Dances and Dirges

Finding peace, purpose and possibilities

12/11/2020

Matthew 11:16-19 Jesus said to the crowds: “To what shall I compare this generation? It is like children who sit in marketplaces and call to one another, ‘We played the flute for you, but you did not dance, we sang a dirge but you did not mourn.’ For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they said, ‘He is possessed by a demon.’ The Son of Man came eating and drinking and they said, ‘Look, he is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners.’ But wisdom is vindicated by her works.”

Christians never completely conform to the modern culture, or for that matter, to any culture, modern or ancient. Have you ever felt like you were out of step with others; that you never quite fit in with the crowd? The technical term for that feeling is “countercultural.” Archbishop Fulton Sheen had a colorful description of Christians who are countercultural. He said: “Dead fish float downstream. It takes live fish to fight against the current.” The swift current of the river is the modern culture which carries away most people like dead fish. Christians, on the other hand, should be like salmon that fight the current. Salmon fight the current in order to mate; Christians fight the current in order to meet Christ, our eternal Mate. No wonder I love salmon so much.

Now, do not misunderstand what I mean. Being a countercultural Christian does not mean feeling like a Republican in a room full of Democrats; or a Democrat in a room full of Republicans. Christians would feel uncomfortable with Republicans and Democrats because political parties are part of the swift current of the modern culture. Again, the current carries away the dead fish.

And I am not saying that Christians are called to be hippies, who just don’t fit in. Jesus does not call us to be hippies but to be holy, to be more like him. There lurks a deep disquiet in the Christian’s soul that nowhere on earth does he or she feel entirely at home. St. Paul put the matter perfectly, when he said in Phil. 3:20, “But our citizenship is in heaven.” Only in heaven will we no longer feel countercultural.

In the gospel of Mt. 11:16-19, Jesus describes Christians as being countercultural using the language of "dances and dirges." Our Lord taught: “To what shall I compare this generation (the modern culture)? It is like children who sit in marketplaces and call to one another, ‘We played the flute for you, but you did not dance, we sang a dirge for you but you did not mourn.” And Jesus goes on to add that both he and John the Baptist did not conform to these prevailing cultural customs of dancing and mourning. When the culture zigged, Jesus and John zagged; when the culture zagged, Jesus and John zigged. They did not comply with the dances and dirges that the people played for them. They were live fish who fought against the current.

My friends, what practical, cash-value is there in being countercultural Christians? I believe there are three: it gives us peace, purpose and possibilities. Being countercultural gives us peace, even in a pandemic. Some people are running around like Chicken Little shouting: “The sky is falling!” This pandemic, according to them, portends the end of the world. But Christians should keep our cool and feel profound peace. Why? Well, because we actually long for the end of the world; we pray for “a new heavens and a new earth” (Rev. 21:1). Countercultural Christians feel peace in a pandemic.

Secondly, fighting the current gives us new purpose, that is, a different motivation for why we jump out of bed in the morning. The reason we love our spouse, the goal of raising good children, the purpose of working nine to five is not for my ego or to bring home the bacon, or even to retire early and rich. Those are the reasons that carry the dead fish that float downstream. Countercultural Christians get out of bed to do God’s will rather than our own, and to give God the glory. That is our purpose.

Thirdly, countercultural Christians pursue new possibilities, like being a priest or a nun. What could be more countercultural than that? To willingly – even joyfully – relinquish all money, sex and power and to choose a life of poverty, chastity and obedience is a possibility that is found by live fish that fight against the current. Even Christian marriage is becoming more and more countercultural these days. Christians see possibilities when most people only see problems.

Next time you sit down to eat some salmon, think about how that brave fish plopped on your plate. It had to fight the current. And so, too, must every Christian, but in the bargain, we will find profound peace, new purpose and exciting possibilities.

Praised be Jesus Christ!