July 13, 2003
|
|
|
|
Things were good for David. Jerusalem had been established as the capital of a united Israel, and he presided over the military and political center of the country. Now David wants Jerusalem to be the religious center as well. He knows that the way to accomplish his goal is by bringing the Ark of the Covenant to the Jerusalem and then by giving it a prominent place in the city. What is the Ark of the Covenant and where has it been? “The
ark of God was the chief symbol of the Lord’s presence in the midst of Israel.
It was a gilded box made of acacia wood (Exodus
25.10-22; 37.1-9) surmounted
by winged cherubim, which served as a pedestal for the invisibly enthroned
God” (New Interpreters Bible,
volume II. Nashville. Abingdon Press. 1988, 1248).
It moved when the people moved. They carried the symbol of God with them
wherever they went. I Samuel 4-6 tells us that the ark was captured by the Philistines at Shiloh. They moved it from place to place for seven months. Eventually they brought the ark to the house of Abinadab where it stayed for twenty years. When
David and his thirty thousand soldiers retrieved the ark, they didn’t just
bring it to Jerusalem, they danced it back. Theirs was no solemn ceremony; it
was a celebration of the power and blessing of God.
And
then tragedy struck. As they were making their way to Jerusalem, Abinadab’s
son Uzzah noticed that the ark was unsteady. By instinct, he reached to steady
it and was struck dead. The music stopped, everything stopped. And it seemed to
David and I am sure it seems to us that death is out of proportion for putting
one’s hand on the ark. What is going on? One commentary offers some
understanding. “We
know that the ark was by law, to be carried on poles by Levites (the priestly
class), but it has instead been loaded on an oxcart. Was Uzzah responsible for
this? Is his haste to prevent the toppling of the ark but his own attempt to
avoid the consequences of poor judgment in transporting the holy presence? As a
priest, did he not know that touching the ark is forbidden? Such questions
cannot be answered, but the death of Uzzah can stand as a reminder of the danger
of trying to manage God’s holiness. What should be reverence and awe before
God gives way to the notion that we can put our hands on God” (NIB,
1252). David
decides that the ark is too powerful for him to bring to Jerusalem. He leaves it
at the home of Obed-edom. Eventually David heard that in the three months the
ark had been at his house, Obed-edom and his household had been blessed. We
learn one more time that where God is present, blessing is present, favor is
present, well-being is present. Life is good in the presence of God. It is not
problem-free, but is good. That is why so many people of deep faith can praise
God even in painful situations. They know that to be in the presence of God
anytime is to be in the presence of the One who eases pain and makes life
bearable. That is why people who’ve come through hard times can say, “if
it was not for the Lord who was on my side, where would I be” (Psalm
124). God is present in this place, and our
dance needs to get started. David arrives at the home of Obed-edom wearing an ephod, a garment worn only by the priests. David makes a sacrifice, cues the musicians and resumes the dance. He is exuberant and we are told that he dances with all his might. Walter
Brueggemann describes this way. “The mood and intent of the celebration is one
of unfettered, unashamed extravagance. Everyone has cause to rejoice, because
life has started again. In addition to liturgical and social extravagance, there
is royal extravagance. David broke any sedate royal pose he might have assumed
when he danced without restraint before the ark and in the presence of the
people. David symbolizes the gratitude of his people” (Interpretation
series. I and II Samuel. Walter Brueggemann. Louisville. John Knox Press.
1990, p.250). What
would make you dance like David danced? Understand that I am using dance as a
metaphor for praise. What is it that would cause us to dance with the joy and
praise of God? What is it in our life together that is somewhere away from us,
but if we could go and bring it back, it would make all the difference in the
world. Is it something tangible? Is it a person who gave their time and talent
to us but is no longer here? Is
it something else, our hopes, our dreams, a sense of well-being, a sense of
security, that assurance that God is in this place and in our hearts? What is it
that was prominent in this place or was once held in higher esteem than it is
now? And if we could get it, we would be careful to bring it back and use it to
the glory of God? What is missing here that if it were present would make us
dance? Let
me suggest five things. I want us to recover what has gone away, and strengthen
where it is present these things: community,
education, evangelism, stewardship, and mission. When we bring
these to a prominent place in our congregational life, amazing things will
happen. Did
you know that Broad Street Christian Church is the oldest Disciples congregation
in Columbus? We have a history, let’s celebrate it and share it. How can our
money support our ministries, express our faith and empower the church? It
occurs when we can give knowing that as we do, we are saying that we will
support the ministries that are important to us here. And
what is the good news about mission? It is that mission is simply what the
church does. To not be in mission beyond our walls is to risk not being the
church. We will not grow stronger if we pay no attention to people outside our
walls, we will grow weaker. We do not want to be weak; we want to be strong by
reaching out to others with our time and with our talent and treasure. By the
way, when you want to give to disaster relief, a check to the Red Cross is good.
