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Scripture Text (NRSV)

 

2 Samuel 6:1-5, 12b-19

 

6:1 David again gathered all the chosen men of Israel, thirty thousand.

6:2 David and all the people with him set out and went from Baale-judah, to bring up from there the ark of God, which is called by the name of the LORD of hosts who is enthroned on the cherubim.

6:3 They carried the ark of God on a new cart, and brought it out of the house of Abinadab, which was on the hill. Uzzah and Ahio, the sons of Abinadab, were driving the new cart

6:4 with the ark of God; and Ahio went in front of the ark.

6:5 David and all the house of Israel were dancing before the LORD with all their might, with songs and lyres and harps and tambourines and castanets and cymbals.

6:12b So David went and brought up the ark of God from the house of Obed-edom to the city of David with rejoicing;

6:13 and when those who bore the ark of the LORD had gone six paces, he sacrificed an ox and a fatling.

6:14 David danced before the LORD with all his might; David was girded with a linen ephod.

6:15 So David and all the house of Israel brought up the ark of the LORD with shouting, and with the sound of the trumpet.

6:16 As the ark of the LORD came into the city of David, Michal 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.

6:17 They brought in the ark of the LORD, and set it in its place, inside the tent that David had pitched for it; and David offered burnt offerings and offerings of well-being before the LORD.

6:18 When David had finished offering the burnt offerings and the offerings of well-being, he blessed the people in the name of the LORD of hosts,

6:19 and distributed food among all the people, the whole multitude of Israel, both men and women, to each a cake of bread, a portion of meat, and a cake of raisins. Then all the people went back to their homes.

 

Comments:

 

Dance, then, wherever you may be! Relate this OT story with the NT story with the theme of dancing. David was dance for God's glory to give worship. Herod's daughter was dancing to deceive, to gain fortune and to play on Herod's sexual deviance. How can these two relate together? When do we dance? Do we dance the dance of life or of death?

Padre DWB in Ontario


This scripture speaks to me about the way worship gets fixed. When the ark of God came to rest in Jerusalem after its long journey from Egypt, the focus of Israelite worship and theology made an adrupt shift from tabernacle or pitching tent with God worship to a more structured or institutionalized worship. When worship gets fixed in the mind of the worshipper, one begins develop turf issues where worship only feels right in familiar territory. Territory may only involve one place of worship although it can be the territory of denominational. Along with this, worshippers develop a very elitist mentality. Ours is the only right way or we are the only ones going to heaven. This maybe a good place to interject Jesus' comments made to the woman at the well with regard to where one should worship. Maybe King David would not have danced for joy if he could look down through the ages to see how the leaders of temple worship would eventual treat his Messiah descendent. TN Mack


This text reminded me of a sermon by a U.M.C. Bishop White, I believe given at annual conference that year in Springfield? I am not UMC but was impressed with a video of the sermon, "I Could Have Danced All Night." He was actually preaching on a Psalm that referred to dancing, but does anyone know where that sermon text might be? I'd just like to read it again. Pastor G


I'm currently on study leave at Pendle Hill in Pa (a Quaker retreat center). There are teens here too (not with me), and last night they had a group called "Quaker Gansta" do a rap version of "Lord of the Dance" (among other traditional hymns... including "In the Garden" !!!). People got up and started dancing along and I thought that George Fox would be rolling over in his grave. But I was impressed that these teenagers were finding their own way to express their faith, which was just as authentic as the traditional faith. David is a good example to us.

DGinNYC


This text might actually scandalize my congregation!

I might do something I learned as a youth counselor at a youth retreat years ago - you can do the Bunny Hop to "Lord of the Dance."

It's the first text I've read and I'm going to go with it and call it "Shall We Dance?"

Oh, this is going to be fun!

Smart Blonde in GA


I'm calling my sermon "Bustin' a Move for God."

I am going to include the material the lectionary leaves out, reading all of verses 6:1-9. That doesn't mean I'll try to cover everything in my message.

The message seems to be that the Lord's blessing is upon those who stay close to the Lord, who abide in the Lord -- and the Lord's blessing is to be celebrated with worship and praise, including singing and dancing.

This passage does a lot of things, me-thinks, covering verses 1-19: * Establisheds the City of David as Israel's religious capital as well as its political capital. * It depicts a great celebration in the form of worship. Raisin cakes -- whoo-hoo! :-) * It tells me its hazardous to offend (or give ofense to) the Lord. * It illustrates the power of God's blessing(s).

This is my second week in a row on the OT and King David. We can't really understand the life and times of Jesus apart from the life and times of his ancestor, David, so hopefully it's worthwhile to remind people about who he was and why he was so important to Israel.

