I ask you, did you ever have the urge to burst out in song and dance in the local grocery store, walking down the street, or even while sitting or standing in church?
There is a phenomenon in America called a flash mob. It is defined by Wikipedia as the following: “A flash mob (or flashmob) is a group of people who assemble suddenly in a public place, perform an unusual and sometimes seemingly pointless act for a brief time, then disperse, often for the purposes of entertainment, satire, artistic expression.”
Movie musicals and Broadway plays have long used a “flash mob mindset”, if you will. I’m no expert why musicals have long been popular, except that they are enjoyable to watch with their sometimes inspiring songs and dance routines. Who can ever forget Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers routines, or Gene Kelly “Singing in the Rain”. One of my favorite musicals of all time is “Fiddler on the Roof” with the tug of war between religious change and “Tradition”. The younger generation can likely name more contemporary musicals that had an impact on them where one singer or dancer starts, and then finally a whole “mob” of singers and dancers join in.
I'm a boy that who grew up Mennonite with Amish roots that has had the urge at times to break out in song and dance, sometimes in public places. My wife and son laugh when I talk about it. I know a bystander would not encounter ballet-like dance moves emanating from me, and they might clap their hands over their ears to stop the noise. But the urge still remains.
Where does this urge come from? I think it is the same type of feeling that some of us felt as kids when we dreamed of flying like a bird, or floating up in the air like a balloon.
I have a hypothesis. I’m not much into science, but it seems to me like the desire to break out in song and dance, to fly, and even lift our hands in praise comes from an innate desire to ascend into heavenly realms. Perhaps it is God calling us to Himself.
Lest a person thinks a Mennonite boy with Amish roots should be a picture of humility and not succumb to such foolishness I ask them to look up in the Bible Jeremiah 31:12-14, Luke 7:32, or the story of David dancing with all his might when he brought the Ark of the Covenant back to Jerusalem (2 Samuel 6:14).
Perhaps someday some of us will lose our inhibitions and break out into our own impromptu flash mob or musical for the Lord.
See you next time,
Arlen
3 comments:
Smile... I dare you! Maybe Dee will join you. I'd love to be in a flash singing mob. That would be so much fun.
Hehe - love it. Would love to see it, too - and I think I agree with your hypothesis.
Thanks Yvonne and Joanne for your comments. One of these days maybe I might just do it. I would feel better if it was a planned event and others would take part in the action.
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