But a check given to Week of Compassion will help people in need and at the same
time strengthen the church’s witness. Imagine what God will do through us as
we recover those things that are vital to who we are as members of Christ’s
church. Recovery
will not be easy. Know that as we go and bring back things that are important to
us, some people will be unhappy. They may simply ask, is this really necessary,
we’ve done without them up until now, so why change? Others will watch and say
of the excitement and the commotion, did you have to be so loud when you came
back? Get control of yourself, we don’t do emotional around here. David
would understand. When he brought the ark to Jerusalem, people gathered to watch
him dance. His servants were there, so was his wife Michal, the daughter of Saul
with whom David was sometimes in favor and sometimes out. She was the sister of
his beloved friend Jonathan. Michal and David did not have the strongest
marriage. They are not the Huxtables. Theirs was more of a soap opera marriage.
Here is a little bit of their story. “Saul
had reluctantly given her as wife to David after his payment of a brideprice
(I Samuel 18.20-29),
but she was given to Palti as wife when David became a
fugitive from Saul (I Samuel 25.44).
David required Abner to restore Michal to him as a
condition for accepting Abner’s support, and Michal was forcibly taken from a
weeping Palti and brought to David”
(II Samuel 3.15-16). Watching
his frenzied dancing, Michal seems to feel that his behavior was inappropriate
for a king. He has lowered himself to the basest of men. Perhaps as royal
herself she has her own conception of protocol, and this son of a shepherd does
not meet the standard. (NIB, p.1250).
She
sees her husband the king dancing into town, he may have stripped to his
underwear, he may be totally naked. Michal is mortified and embarrassed. She is
not pleased by his public display of worship. She scolds him for exposing
himself to the help. This is not royal behavior. It is a undignified. It is just
tacky. We
may hear, as we retrieve our sense of community, education, evangelism,
stewardship, and mission some scolding because change is hard, and it means that
we will have to make some adjustments. Why
do we need more people here – I know everyone, more people will disturb our
tight community. Education is for children. I am an adult; I already know all
that I need to know about faith. Evangelism? That is for those fundamentalists,
we have been on this corner since 1907, people can find us if they want to come
here. Stewardship? Well, the economy is uneasy, besides I give what I can to the
church and I also support other charities. Mission? That is just a “churchy”
word for social work, and we are here for higher purposes. So, we hear in them
what David heard, “why are you so excited and why are you acting so
foolishly?” Critiques
will come, but like David we have to say, We are going to do what we have to do
anyway. God has brought us to this place. We are about ministry to the glory of
God. David said, “God has brought me to this place and God has made it
possible for me to bring the ark to Jerusalem. You may have been disgusted, but
a new day has come and those who get it, even among the maids will honor me and
bring honor to God.” What
would make you dance, I know some of you dance socially, and you do it well, but
what would make you dance here? How about recovering the all that will renew us
and help us to go and share the good news of Jesus Christ? We
can say who we are, here we are, why we are grateful to God and why we want to
be bigger, stronger, and better all to the glory of God. We want the community
here to be faithful, concerned about life inside and life outside these walls,
and concerned for the whole church of Jesus Christ. We want this church to be
generous, compassionate, and enthusiastic. We want to live out the understanding
that learning is a life-long process and that we cannot reach a point of
satisfaction with what we know about God, that is why Vacation Bible School
offers classes for adults. The more we study, reflect, and act, the deeper our
relationship with God will grow. We can dance and claim the witness of the Ephesians, as we remember how God has blessed and chosen us, adopted and been gracious to us, redeemed and offered us forgiveness, wisdom and faith. When we remember we will be in God’s own time gathered up to receive our inheritance, how can we not set our hope in Christ and live and dance for the praise and glory of God? We can dance to joy, praise with joy, give God the glory with joy and with joyous praise and dancing spirits, we can offer ourselves to God (adapted from Led By Love. Lavon Bayler. Cleveland. United Church Press. 1996, p.121).Dr.
LaTaunya M. Bynum |
|
Broad
Street Christian Church
|