Dave in West Ohio


 It's been a long while since I've posted to this site, but I've continued reading posts here regularly, and they've often been quite helpful in sermon prep. Here's a thought that's been running around in my head this week. While I was reading this passage (and the Gospel, in juxtaposition), a line kept coming into my mind from "The Lobster's Quadrille," the song sung by the Mock Turtle in Alice's Adventures in Wonderland-- "Will you, won't you, will you, won't you, will you, won't you join the dance?"

God invites us to dance. Sometimes, we accept, and we dance like we've never danced before (witness David's cavorting in front of the Ark). Other times, we decide that we'd rather dance to our own beat, thank you very much, and we go off in another direction (ala Herodias' daughter). "Will you, won't you, join the dance?" Or, to put it another way, from the wonderful Roger's and Hammerstein hit, "The King and I," 'Shall we dance?' Our congregation is in the midst of discerning God's plan for our future, so I think that this Sunday's challenge will be to ask ourselves, "Shall we dance?" Or, whose side are you dancing on? Will you, won't you. . .

macdonde (in exile in Newcastle upon Tyne)


On further study, there's much more going on than meets the eye in this text. I've ended up with more questions than answers.

Why did Michal look at David with contempt? She saw him dancing, but why was that contemptible in her eyes? Scripture doesn't say. A scriptural mystery?

Next, that he was girded with a linen ephod suggests that he was dancing ritualistically. I don't know if it's as ritualistic as, say, the Shakers, where the steps are all choreographed and that particular dance is what they do every week, or if his dance resembled an African or Native American or Polynesian religious ritual .. or, if he was just free-styling it, dancig with abandon.

Also: does anyone else draw a parallel between v. 19 and the feeding of the multitudes in the gospels? The ark is with them, having been out of their presence and kept from them, and now the presence of God is among them and food is distributed among all hte people. Likewise, when Jesus comes, the word made flesh, he feeds people with a miracle of fish and bread. Too far a stretch?

Also, I'd like any suggestions on incorporating some words of assurance for our congregation who just lost a dear member to cancer this week. The grief in this declining church is very real.

Sally in GA


Dear Sally in GA and other DPSers - I am new to this site and new to preaching. This will be my first time on the other side of the pulpit, so send up a prayer for me. Sally, you mentioned the grief in your congregation and I want to suggest that you take a look at the Mark 6: 14-29 text. It's about John's death, but it comes in the midst of some wonderful text about miracles, healing and feeding the multitudes. God's power abounds in the midst of tragedy.

As for Michal, if you read the version of this in 1 Chronicles 13 (?) I think you will get more clarity. It seems that David may have worn the over garment (the ephod), which is described much like an "apron" of sorts, without anything else. He is exposing himself (literally) for the world, with out care. I am trying to point out David's transformation from one in King's robes at the beginning of the celebration and where he ends up, praising God in a priest's robe (a servant's role)at the end. I see it as a challenge to let our light shine as Jesus did. Hillary, NJ


Sally in GA, As I have briefly studied this passage, a large part of her despise probably came from the reality that the line to the throne has forever shifted from Saul's descendants to David's. This dynamic maybe the major reason people from an older generation often despise contemporary worship. So it goes with anything that breaks with tradition. Yet, God has the final say. Worship styles may change, but God chooses to bless many different style in different circumstances. Once God withdraws the Holy Spirit from one and places it on another, worship gets fixed until God chooses to unsettle that which gets fixed even that which seems to be set in stone. TN Mack


Greetings, colleagues! Thanks for all of your wonderful comments. Wish you had been there during some of those post-Easter Sundays when I was verging on desperate and there were few postings. I'm linking the Mark, the Amos and the Samuel for a kind of brooding sermon about being hated for faith. The main gist is how God can call us to do things that will cause us to be despised by those who disagree. I've had some life experiences on this one from doing AIDS ministry and ministry to the mentally ill. I think I'm calling it something like, "But God told me to!" Main problem with this sermon so far is how to address the issue of false prophets and those who do harm in the name of the Prince of Peace. Thanks for all the great ideas so I can abandon this if need be and talk about dance! Red-Headed Rev. in Redneck VA


Someone once said that statistics are like bikinis- what they reveal is interesting, what they conceal is vital... I feel the same way about this reading. There's lots of great stuff in the dancing, and Michal and all that...

But there's something important here, too, about Uzzah being struck down, and David being angry and afraid, and leaving the ark with Obed-edom out of fear. The dance seems, in part, a reconciliation. Is David dancing in acknowledgement that this God who is vast and frightening and does things we don't understand is still worth dancing for?

There's also an intriguing connection between the city of Baal-perazim (5:19-20) where God burst forth on David's behalf against the Philistines, and Perez-uzzah where God burst forth against Uzzah. One named in celebration, one named in fear and anger. Both because God burst out. God bursts out- and we can dance about that, or not.

