Freedom is found through following God

I will never forget the sheer terror I felt the first time I was dragged onto the dance floor by a girl in my freshman class. Barely 14 years old, my buddies and I had gone to the Friday night dance, not planning that we would actually dance. Much to my surprise, as we sat at a table off to the side drinking Cokes, she approached. My shoes seemed to be filled with concrete, and my friends punched each other on the arm. The next thing I knew I was dancing.
I don’t suppose you could truly call what I did that night “dancing.” I heard the music with its 60s pulsing rumble, but I watched my feet trip on the gym floor in absolutely no relationship to the music. My partner tried to help. “Loosen up, Peter,” she told me. I tried my best, but that night I had two left feet.
I never became a good dancer, but I got to the point that I enjoyed Friday nights at my high school, not embarrassed in the least to take to the floor. My clumsiness had come from the fact that I approached the rhythm and beat of the music as “rules” to which I had to apply myself. The music often went in one direction and I in another, a pretty comical sight, especially that first night.
I noticed that the good dancers were those who danced without effort, who flowed with the music. They did not seem to be following “rules” at all; they simply danced.
If you have ever been to the ballet, you’ve seen ballerinas leap effortlessly into the air and across the stage, perfectly in sync with the music. What appears effortless, of course, is the fruit of endless hours of physical training, the fruit of studying the music their dance accompanies. Ballet is beautiful because dancers and music are one – they are part of it, expressions of it, embodiments of it. If a ballerina’s performance had no relation to her music, if her steps were totally out of sync with the orchestra, we would laugh!
Good dancers say they do not feel bound by their music, even though its rules are clear and its purpose intentional. Instead, they feel free. Interesting.
The same must be true for jazz musicians. Jazz has its musical rules, but it is also characterized by improvisation, the variety of which is endless. An improvised sax or piano piece is beautiful because it goes in many directions while maintaining its clear connection to the basic musical intent. Good jazz improvisers don’t feel bound by the rules of their art. They are set free by them.
Perhaps the analogy of dance and jazz helps us understand in part the freedom that comes to those who follow God’s law. Created in God’s image and likeness, we were created to be fulfilled and set free by following his ways. Freedom is a gift won for us by Jesus’ death and resurrection; we live out that freedom and experience its full power by living as he did. As Paul told the Galatians, “For freedom Christ has set us free” (5:1). Only sin binds us and holds us back.
Jesus recognized that what he asked would not be easy. To forgive enemies, pray for persecutors, confess sins, care for the poor and vulnerable, work for peace, endure persecution, trust in his Father, let go of hatred and prejudice, carry our crosses, profess him as Savior: these ways of God demand much of us, and we may feel out of sync with them, especially when we first take them seriously. We may hear Jesus’ words leading in one direction but feel our habits or knee-jerk reactions going another.
Some of Jesus’ disciples found his teaching unbearable. When he proclaimed himself the Bread of Life, for example, they were troubled.
“Then many of his disciples who were listening said, ’This saying is hard; who can accept it?’… As a result of this, many returned to their former way of life and no longer accompanied him. Jesus then said to the Twelve, “Do you also want to leave?” Simon Peter answered him, “Master, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.” (John 6:60, 66-68)
Many left, but those who believed that Jesus had the words of eternal life remained. And giving themselves to his teaching, putting it into practice, and persevering through failure and misunderstanding, they found freedom. Freedom came because like all men and women, they were created for the kingdom of God. They accepted Jesus and his teaching even though others rejected and ridiculed him. Abiding by the ways of the kingdom – its rhythm and beat, if you will – they gained freedom in Christ.
True freedom is found and experienced by following the ways of God, living according to his Commandments and the Beatitudes of the Lord Jesus. We may follow them clumsily, especially at first, but with the help of the Holy Spirit we discover that God’s ways are the only perfect fit for humanity. Disciples of the Lord begin to consider his teaching not as a set of rules but as the Truth, the Way of Love, the only Path to Freedom. We were meant to tread that path and none other. We were made for God and his ways alone.

Do you have an intention for Bishop Sartain’s prayer? If so, send it to him at Bishop Sartain’s Prayer List, Diocese of Little Rock, 2500 North Tyler St., P.O. Box 7239, Little Rock, AR 72217.

