Let’s Dance

[Jesus said,] “Everyone, then, who hears these words of mine and acts on them will be like a wise man who built his house on rock. The rain fell, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall because it had been founded on rock.” – Matthew 7:24-25 (NRSV) 

“I dance during earthquakes,” my friend Camila tells me. I’m not sure I’ve heard her right. We are walking down the street in Santiago, Chile, a city whose eastern perimeter traces the San Ramon fault. A city which has been destroyed at least three times by her dancing partner. A city for whom the question of the next big one is not if, but when. 

Yet, during my stay, Camila is just one of several Santiaguinos to express a kind of affection for these natural disasters. Or at least a fearlessness in the face of them. As another friend tells me, Chileans have become experts in seismic engineering. There is no safer place to be in an earthquake than in her city. 

That’s the kind of faith that Jesus offers his listeners. Not one that promises shelter away from the storm. But one that builds along the fault line with confidence, trusting the engineering. Trusting the engineer. 

A faith that knows that in life the question of the next big storm is always when, not if. But knows that when the rains start to fall, the winds start to blow, and the earth moves under your feet, that’s the cue to start the music. Because there is no safer place to be. 

Prayer
Lord, you will turn my mourning into dancing.