I am reminded also of the Beaver's description of Aslan- "If there's anyone who can appear before Aslan without their knees knocking, they're either braver than most or else just silly... Safe?... Who said anything about safe? 'Course he isn't safe. But he's good. He's the King."

Sometimes dancing is a good way of keeping your knees from knocking, too.

Or am I just being unnecessarily negative because it's raining?

nay-oh-mee


I often read this site and get valuable insights, but rarely post. i want to offer a different twist on the Michal story. there is a great deal of talk about her not being blessed and the switch from the Saulide line to the Davidic line but ...

What if she was speaking as a prophet to David. And she, like J Bap, was persecuted for it. The Torah states that it is a sin to show oneself in public, but yet here is David, the leader, ruler and King, strutting his stuff and "letting it all hang out." She loved him once (1 Sam.), but she sees what power has done and how it corrupts. Is he doing this out of respect for God or political gain?

On another note,I am titling this sermon, Baila con Dios. The Spanish use this term - dance with God. I'm thinking about starting this sermon from the back of the sanctuary and just dancing my way up to the pulpit, using only the music in my head.

Jen in PA


I think Michal is pivital in this text. First she is not described as David's spouse, but rather as Saul's daughter. Love is not mentioned but rather "she despised him in her heart." If we were to continue in Michal's history, we would learn that from this time forward she had no more children. We reap what we sew. We can dance in love and service to the Lord or we can stew and hate with the leadership of satan. Are we willing to dance? What dance are we dancing and where is our heart? This is an excellent passage to re-vision our worship to God. Do we worship for God or for ourselves? Dale in Michigan


or did David cut her off, because he could not hear her speaking the truth to him. The NIB has an interesting commentary on how David uses this entrance for his political advantages. Can Michal see that and it costs her a child?


The OT and Gospel lessons seem to be inviting some kind of reflections on what it means to have a body. David allows his body to be an instrument of praise in worship of God, and Michal is scandalized by it, echoing many others in centuries sense. Our Jewish roots lead us to value the body as a good gift of God, and the sexuality that is wired into our bodies. The Gospel lesson, in contrast, shows what happens when the body becomes itself an object of worship. The dance of Herod's daughter in law leads him to lose all perspective as he is overcome by her sexual charms. There is much in our culture that seems to echo this story, the distortion in which sex is used to sell just about anything. As Christians we are called to find a God-grateful appreciation of body and sexuality, that does not idolize the body, but doesn't run from it either. St. Francis, aware of the dangers of the passions of the body to lead astray, completely abused his body, only to repent of his treatment of "brother body" as he lay dying from years of body neglect. Christians often seem a disembodied lot; afraid of our sensuality. David calls us back to inhabiting our body as a means of giving God praise. I'm not sure of the connection of Ephesians other than its thrice repeated affirmation that we are to be the praise of God. Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, strenght and mind. The whole package. Jeff, NJ


Perhaps the connection between 2 Samuel and Ephesians is that we have much reason for praise: we have been chosen to be holy and blameless in his sight; the Gentiles were predestined to be adopted as God's children through Jesus Christ; through Christ, we have redemption and forgiveness of our sins; God made known to us the mysteries of his will, etc. Need I say more. So why shouldn't we dance as King David did? We have so much for which to sing and dance and give praise. David had reason to dance. Michal was deaf to the Lord, therefore, she had no reason to dance and was blind to David's reason for celebration. Maybe she was jealous? Point the finger at someone for doing something different in an attempt to worship God and it covers up your feelings of unworthiness, maybe covers up your guilt for your own sins. In his joy and celebration, David let his inhibitions down. He stripped himself of all that separated him from total worship of his God. Maybe we need to examine our own inhibitions and do a little "stripping" ourselves. What keeps us from being in total submission to God? What prevents us from worshipping God completely? What fears keep our witness silent before the masses? Things to think about.

Rev. Cheryl Stratton Pastor, Tyner UMC Tyner, IN


Sally in GA--

I don't know if this is helpful at all, but something about the physical presence of the ark is comforting to me. Certainly it's not just comforting--people who touch it get zapped, etc. But the thought of God with us in that very powerful way may be something to hang on to. And of course there's the image of the faithful dancing in response, in this life and the next. My prayers are for you and your congregation in your grief.

