ADVENT WEEK THREE
December 18, 2020
Dance with Joy
2 Samuel 6:12-19
David, dressed in a linen priestly vest, danced with all his strength before the Lord. This is how David and the entire house of Israel brought up the Lord’s chest with shouts and trumpet blasts. 2 Samuel 6:14-15 (Common English Bible)
On a brisk, sunny morning last January, our assembly of jet-lagged seminary students passed underneath the Dung Gate of Jerusalem, emerging in awestruck joy within the walls of Old Jerusalem. The sacred geography pressed me with its weight of time and managed to give me a strange kiss of responsibility and challenge whispering: What will you do with this place?
Thousands of years before our moment of awe, David, fresh from victory against the Jebusites, makes his ingenious political move to denominate ‘Ir David, Jerusalem, as a neutral seat of his government.
Unlike our entrance, his entrance is made with tremendous fanfare, dancing, music, and holy sacrifices. David is dressed in priestly garb, representing his role as king-priest, leading the seat of Yahweh, the mobile God, into this place selected for what will be its unifying role for the people of God. Yahweh seems to have had to consider being ready for domestication, having killed an attendant in a twitchy moment a few months beforehand. But the partnership now becomes settled, and the people are celebrating this new relationship’s beginning as expressively as possible. God is here among the people, kindling joy within them and their new experiment in kingship.
Jerusalem is still resplendent with sacred celebration. Christian bells, Muslim calls to prayer, and Jewish chants intermingle in constant calls for respite and unity with God. Dance and be joyful as the holy story continues.
Sandy Shapoval
Dean of the Library and Research Services
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