Dance for God! A sermon

For me this year, July is the month of Weddings!  Yesterday I married Elaine and Robert, next Saturday I will marry Aleisha to James , and the next week I will marry Joanie  to Brian!  It is a crazy months for me!  But although many of my colleagues do not like doing weddings for the most part, I honestly really enjoy it!  It is an opportunity to really get to know the couple intimately through marriage prep together, and then I cannot help but join in the excitement and joy when the bride walks down the aisle and meets her future husband at the front.  I get goosebumps every time!  It’s exciting to be a part of something so special, so delightful, so joyful! 

In our scripture reading today, King David and a large group of young men were bringing the Ark of the Covenant back to Jerusalem. The Ark of the Covenant filled with symbols of God’s leadership and protection - the two pieces of stone with the 10 commandments on them, Aaron's staff, and some pieces of manna.

Earlier, during a battle against the Philistines, it was decided to carry the Ark into battle for good luck.  Unfortunately the Philistines won the battle and captured the Ark and now, after many years, the Ark was finally being returned. 

As King David entered the city of Jerusalem with the Ark, he and all of Israel rejoiced and the Bible says that David was dancing before the Lord.  We read that 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.  It doesn’t get much more joyous than this!  David and the Israelites were so thankful for the return of their symbols of God’s love and providence that they couldn’t help but burst into loud and festive praise of God! 

When it comes to the ways we live out our love for God, let us follow David and the Israelite’s example and Dance with all our might.  Let us come to worship ready to praise God with music, with our prayers, with our hearts, with our actions.  Let us go out into the world and serve God with joy bursting from our hearts!  David and all of the house of Israel praised God with all their might – we too have much to celebrate. 

We are a community of believers gathered here who love and praise God in our building and outside of it in our daily tasks.  We are a community that has many people that love God and each other.  We have babies, children, teenagers, adults, and seniors – multigenerations all worshiping and loving together.  We are a group with purpose and so much going on.  We are a group that opens our doors to those who need to feel God’s love, and a group that goes into the community to try and bring God’s love to everyone. 

Today let us continue our wonderful dance of love for God with our celebration of communion.  In communion we can worship God with all of our might.  In communion we all come together collectively to be God’s children, to have a taste of God’s benevolent love within us.

This summer I have the chance to be a part of wedding worship services where we celebrate the gift God has given of the couple with all our might.  May we as a church use every Sunday service as an opportunity to worship God with the same fervour as we do in a wedding celebration!

Thanks be to God who gives us SO much to praise God for!

Amen.

A sermon on July 15th 2012, for 2 Samuel 6:15, 12b-19