"Celebrate"

             When’s the last time you danced in church?

            Our focus at Christ UMC this Sunday is on celebrating God’s presence in our lives.  We begin with a passage from the Hebrew Scriptures about how King David celebrated God’s presence.  In this story, David has successfully moved the Ark of the Covenant into the City of Jerusalem.  This was an important accomplishment. 

The Ark of the Covenant was a large, wooden chest.  For the Hebrew people, the Ark represented the presence of God in their midst and in their lives.  Bringing the Ark into the new capital city of Jerusalem was reason for a great celebration—a party, if you will.  As the Ark proceeds down the streets of Jerusalem, King David leads his people in a huge celebration. According to the story in 2 Samuel,

“David danced before the Lord with all his might; David was girded with a linen ephod.  So, David and all the house of Israel brought up the ark of the Lord with shouting, and with the sound of the trumpet.”

The celebration was boisterous, jubilant, and spontaneous.  The King dances with “all his might.”   David dances wildly.  He is not self-conscious.  He does not dance solemnly.  He is not concerned about the “dignity of his office” or with what his people will think about him.  Instead, he dances with unselfconscious abandon and exuberance. 

King David had prepared a special place for the Ark of the Covenant to rest within the City, and he had pitched a special tent for the Ark.

Once the Ark of the Covenant was properly placed in the new tent, King David led a special worship service to celebrate the arrival of the Ark in Jerusalem—and to give God thanks and praise.  The worship service reflected the beliefs and customs of the Jewish people at that time:  “David offered burnt offerings and offerings of well-being before the Lord.  When David had finished…he blessed the people in the name of the Lord of hosts.”

            After the worship service, David gave food to all of the Hebrew people for a feast to celebrate the arrival of the Ark.  To each person, King David gave bread and meat and raisins.  (Raisins were a sweet delicacy for people living at that time.  They were a very special dessert.)  Then all of the people went back to their homes to feast.

            Certainly, this was an amazing celebration.  But, we might well ask, “What does this story say to us Christians, living in the twenty-first century?”

            For me, this story raises two important questions for contemporary persons of faith:  (1) Do we actively seek to experience God’s presence with the same faithfulness and commitment as King David and the people of Israel?  (2) Do we celebrate the presence of the Divine in our lives with the same unmitigated joy as the people in this story?

            I believe that we can experience God’s presence in many different ways.  For instance, I frequently experience the Divine through Nature.  When I pause for a few moments to enjoy a brilliant rosy sunset at the end of the day, I frequently experience God’s warm embrace enveloping me.  Sometimes I experience the Divine when I go for a walk through a beautiful flower garden or down a leaf-strewn path, winding its way through a peaceful forest.

            I also experience God’s presence during worship in a beautiful sanctuary; or, listening to an inspirational choir.  Sometimes, in those moments when we are worshiping in my home church, my spirit soars high and I feel a strong exuberance of spirit.  I also experience the presence of the Divine during my quiet time in the morning, when I read the scriptures and meditate.  Frequently during this time, I will write out a prayer to God.  As I sit before my computer, I feel as if God is sitting right there beside me, watching as I carefully choose just the right words for my prayer.

            Sometimes I experience the presence of God through human interaction.  For instance, I sometimes feel God’s presence when I offer my finger to a small infant with its arms outstretched.  When the baby reaches out to grasp my finger and squeeze, I experience the presence of the Divine in its tight grip.  At other times, I have strongly felt God’s presence through acts of mercy, such as serving meals at a soup kitchen or volunteering at a food pantry.  In that moment, when I look at a person as I serve them, it seems as though both the person served and me the server—looking into one another’s eyes—experience God’s presence together in the mutual act of serving and being served.

            In these and so many other ways, I experience God’s presence in my life.  I celebrate those moments in various ways.  Sometimes, it is a smile or a look upward or a quiet prayer: “Thank you, Lord.”

            In my Sunday morning proclamation this Sunday, June 2nd, I will encourage my congregation to constantly seek out the presence of God in their lives—and to be open for new and different experiences of the Divine.  And, I will also encourage them to always celebrate and give thanks for the many different ways in which the Divine is present in our lives. 

My church is Christ United Methodist, located at 4530 “A” Street.  We have three worship services on Sunday mornings at 8:30, 9:45, and 11:00.  Join us this Sunday, June 2nd, as we celebrate God’s presence in our lives

Everyone is welcome and accepted because God loves us all.