relinquishes and lets

the other lead both bodies begin to Flow

To The Melody of the music

one gives gentle cues perhaps a nudge to

the back pressing lightly in One

Direction or another it's as if two

people become one body moving

beautifully he says the dance takes

surrender willingness attentiveness from

one person and it takes gentle guidance

and skill from the other

my eyes Drew back to the word guidance

gu UI d a n c e and he says when I saw G

I thought of God followed by you and

I he said then it hit me God you and I

dance as I lowered my head I became

willing to trust that I would get guid

about my life once again I became

willing to let God lead I'm going to my

seat but cor Andia when you're ready to

run down the next PATH of your life's

journey or the next time you're not sure

which path you ought to take can I

encourage you to stop where you are

throw yourself into the arms of God let

him play A Melody of your

deliverance and you move move your steps

in sync and in Rhythm to how God decides

to lead your life and let you think I'm

not scriptural this is really what Jesus

does In The Garden of Gethsemane when he

says God I've been listening to another

genre of music and the lyrics say Let

this cup pass from me but because I let

you lead in the dance I'm going to tell

you nevertheless not my will but thy

will be done y'all y'all don't mind if I

preach a little bit do you and because

of that that dance LED Jesus up to a

skull shaped Hill called Calvary and

there he had to offer dance moves that

resulted in the shedding of his blood

and the breaking of his body but is

there anybody here who can testify that

while Jesus uh was dancing to a Melody

he may not have wanted initially to

dance to uh that when he let God lead

God Le uh the party persist until early

on the third day morning when he got up

from the grave have I got a witness here

so why can't somebody help me to help

somebody else and grab a neighbor by the

arm and look your neighbor

right in the ey and tell your neighbor

I'm not dancing to the beat of my own

music uh but I'm

learning how to dance to the beat of

God's melodyy have I got a witness here

I'mma leave you all alone and may the

Lord bless you real good have a good

week as you navigate life uh between joy

and suffering don't you forget that God

God gives you blessed Transcendence so

that while you're in this world you're

not really of this world and while the

culture is playing its somber notes of

the Blues you show up to the job

tomorrow and cut your praise

step and when they say to you how can

you be dancing against such festive

notes uh of a Melody uh that is

oxymoronic uh when you come perod to the

somber blues that are being played right

now all negativity coming from that

white house uh that can I also tell you

was built by black

[Applause]

[Music]

hands and when that happens you cut your

step anyway in fact let me give you some

opportunity turn and tell somebody give

me just a little bit of space cuz I'm

hearing a song in my mind right now now

that sounds something like

victory is mine I said victory is mine

I'm hearing a song and the lyrics say he

may not

come when you call him but he will show

up uh right one time is there anybody

here who doesn't mind tossing your head

back uh open your mouth find a praise

bring it up to the surface and tell your

God I'll dance with

you whether it's in the light or whether

it's in the dark I'll dance with you

whether I'm suffering or whether I have

joy I'll dance with you because you're a

mighty good dance partner and a mighty

good dance leader

say

[Music]

say

life is

stewarding

coexistence between joy and

suffering your pastor tell you this

you can walk in one

meeting and a member give you a praise

report about cancer

remission job

elevation recent discovery of

pregnancy some reward given to

them and walk out of that office meet

somebody in the hallway and shed tears

because of a recent death or a job loss

you can come into the pull pit do a

funeral walk right out and go to a

service of

Celebration and some will say how do you

switch on and off you

don't you Steward

[Applause]

coexistence and here's what Paul said

I'm done here's what Paul said here's

how coexistence is

stewarded when I'm

weak I'm strong what