”Den som inte dansar förstår inte vad som sker”

En vishetskristologisk analys av danshymnen i Johannesakterna med cirkeldansen som tolkningsmönster

Abstract

This article presents a new and complete translation into Swedish of The Dance Hymn, a liturgical hymn in the Acts of John. The purpose is to interpret how Christ represents Wisdom and how the hymn could have been understood as a ritual by the participants. To answer my questions I use a phenomenological ap- proach, including the contemporary practice of circle dance as an interpretative framework. On the basis of literary studies, phenomological theory and inter- views I have constructed a tool for my analysis which I call ”the order of the circle dance”. I find that Christ in the hymn appears as both immanent and trans- cendent, and is identical with Wisdom. The hymn’s image of Wisdom is strongly associated with dance and movement, being rooted in Jewish Wisdom literature and its traditional concept of Wisdom dancing and playing in the beginning of the world. Christ is the mediator whose role is to unite the participants in the ritual of the hymn with Divine Wisdom who exists beyond all metaphors and concepts for God. In my interpretation I find that those taking part in the rite are given oppor- tunity to rest in the inner room that has been prepared trough the rite, and to be connected to Christ who is understood to be present in the centre of the circle. The ritual also enables participants to find rest in the non-hierarchical community of the circle and in their belief in the heavenly dance and their divine origin.