DANCING AT THE WEDDING

When I was ordained, the first priest I served under as an Assistant Pastor I had also served as an altar boy many years before. There were times when he still thought of me as such. That was his problem even if it once or twice caused some problems for me. One of those occasions was forty-three years ago this month. I remember it vividly and still smile, albeit perversely I admit, when I think about it.

It was January and he was on vacation back in his home country in Italy. A visiting priest took two of the Masses and I had other three. The Gospel that Sunday was the one about Jesus turning water into wine at the wedding feast in Cana. In my sermon I intimated, no, I asserted that if there had been dancing at that celebration, and there probably was, Jesus surely danced at the wedding.

Not long after he returned from his vacation, he called me into his office and proceeded to chew me out. He had heard about my sermon, he said. Someone in the parish was so scandalized by my assertion that Jesus would dance at a wedding that person had called the Bishop to inform him of my assuredly heretical belief. The Bishop must also have believed that what I said was heresy because he called my boss to enlighten me about my false theology and to make certain I never wandered down that road again.

I accepted my chastisement humbly and promised never to be so foolish again to even think Jesus would lower himself to such an obvious display of silliness and, even worse, to proclaim my belief from the pulpit. Of course, the person who ratted on me, my bishop and my boss were wrong back then and they would be wrong to assert that I was wrong even today. If there had been dancing at the wedding in Cana, Jesus danced.

So there! And why not? Why would Jesus not dance? Because he would have to hold a woman in his arms? Oh My God, that would be leading him into temptation and Jesus must never be led into temptation. But, then, he did hang out with a lot of prostitutes and public sinners on many an occasion, did he not? I can’t believe any one of that ilk was at the wedding let alone be a dancing partner of Jesus. But, again why not?

As Christians, as followers of and believers in Jesus, we are asked to imitate his life. Even on a very mundane level that is difficult enough to do. But if we begin to put the standard Jesus set so high that we cannot possibly attain it, we will soon not make the attempt. If we believe that Jesus would refrain from any human and acceptable activity, like dancing at a wedding, because it might lead him into temptation, or worse, scandalize those who believe him to be God’s Son, then Jesus can and could no longer be a role model. He would simply be a plastic, perfect figment of our imagination.

Our Jesus, the one you and I believe in, and I hope the one that parishioner and my Bishop and my boss believed in, was tempted in every way as we are. Any situation can be an occasion of sin, even dancing at a wedding. That does not mean that every situation is, even dancing at a wedding. My Jesus danced at the wedding. I guess my Bishop’s didn’t. Your Jesus?