Special to Arkansas Catholic

Latest from From the Bishop

Freedom is found through following God

I will never forget the sheer terror I felt the first time I was dragged onto the dance floor by a girl in my freshman class. Barely 14 years old, my buddies and I had gone to the Friday night dance, not planning that we would actually dance. Much to my surprise, as we sat at a table off to the side drinking Cokes, she approached. My shoes seemed to be filled with concrete, and my friends punched each other on the arm. The next thing I knew I was dancing.
I don’t suppose you could truly call what I did that night “dancing.” I heard the music with its 60s pulsing rumble, but I watched my feet trip on the gym floor in absolutely no relationship to the music. My partner tried to help. “Loosen up, Peter,” she told me. I tried my best, but that night I had two left feet.
I never became a good dancer, but I got to the point that I enjoyed Friday nights at my high school, not embarrassed in the least to take to the floor. My clumsiness had come from the fact that I approached the rhythm and beat of the music as “rules” to which I had to apply myself. The music often went in one direction and I in another, a pretty comical sight, especially that first night.
I noticed that the good dancers were those who danced without effort, who flowed with the music. They did not seem to be following “rules” at all; they simply danced.
If you have ever been to the ballet, you’ve seen ballerinas leap effortlessly into the air and across the stage, perfectly in sync with the music. What appears effortless, of course, is the fruit of endless hours of physical training, the fruit of studying the music their dance accompanies. Ballet is beautiful because dancers and music are one – they are part of it, expressions of it, embodiments of it. If a ballerina’s performance had no relation to her music, if her steps were totally out of sync with the orchestra, we would laugh!
Good dancers say they do not feel bound by their music, even though its rules are clear and its purpose intentional. Instead, they feel free. Interesting.
The same must be true for jazz musicians. Jazz has its musical rules, but it is also characterized by improvisation, the variety of which is endless. An improvised sax or piano piece is beautiful because it goes in many directions while maintaining its clear connection to the basic musical intent. Good jazz improvisers don’t feel bound by the rules of their art. They are set free by them.
Perhaps the analogy of dance and jazz helps us understand in part the freedom that comes to those who follow God’s law. Created in God’s image and likeness, we were created to be fulfilled and set free by following his ways. Freedom is a gift won for us by Jesus’ death and resurrection; we live out that freedom and experience its full power by living as he did. As Paul told the Galatians, “For freedom Christ has set us free” (5:1). Only sin binds us and holds us back.
Jesus recognized that what he asked would not be easy. To forgive enemies, pray for persecutors, confess sins, care for the poor and vulnerable, work for peace, endure persecution, trust in his Father, let go of hatred and prejudice, carry our crosses, profess him as Savior: these ways of God demand much of us, and we may feel out of sync with them, especially when we first take them seriously. We may hear Jesus’ words leading in one direction but feel our habits or knee-jerk reactions going another.
Some of Jesus’ disciples found his teaching unbearable. When he proclaimed himself the Bread of Life, for example, they were troubled.
“Then many of his disciples who were listening said, ’This saying is hard; who can accept it?’… As a result of this, many returned to their former way of life and no longer accompanied him. Jesus then said to the Twelve, “Do you also want to leave?” Simon Peter answered him, “Master, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.” (John 6:60, 66-68)
Many left, but those who believed that Jesus had the words of eternal life remained. And giving themselves to his teaching, putting it into practice, and persevering through failure and misunderstanding, they found freedom. Freedom came because like all men and women, they were created for the kingdom of God. They accepted Jesus and his teaching even though others rejected and ridiculed him. Abiding by the ways of the kingdom – its rhythm and beat, if you will – they gained freedom in Christ.
True freedom is found and experienced by following the ways of God, living according to his Commandments and the Beatitudes of the Lord Jesus. We may follow them clumsily, especially at first, but with the help of the Holy Spirit we discover that God’s ways are the only perfect fit for humanity. Disciples of the Lord begin to consider his teaching not as a set of rules but as the Truth, the Way of Love, the only Path to Freedom. We were meant to tread that path and none other. We were made for God and his ways alone.

Do you have an intention for Bishop Sartain’s prayer? If so, send it to him at Bishop Sartain’s Prayer List, Diocese of Little Rock, 2500 North Tyler St., P.O. Box 7239, Little Rock, AR 72217.

