Dancing Feet

Some people are born with dancing feet. I am not. I can sing a tune, but I am not good at swaying to a rhythm. When I sang fast songs in a karaoke gathering with friends, they were like punishments for me. My friends call me the “Singing Priest,” but no one ever dared to say that I am a “Dancing Priest.”

The world is like a huge dance floor. Living is like dancing. There are two kinds of music being played: one is mundane while the other is divine. There are two-disc jockeys: the devil plays the worldly music while Jesus plays the heavenly. All of us, born with dancing feet or not, sway to the rhythm of either music. The choice is always ours: Do we dance to the rhythm of the world or to the rhythm of Christ?

John the Baptist vs Herod

John the Baptist, whose martyrdom is narrated to us by the gospel today, chose to sway with the heavenly music while Herod, Herodias, Herodias’ daughter, the courtiers and guests of Herod chose to dance to the other kind of rhythm. Thus, John was beheaded. But having been freed from this world, John now dances with Jesus, the “Lord of the Dance”.

John the Baptist is remembered as one who lost his head because Herodias’ daughter seduced Herod with her dance. John was the price paid by Herod for a seductive dance. Such a dance was too expensive, was it not?

The Choice Is Ours

That is how the world exacts fees into the dance floor. The payment is always someone’s life. It is either the dancer’s life or the life of whoever refuses to dance to the rhythm of the mundane tune. When the fee is the dancer’s life, it is to that dancer’s perdition. But if the fee is the life of one who refuses to dance to the mundane rhythm, it is that person’s liberation from this intoxicating world.

We may not be born with dancing feet, but we dance through life. As with what rhythm we sway, the choice is always ours.

O Jesus, hold my hand and sway me with Your music. Make me move according to Your rhythm. When the world tells me that I am out of rhythm according to its music, help me all the more to dance with You unto Your kingdom. Amen.


[Readings: Lv 25:1, 8-17; Ps 67:2-3, 5, 7-8; Mt 14:1-12]

Fr. Archie Tacay

I'm Padre Archie Macaroncio Tacay, CICM. I was born on April 19 and was raised in the Philippines. I entered the seminary formation of the Missionhurst-Missionaries or CICM Missionaries in 1995 and professed my religious vows in 2001. After completing my Theological studies at Maryhill School of Theology, I was sent to the US to continue my internship formation. While here in the US, I went to Oblate School of Theology, learned the Spanish language in Cuernavaca, Mexico and later on trained as a chaplain in MD Anderson Houston, Texas. Most of my assignments were in Texas, particularly in the Diocese of Brownsville and Archdiocese of San Antonio. I was ordained as a priest on May 20, 2008. My current assignment has me in Wendell, North Carolina, as Pastor of St. Eugene Church. I love outdoor sports! e.g. cycling, tennis. I also love to read books, play guitar and do nature trekking.

2 Comments

  1. Jerry DEMELO Jr on July 31, 2021 at 5:59 pm

    Fun read. Lots to think about. Thank You

  2. Rita Simmons on July 31, 2021 at 9:27 am

    I love the analogy of the dance. Point well taken.

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