Today I serendipitously landed in a downtown Phoenix theater, watching a matinee dance performance of “A New Beginning”, choreographed by Francis Smith Cohen. Little did I know that she was sitting right next to me, although I did notice that this woman was taking copious notes as the dancers wove their patterns on the stage. When I realized who she was, I spoke to her and explained that I had always leaned toward literature and the written word as opposed to the visual arts. Of course I’ve been encouraged in other directions by the artists in my family: my husband, daughters in law and granddaughter. But still I’ve primarily been in love with words. So I told her that the beauty in her composition was a literal eye opener for me. Dance communicates, but perhaps more subtly than words.
Afterwards, sitting out on the patio under a perfectly blue desert sky, I got to thinking about how God communicates with us. He has chosen to communicate primarily through “the foolishness of preaching”, words spoken by imperfect human beings.. Now it’s true that Creation is visual. The heavens declare the glory of God and the stars seem to be dancing for joy. We can understand God’s eternal power and Godhead, according to Paul, through looking at Creation.
Still, there is something so unambiguous about words. And we can write, speak and memorize them. Jesus is THE WORD made flesh. We saw his glory but we also heard his words, believed them, and came alive to God. In the beginning was the Word, not the dance, or the painting, or the sculpture, but the WORD.