16 July, 2006
Old Testament Lesson: 2 Samuel 6.1-5; 12b-16 (Excerpted: "David and all the house of Israel led the ark of the covenant into Jerusalem, and they were dancing before the Lord with all their might, with songs and lyres and harps and tambourines and castanets and cymbals...David, who was a 'man after God's own heart,' danced before the Lord with all his might. David was girded only with a linen ephod...As the ark of the Lord came into the city of David, Michal, the daughter of Saul, looked out of the window, and saw King David leaping and dancing before the Lord; and she despised him in her heart...And when David returned to bless his household, Michal, the daughter of Saul, came out to meet David, and said: 'How the king of Israel honored himself today, uncovering himself before the eyes of his servants' maids, vulgar and shamelessly.' And David said to Michal: 'It was before the Lord that I have danced. And I will make myself even more contemptible in doing this.' (which is to say, as far as dancing goes, you have not seen anything yet)...And Michal, the daughter of Saul, had no child to the day of her death."
New Testament Lesson for the day: Ephesians 1.3-14 (Excerpted): "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing...just as he chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world...he destined us for adoption as his children through Jesus Christ, according to the good pleasure of his will...according to the riches of his grace that he lavished on us. With all wisdom and insight he has made known to us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure, that he set forth in Christ, as a plan for the fullness of time, to gather up all things in him, things in haven and things on earth. In Christ we have obtained this inheritance...and you were marked with a seal of the promised Holy Spirit..."
Today we will dance. Or at least we shall do so vicariously though our liturgical dancer, Pat Gagne.
Dancing our faith has a long history throughout scripture and in the church. Nietzsche once said that "all education consists of learning to sing and dance well." He may be on to something.
After a lecture by the renowned 20th century theologian, Karl Barth, someone from the audience asked a testy question: "Can Christians Dance?" He paused a moment and then replied: "Some can; some can't." Which is to make, yet another worthy point, beyond the question asked, always the best way (not so much to "answer") but to respond.
The Old Testament Psalms were obviously danced in worship, for there are many instructions to the musicians, which we find written in the Psalms themselves. In the scriptures, dancing is described as "showing agility," "whirling" (like the created dizziness of children), "skipping about," and "leaping," which was often accompanied with Tumbrel and singing. There is the "Dance of Deliverance" by Miriam. Passover included a "limping dance," which portrayed how Jacob limped into the promised kingdom after wrestling with the "night force," and, no doubt, mirroring the difficulties of escaping Egypt.
The season of Pentecost, which we are now in, is about passion, or being "filled" with the Holy Spirit in our lives. It is as if, we "can't help ourselves"; it is the insistent tapping foot to good music.
David was exuberant of spirit, "dancing with all his might," before the Lord. And David was a "man after God's own heart." We are constantly reminded of this throughout the Scriptures. It sounds like the heart of God is dance. And over what? --- That the actual "Presence" of God, represented by the Ark of the Covenant, was to dwell among them, and for sure.
The irony of Micah was that she could not join the dance, and she is, for that reason, "cursed" --- which is what not bearing children meant back then. So here is a warning to us as well, that a passionless refusal to participate in the dance, means that we cannot or will not know the joy when it is time for us to be a part of it. And when is this time to take part? When we "cannot help ourselves" and we cannot do anything else? And what does it take to "get to that place?"
The New Testament Ephesians text speaks of this "overflowing" of richness, being "blessed with every spiritual blessing," of "fullness," "pleasure," "lavished upon us," a "seal of inheritance," and "gathering of all creation" with this "mark or promise of the Holy Spirit, or Presence of God." It may be that for this kind of joy, we can only sing and dance our way into it.
Dance is the only art form where the artist and the art become as one. We must be the good news, and failing to join in is the absence of life itself.
David dressed up as a Priest, even going so far as to become "one of them," bringing the Ark to Jerusalem, uniting all the warring kingdoms. So in effect, he is saying to Micah, and to us...as far as this kind of dancing goes, "you have not seen anything yet," and if that is what you call it, "I will make myself even more despicable."
Sometimes you can't help yourself. You just have to dance.
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