SO WHEN THEY ASK by Robert Soto

SO WHEN THEY ASK by Robert Soto

March 10, 2010

Exodus 12:26-27 "And when your children ask you, "What does this ceremony mean to you?" then tell them, "It is the Passover sacrifice to the LORD..."

This past weekend was a weekend of remembering. I was supposed to take it easy because of some heart trouble I had had the week before. It had put me in the hospital for three days. So I did one dance and spoke and sang with our drum the rest of the time at the festival. Sometimes I just stopped drumming and observed my nephews and nieces, and my children and grandchild. I noticed they had grown up so fast. Most of them were in their late teens. They danced with such authority and with the power of their youth. Later that night we walked and danced through a short parade. It was then that my three-year old grandson took off like a stroke of lighting. He kept dancing like there was no tomorrow. He danced as if he knew that this is his calling in life. He danced as if he knew why he was dancing. When he was not dancing he would walk and wave at the people just like the adults.

But I wonder just how much he really knows and if he really understands that this is much more than a dance - it is his life and a representation of who God the Creator made him to be. Someone once asked us why our children were not afraid to dance. They were having problems with their grandchildren who had all the right things but did not know what to do with them. Our answer: "This is not a choice, it is a way of life." All of our children were born into a Lipan Apache family. They have heard the drum and song since before they were born. When their little eyes started to focus, they saw their parents and older family members dancing. They might not have understood who they were as Lipan Apaches, but they knew one thing: the dancing, singing and drumming was a part of life. So one day, they will see us dance. They will hear our songs and they will ask, "Why do we do this?" And we will turn to them and say, "We are Lipan Apaches." That is what Moses said about the children of Israel, "And when your children ask you, 'What does this ceremony mean to you?' then tell them..."

Robert Soto, Lipan Apache and pastor of:

McAllen Grace Brethren Church
The Native American New Life Center
Chief of Chiefs Christian Church