Who can forget the epic scene in which Charlton Heston, playing Moses, parted the Red Sea so that the people of God could walk to freedom on the other side. I can still see them- men, women, children, livestock- scurrying through a God-made corridor, with the waters of the Red Sea forming walls on both sides. They made it, praise God, but the Egyptians were closing the gap as they rode their chariots into the middle of the sea... but the sea closed in over them and became a watery tomb. One call only imagine what the Hebrews felt- their joy, and relief, must have been palpable. They were free and they liked the taste of it... so Miriam (Ex. 13) took a tambourine in her hand.... and led the people in song as they danced with joy. Dance, dance, dance, people of God, for you are free! Her song doesn't rhyme well- at least not in English- but I'm sure that it had an engaging beat because the celebration had begun.
The psalmist began his great work by reminding us that reverence for the Lord is the beginning of wisdom and then he expressed his fears and faith, his lament and praise, in 148 more psalms... but in the 150th, and last psalm, he wrapped things up with these words: Praise him with a blast of the lamb's horn, praise him with the lyre and harp; praise him with the tambourine and dancing, praise him with the strings and flutes; praise him with a clash of cymbals, praise him with loud, clanging cymbals; let everything that breathes sing praises to the Lord. David, it seems, was the 1st to call for praise music and this brings us to our Old Testament passage this morning. After Israel lost the ark of the covenant to the Philistines because of Phinehas' and Hophni's great sins and after a previous attempt to bring the ark back to Jerusalem failed, God had blessed its return and, at last, they were bringing it home. David went to Obed-Edom to get the ark, and he was so filled with praise... that he stopped and sacrificed to the Lord after they had traveled only six paces. Then, overcome with emotion, David danced before the Lord with all of his might. He danced with all of his might, and it was a spontaneous dance. He sprang around in half-circles with gusto and energy, and he leaped high and skipped like a lamb. It was a display of ecstasy and the Bible says that David was wearing a linen ephod. Actually, some versions suggest that he was ONLY wearing an ephod, which would've been quite a show because an ephod was something like an apron... BUT Scripture clearly says that David was wearing a linen ephod and a fine robe. So it wasn't what he revealed that his wife was angry about when he arrived home... but she was fighting mad because he had danced and carried on like an uncouth man at tavern. He had exposed himself as a fool, she thought, and acted in an unbecoming way for a king. Before he even had a chance to take off his sandals and rest, she began to berate him for acting in a disgusting way. A king, like a good Presbyterian, ought to have self-control. He ought to behave in ways that are orderly and refined, not disorderly and crude. But David said, God has appointed me King. God has blessed me above your father, Saul, and it is before God, and only God, that I worship. God is an audience of one. He is my only audience, and I will do baser things than what you saw... when the Spirit of God fills me with joy.
It's a wonderful and challenging story, isn't it? It is a story that's filled with questions. Does true worship demand a emotion? If God fills our hearts with praise, can we resist shouting, "Hallelujah"? If knowing that we're saved fills us with great joy, must we kick up our heels and dance a jig? Should we lose ourselves in worship of God... or be ever mindful of our station in life? The Book of Order calls for a balance between order and ardor.... but if we have to lean one way or the other, should we error on the side of control or expression? Is this a sanctuary... or a worship life center? Should it give birth to reflection... or celebration? I think it's impossible to dance without music, but what do you think? When I was a teen, my grandmother lived with us, and sometimes, when my friends were gathered in our home, she'd break out in song, "Rock of Ages, cleft for me," "On a hill far away, there's an old rugged cross..." and my friends would roll their eyes in disbelief. Your grandma's crazy, they would say, and I agreed... because I made it a practice of guarding my emotions (unless I was drinking)... but when Johnny Rodgers returned that punt against Oklahoma, when we turned against the grain, stumbled and regained his balance, and went for the touchdown, I jumped to my feet and shouted, "JR superstar, JR superstar!" I don't like the ridiculous end-zone dances I see... but I sure was excited when our daughter, Kendra, scored her first soccer goal... and even though I frown on it when others do it, I shouted out, "Go Kelli," when she received her first degree. I had too because my pride demanded it! My points are simply these- a) when we're personally engaged, our chances of emoting our increased- and b) when God is our audience, our chances of being free of what others think are enhanced.
Thus, without being manipulative, I would season our worship with more ardor... but the choice is yours... or more specifically, your elders. Your leaders are even now considering our style of worship, and as faithful Presbyterians, they will endeavor to make everyone happy... but if they must error in one direction or the other, how would you vote, considering the musical preferences of today and the music of yesterday? If you were Michal, and in some ways you are, would you meet David as she did... or would you applaud him for dancing with all of his might? How do you envision the Holy Spirit? Is he at work in our minds leading us to better decisions... or is he at work in our hearts so that we express ourselves with greater abandon? When I think about David's dance, I can't help but think of the prodigal's father, who ran down a dusty road to hug a son who had abandoned the family and squandered his inheritance. Running at all, let alone running down a dusty road, was unseemly in those times. Undignified and vulnerable. But the father's joy demanded it... because you can't really dance without music. Amen.
Pentecstals sang, wept, shouted, danced and swooned
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