Special to Arkansas Catholic

Latest from From the Bishop

Freedom is found through following God

I will never forget the sheer terror I felt the first time I was dragged onto the dance floor by a girl in my freshman class. Barely 14 years old, my buddies and I had gone to the Friday night dance, not planning that we would actually dance. Much to my surprise, as we sat at a table off to the side drinking Cokes, she approached. My shoes seemed to be filled with concrete, and my friends punched each other on the arm. The next thing I knew I was dancing.
I don’t suppose you could truly call what I did that night “dancing.” I heard the music with its 60s pulsing rumble, but I watched my feet trip on the gym floor in absolutely no relationship to the music. My partner tried to help. “Loosen up, Peter,” she told me. I tried my best, but that night I had two left feet.
I never became a good dancer, but I got to the point that I enjoyed Friday nights at my high school, not embarrassed in the least to take to the floor. My clumsiness had come from the fact that I approached the rhythm and beat of the music as “rules” to which I had to apply myself. The music often went in one direction and I in another, a pretty comical sight, especially that first night.
I noticed that the good dancers were those who danced without effort, who flowed with the music. They did not seem to be following “rules” at all; they simply danced.
If you have ever been to the ballet, you’ve seen ballerinas leap effortlessly into the air and across the stage, perfectly in sync with the music. What appears effortless, of course, is the fruit of endless hours of physical training, the fruit of studying the music their dance accompanies. Ballet is beautiful because dancers and music are one – they are part of it, expressions of it, embodiments of it. If a ballerina’s performance had no relation to her music, if her steps were totally out of sync with the orchestra, we would laugh!
Good dancers say they do not feel bound by their music, even though its rules are clear and its purpose intentional. Instead, they feel free. Interesting.
The same must be true for jazz musicians. Jazz has its musical rules, but it is also characterized by improvisation, the variety of which is endless. An improvised sax or piano piece is beautiful because it goes in many directions while maintaining its clear connection to the basic musical intent. Good jazz improvisers don’t feel bound by the rules of their art. They are set free by them.
Perhaps the analogy of dance and jazz helps us understand in part the freedom that comes to those who follow God’s law. Created in God’s image and likeness, we were created to be fulfilled and set free by following his ways. Freedom is a gift won for us by Jesus’ death and resurrection; we live out that freedom and experience its full power by living as he did. As Paul told the Galatians, “For freedom Christ has set us free” (5:1). Only sin binds us and holds us back.
Jesus recognized that what he asked would not be easy. To forgive enemies, pray for persecutors, confess sins, care for the poor and vulnerable, work for peace, endure persecution, trust in his Father, let go of hatred and prejudice, carry our crosses, profess him as Savior: these ways of God demand much of us, and we may feel out of sync with them, especially when we first take them seriously. We may hear Jesus’ words leading in one direction but feel our habits or knee-jerk reactions going another.
Some of Jesus’ disciples found his teaching unbearable. When he proclaimed himself the Bread of Life, for example, they were troubled.
“Then many of his disciples who were listening said, ’This saying is hard; who can accept it?’… As a result of this, many returned to their former way of life and no longer accompanied him. Jesus then said to the Twelve, “Do you also want to leave?” Simon Peter answered him, “Master, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.” (John 6:60, 66-68)
Many left, but those who believed that Jesus had the words of eternal life remained. And giving themselves to his teaching, putting it into practice, and persevering through failure and misunderstanding, they found freedom. Freedom came because like all men and women, they were created for the kingdom of God. They accepted Jesus and his teaching even though others rejected and ridiculed him. Abiding by the ways of the kingdom – its rhythm and beat, if you will – they gained freedom in Christ.
True freedom is found and experienced by following the ways of God, living according to his Commandments and the Beatitudes of the Lord Jesus. We may follow them clumsily, especially at first, but with the help of the Holy Spirit we discover that God’s ways are the only perfect fit for humanity. Disciples of the Lord begin to consider his teaching not as a set of rules but as the Truth, the Way of Love, the only Path to Freedom. We were meant to tread that path and none other. We were made for God and his ways alone.

Do you have an intention for Bishop Sartain’s prayer? If so, send it to him at Bishop Sartain’s Prayer List, Diocese of Little Rock, 2500 North Tyler St., P.O. Box 7239, Little Rock, AR 72217.

Special to Arkansas Catholic

Latest from From the Bishop