Laura in S. Texas


Hey,

I'd like to just compliment you all on some of the finest contributions I've ever read on a DPS lectionary board. Really good stuff here on the 2 Samuel passage, digging into it in any number of excellent and thought-provoking ways. I want to welcome Hillary in NJ to the board and to this side of the pulpit, and I'm sure we all join in asking God's blessing upon you as you make your "debut" this weekend. Trust the Spirit's leading. I also thought your suggestion to Sally in Ga. for dealing with the grief issue through the Gospel lection was an incisive idea for linking text and circumstances. Finally, to Red-Headed Rev. in Redneck VA, as the father of a 23-year-old son who is disabled with paranoid schizophrenia, I just want to say thank you for your ministry to and with the mentally ill. God bless you!

dave k. / west ohio

 


nay-oh-=mee - I don't think you're being too negative; the so-called "negativity" is what the bikini (as someone else suggested) is concealing.

I don't think we're doing justice to the text by trying to guess what's going on in Michal's mind. Scripture doesn't specifically say why she despised David.

I'm thinking metaphorically (and if anyone is still here on a Saturday, I'd appreciate input). The ephod, or apron, is a ritualistic garment used in worship, and he is naked beneath it. I'm thinking in terms of "baring our souls" before God.

I also don't think this text is exclusively about changing worship styles, though there does seem to be an element of that. Without knowing what's really going on in Michal's head, we can't presume that she's despising David because of his dancing, and therefore can't turn her into a personification of all "traditional" worshipers.

Such is my difficulty with the text. There's more than meets the eye, as any bikini-wearer demonstrates.

The words to "I hope you dance" come to mind. I hate that schmaltzy song, but the words ring true; the hope that we never lose our sense of wonder, as David is showing before the Lord. Dancing with all his might, whether for atonement, reconciliation, or pure joy, the dance is one of worship and is "with all his might."

Sally in GA


Sally in GA Yes. there are a few of us out here working on Sunday's message on the day before. I have just moved into a new parish and have little time during the week to really focus on the message so . . .

I, too am working on the idea of dance being a perfectly appropriate way of praising God. Though not traditionally held as appropriate in our Methodist back ground, it is in our heiratage going back into the Hebrew scriptures as this Sunday's text shows and as we remember such passages as Miriam dancing in thanksgiving and praise at the safe crossing of the sea.

As far as Michal's reaction, while there is a wonderful tradition in the Jewish traditions of thinking about the scriptures and seeing where that leads, expanding on them etc, (though I can't come up with the proper term for it right now of course) how much of that can we put in a sermon? I don't have the answer other than we do need to be careful about setting our own ideals into that situation and then calling it God's words.

just a few thoughts on this Saturday morning before I head off to another "getting-to-know-the-new-pasor" gathering.

Blessings on all of your Saturday and or Sunday worship times and on your ministries.

Shalom Nancy in NE

P.S. please excuse the spelling, there is a reason I was not called to be a secretary. (-:


I'm stuck, stuck, stuck.

Maybe the best way is to go with what I've been struggling with - and that is to know what's going on in Michal's mind. It seems that her despising David, and preventing an heir, is pretty crucial to the message - but WHY???? Why is she despising him? I mean, she alters the whole salvation story!!!

And the text doesn't tell us whether David knew Michal despised him (though, I suppose he figured it out after sleeping on the couch). Still, the dancing and the shouting and the music goes on, rejoicing in the safe arrival of the ark - and the people are fed, the multitude of Israel.]

Sally


I recall my younger daughter's first baby cereal. With her, the pediatricians were recommending to feed your baby only breast milk or formula for an entire six months. Well, my little one was hungry, and I gave in to her fussing when she was a little over 5 months old. I couldn't hold out, and I was nursing her constantly!

Well, at her first bite of cereal mixed with milk, that little baby cheered! Wiggled in her seat and cheered! as if to say, "Finally! Something to eat around here."

What if the word of God were taken from us and we couldn't go to the corner bookstore to buy a new Bible? What if we were hungry, and food was kept from us? Wouldn't we cheer and rejoice at its return?

In a day and age of plenty, it's hard to put ourselves in the shoes of the millions of people literally starving for food, and starving for God's presence. What if the metaphorical ark were taken from us - and, metaphorically speaking, aren't we guilty of removing it from our own presence? When we return to the Lord, there is joy and abandon.

Still smart, still, blonde, still Sally in GA


Boy, am I eating my words! I was trying to stop at v. 19, and I think I'm going to expand the reading through v. 23. I'd read my interpreter's earlier, but I guess I got sidetracked and stuck without my resources.

Sorry to all

Blushingly yours, Sally


probably no-one is writing their sermon this late, but i can only write mine under pressure! I found an interesting quote from Sydney Carter on his Lord of the Dance hymn "I see Christ as the piper who is calling us. He dances that shape and pattern which is at the heart of our reality.....i sing of the dancing pattern in the life and words of Jesus". I kinda like that...for more see www.stainer.co.uk

Nicola Trinty Anglican, Aurora, Ontario