It is illegal to dance in a bar in Sweden. That is, unless that bar has a permit to allow for dancing. This isn’t exotic dance of any kind. Just regular old dancing. Square dancing and waltzes and such. This is the case in Sweden unless a bill moving through parliament takes hold. If so, the Swedes will no longer need governmental approval to gather together to dance. Imagine the happy faces of all of those dancing Swedes.
Of course, there is something that might appeal to us in Sweden’s law. Some of us don’t want to be caught dancing. Maybe we think that we’ll embarrass ourselves. Maybe we think that we will embarrass others. Maybe we just really like standing very very very still all of the time. Probably not, but maybe. Some of us would love to have the excuse, “Oh, I would dance, but….it’s illegal here.”
As a pastor, I’ve seen my share of “I would dance but…” I hear it in the half-hearted responses to the liturgy sometimes. I see it in people that are afraid to show some momentary moment of joy that the get from the Gospel. I feel it when someone expresses that they have to beat themselves up for their sins instead of embracing the good news that those sins are forgiven. Sometimes we even blame church, we say “I would dance or laugh or smile, but…it’s illegal in this church.”
But it isn’t. Jesus broke all sorts of silly legalisms throughout His ministry. He healed on the Sabbath. He touched lepers. He ate with tax collectors and prostitutes. All of these things were technically illegal, but He did them anyway. Why? For the joy. For the joy of seeing the lame man walk and the blind man see. For the joy of seeing the leper return to his family. For the joy of the outcasts of society getting a dinner invite with the most popular social influencer of His day.
It’s ok to laugh around Jesus. It’s ok to giggle and snort. It’s ok to be relieved. It’s ok to shout for joy. It’s ok to feel that joy. It’s even ok to dance. I promise. It’s not illegal here. It’s not illegal because Jesus died for the joy that would exist in our hearts. A joy that might even get us to dance.