Hard To Dance With the Devil On Your Back

by Ray Buckley

In every culture and time, persons of faith, of all ages, have summonedtrials and tribulations to find the endurance and strength to dance. They havedanced with the weight of the world upon their shoulders, sustained by God andothers dancing near them. Hard to Dance Withthe Devil On Your Back is a seven-session Lenten study that looks atthe transcendent struggle in the lives of believers, while helping us to enter thecontinually crumbling world surrounding Jesus and the disciples in the dayspreceding Easter. Appropriate for both group and individualuse, the study provides one session for each week in Lent. Each session includes aScripture reference, a brief reading, questions for reflection or discussion, anda prayer. The title of this study will remind you of thehymn written by Sydney Carter in 1963 "Lord of the Dance" Sessions: The Dance: 2 Corinthians 4:8-9; 2 Corinthians 12:9A Parable: Luke 12:32; Matthew 19:2-5 The Wronged: Isaiah 53:3; 1 John13:34-35; Matthew 12:20 The Wrong: Matthew 9:9-13 TheDisciple Whom Jesus Loved: Judas: John 13:21-30; 1 John 4:18 WhenWorlds Collide: Jeremiah 18:1-6; Isaiah 49:16 Dancing with Holes inYour Moccasins: Matthew 5:14; Revelation 21:3

64 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 2010

Reviews

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent Lenten study from a Native perspective of the dance. I know I will return to it again in the future.

[Bonnie Rich]

Great book, suitable for reading any time although published as a Lenten study.

[Debby Detering · Rating 5 out of 5]

This seven-meditation book for Lenten study takes its title from a song popular in the late 1960s, and currently a favorite with some of the youth in our church, "Lord of the Dance." Part of the chorus is "Dance then, wherever you may be; I am the Lord of the Dance, said He." A paragraph from the first section summarizes it nicely: "The dance of the spiritual life is real. It is about dancing when it looks like what you expected from life is crumbling. It is about dancing with burdens on your back, and still dancing. There is a Lord of the Dance and an inexplicale, inexhaustible invitation that is given to us. All of us."

Ray Buckley has written several lovely books for children with Native American backgrounds; my favorite is Christmas Moccasins. For me, a side benefit of this Lenten study has been increased awareness of Native culture and spirituality.

A couple of tidbits: I learned about the origin of Irish step dancing: "Irish clerics ruled that it was inciting immorality to move any part of your body in dance except your ankles and feet." And Ray Buckley tells the story behind his book, "The Wing."

"Hard to Dance" is definitely Christian and Biblical, but the concept of life as a dance is universal.

I didn't have the opportunity of group discussion using the Questions for Discussion and Reflection, but it's a good read either in or out of Lent. Everyone has to dance with a burden at one time or another--some many or long times--and in that respect the book is universal and not seasonal.

[Toni]

Fantastic book! It was a great Lenten devotion -- I would recommend it for anyone, anytime. Ray Buckley is one of my most favorites.