23
The Round Dance of the Cross
I mbedded in the Acts of John is a famous song, with instructions for liturgical dance to accompany the hymn, here called the Round Dance of the Cross. This hymn has long attracted the attention of a variety of creative people. The novelist Marguerite Yourcenar wrote about it in L’oeuvre au noir (translated as The Abyss ), the composer Gustav Holst set it to music as The Hymn of Jesus, and the film director Luis Buñuel incorporated a version of it in his film La voie lactée (The Milky Way). The Round Dance of the Cross is followed in the Acts of John by the Revelation of the Mystery of the Cross (not translated here). Both have a distinctive character and a gnostic—even a Valentinian—flavor.
The Round Dance of the Cross employs themes familiar from the tradition of John and the Gospel of John (for example, Jesus is the word of god who recounts the mystery of suffering) within a hymn that is performed by Jesus and his followers. The hymn illustrates features familiar from gnostic texts; some scholars believe it may constitute a gnostic ritual in song and dance. The verses sung by Jesus the leader include self-declarations, some of which recall the riddlelike and paradoxical declarations of Thunder. The chorus of followers responds to the leader’s verses antiphonally by singing “Amen” and dance in a circle around him. Jesus’ assertion that he will both save and be saved parallels the roles of god and the revealer in other gnostic texts in which god and the savior give and receive salvation. Echoes of Valentinian thought may be heard in references to grace, word, the realm of eight, wisdom, and knowledge.
The textual history of the Acts of John is complex, but it is commonly assumed by scholars that the Acts of John was composed in the second half of the second century, or maybe, some would say, a little later. It was likely composed, at least in large part, in Greek, though some portions may derive from Syriac. Syria is the probable place of composition.
THE ROUND DANCE OF THE CROSS 1
Jesus told us to form a circle and hold each other’s hands, and he himself stood in the middle, and said, “Respond to me with ‘Amen.’” 2
THE SONG
So he began by singing a hymn and declaring,
“Glory to you, father.”
And we circled around him and responded to him,
“Amen.”
“Glory to you, word. Glory to you, grace.”
“Amen.”
“Glory to you, spirit. Glory to you, holy one. Glory to your glory.”
“Amen.”
“We praise you, father. We give thanks to you, light, in whom no darkness is.”
“Amen.”
“Why we give thanks, I declare:
I will be saved and I will save.”
“Amen.”
“I will be released and I will release.”
“Amen.”
“I will be wounded and I will wound.”
“Amen.”
“I will be born and I will bear.”
“Amen.”
“I will eat and I will be eaten.”
“Amen.”
“I will hear and I will be heard.”
“Amen.”
“I will be kept in mind, being all mind.”
“Amen.”
“I will be washed and I will wash.”
“Amen.”
GRACE DANCES 3
“I will play the flute. Dance, everyone.”
“Amen.”
“I will mourn. Lament, everyone.”
“Amen.”
“A realm of eight 4 sings with us.”
“Amen.”
“The twelfth number 5 dances on high.”
“Amen.”
“The whole universe takes part in dancing.”
“Amen.”
“Whoever does not dance does not know what happens.”
“Amen.”
“I will flee and I will stay.”
“Amen.”
“I will adorn and I will be adorned.”
“Amen.”
“I will be united and I will unite.”
“Amen.”
“I have no house and I have houses.”
“Amen.”
“I have no place and I have places.”
“Amen.”
“I have no temple and I have temples.”
“Amen.”
“I am a lamp to you who see me.”
“Amen.”
“I am a mirror to you who perceive me.”
“Amen.”
“I am a door to you who knock on me.”
“Amen.”
“I am a way to you, you passerby.” 6
“Amen.”
UNDERSTANDING THE SONG
“If you respond to my dance, see yourself in me as I speak, and if you have seen what I do, keep silent about my mysteries. You who dance, understand what I do, for yours is this human passion I am to suffer. You could by no means have comprehended what you suffer unless I had been sent as the word to you by the father. You who have seen what I suffer have seen me as suffering, and when you have seen it, you have not stood firm but were completely moved. You were moved to become wise, and you have me for support. Rest in me. Who I am you will know when I depart. What now I am seen to be I am not. You will see when you come. If you knew how to suffer, you would have been able not to suffer. Learn about suffering, and you will be able not to suffer. What you do not know I myself shall teach you. I am your god, not the traitor’s. I want holy souls to be in harmony with me. Know the word of wisdom. Say again with me,
Glory to you, father.
Glory to you, word.
Glory to you, spirit.
Amen.
“If you want to know what I was, once I mocked everything with the word, and I was not put to shame 7 at all. I leaped. But understand everything, and when you have understood, declare,
Glory to you, father.
Amen.