The Dance of the Trinity

If any of you have ever seen me (or Adam) dance, you will also wonder both how on earth I managed to have a child who is a qualified dance teacher, and why on earth that it’s a dance metaphor of the trinity that brings me much joy.

The metaphor is derived from the Greek term perichoresis which means "to dance around". It’s a way of describing the eternal, mutual relationship of love, honour, and self-giving among the three persons of God: Father, Son and Spirit. It describes a continual dance in which the divine persons perpetually interact, indwell, and support one another in a constant, unified ‘dance’ of reciprocal giving and receiving; without a single leader or follower.

It was the picture I had during our pre-service prayer meeting last Sunday, and it was the tune of ‘The Lord of the Dance’ that kept running through my head and made me want to laugh at inopportune times!

As I have meditated on this picture during the week, I have reflected on how fitting it was that the Spirit led me to that metaphor as we welcomed so many into membership– because this type of relationship is also a model for community.

It speaks to how the Spirit invites and pulls us into the dance with the Father and the Son. Their dance is an open circle that invites us all onto the dance floor, drawing us right into the midst of their energetic flow of divine delight. And then they teach us the dance moves as our dance instructors, if you will. The Trinity shows us how to move in the same way with an attitude of philanthropy, reciprocal love in a constant ebb and flow of giving and receiving among members. 

What are the metaphors that God is using to speak to you through this week?

Colleen