Have you ever been to a high school dance? In the era that I went to high school, there was an unspoken code of behaviour at these dances - a least for those of us who came without a date. Generally the sexes were segregated. Boys standing together on one side of the gymnasium and girls in on their side.
The self-assured quickly sought out a partner and joined others in the dance floor. Usually the boys made the first move, but occasionally a girl was bold enough to ask first.
Those who were uncertain, nervous, and unpopular waited painfully on the sidelines - some waited all night.
Some were so afflicted with the possibility that they might be rejected that they never dared to ask for a dance. And some suffered the humiliation of never being asked.
And of course if those who were hesitant and unsure even made it on the dance floor, there was often the fear of making a complete fool of yourself. What if during a slow dance you stepped on your partner’s foot? What if you stood too close to your partner or not close enough?
Partnerships on the dance floor and in the arena of life are varied and complex. To be in partnership with another can be exciting and lively, it can be playful and stimulating, it can be hurtful and humiliating, it can create discomfort and anxiety.
Today we continue with a focus on what it means to soar with the Spirit through the life we share in this community of faith. Last week we looked specifically at deepening the connections with God, with our neighbour and with God’s world. Today we will look at creating partnerships as a way to soar with the Spirit.
From the very beginning, God has created us to be in partnership. Through the words of prophets, poets, teachers and preachers, we hear a consistent message from God. God declares over and over, I will be your God and you will be my people. In effect, we are meant to be together. And Jesus is more specific when he says that we are his friends - partners with him in sharing the gospel. Today we heard that partnership affirmed for us once again in the words of the apostle Paul when he said, ‘I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this, that God who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion.’
So what does this partnership in the gospel look like? And how do our partnerships help us to soar with the Spirit?
Let’s go back to the high school dance floor. Like the couples who confidently and joyfully dance together all evening, some of us have had the gracious experience of a life-time of partnership in the gospel. From an early age we have experienced the love and the welcome of God. We were nurtured in the stories of God’s love, we were part of a faith community where we knew we belonged, gifts and talents were affirmed in us and we were given lots of opportunities to express those gifts. We know all the dance steps - we can recite the stories of our faith, we easily take part in the sacred rituals, we are familiar and easy with the language and the structures of the church, we can sing the hymns by heart, and we are closely knit with the other regular dance partners in our community. Many of us who offer leadership in the life of this congregation have come from this life-time of partnership in the gospel.
There are some among us whose experience of partnership has been inconsistent, sometimes even fractured. These people come to the dance a bit wary and uncertain. They have had their toes stepped on or perhaps they have tripped over someone else’s feet. Once they asked to join in the dance and were refused. Once they waited to be asked to dance and no one even spoke to them.
Some of you here today have lived out this experience here at EMUC or in another community of faith. You are still interested in partnering for the dance, but you sure don’t want to get stepped on, you don’t want to make a fool of yourself, and you don’t want to be rejected if you make a move to get onto the dance floor.
And sadly there are some among us who have been standing on the sidelines for so long, waiting in vain for an opening and an invitation to partner with others on the dance floor and now they are just about ready to give up on dancing all together.
And some are waiting for a gentle but patient partner who will show them a few dance steps away from the stares of others, pick them up when they trip and stumble and enjoy a good laugh over the crazy new dance step that they create together.
So, who are you on this dance floor? What is your experience of partnership in life? What is your experience with this congregation as it seeks to partner with Jesus Christ in doing and living the gospel?
Whatever your experience, I’d like to invite us all into partnerships that will have each and everyone of us gliding and soaring and kicking up our heels on the dance floor.
And in reality, it’s not my invitation; it is Jesus Christ who invites us into such partnerships. Today’s reading from Mark’s gospel, highlights two of Jesus’ teachings about partnership. The first teaching is that when it comes to dance partners, God chooses to partner with the unpopular ones, the ones who are most uncertain of the dance steps, the ones who have known the pain of rejection, the ones without a lot of experience or cache in this world.
In Mark’s gospel, Jesus reminds his disciples of God’s preference. In the midst of their arguing and vying for top spot on the dance floor, Jesus directs their attention to a child - someone who has no experience, no cache, and no power.
And Jesus says to them, when you welcome and partner with one such as these, then you will welcome me and then you will truly know what it means to partner with me in the dance of life.
Folks, to soar with the Spirit, to join in the dance of life, Jesus Christ calls us into unconventional partnerships
- longtime members of this congregation are called to partner with people who are just getting their feet wet
- children & youth are called into partnership with those of us who are growing wrinkles and grey hairs
- those who are full of questions about the faith are called to partnership with those who on the surface are so confident.
You get the picture! And in these unconventional partnerships, those of us who thought we knew all the dance steps will discover to our surprise that these partners have new steps to teach us and that together we will create a new dance - a spirited dance that teaches us to soar in ways we never thought possible.
The second teaching about partnership from Jesus is this. We do not have a corner on God’s work. We in the church are not the only ones whom God has entrusted with the gifts and talents and the hearts and minds to reflect the goodness and grace of God. When the disciples were offended by someone who was not one of them - not one of Jesus’ special friends, but who nevertheless was healing in Jesus’ name, Jesus told them to relax. Jesus was not obsessed with protecting his reputation and guarding his territory; he only cared about people. It did not matter to him if the love came from his hand or the hand of another, as long as it came.
And so it would seem to me that as the friends of Jesus we also need to affirm and support others beyond the church, who in their own tradition and practice offer a cup of water to those in need. And it would seem to me that we need to be about creating partnerships with them as a way to expand the opportunities for God’s love to be experienced in this world.
For the Spirit of God cannot be confined by us. In the United Church Creed there is a line that says, We believe in God who works in us and others by the Spirit. By adding the words "and others", the authors of the Creed recognize that the Spirit is at work in and through all of creation, and among all persons and traditions, who are willing and open to receive God’s love. We cannot control this soaring Spirit - it flies freely in Gods’ world.
In particular, right now, I want to highlight one of EMUC’s unique opportunities to be in partnership. A unique opportunity for this congregation to join with others as we soar with the Spirit.
Al Seymour, who is the chair of the Erin Mills Youth Outreach Committee, will tell us about this unique partnership.
