About a month ago we began a journey through the books of I and II. Samuel. In our Lectionary readings we have touched on only the high spots, but

Transcription

1 1 DATE: JULY 15, 2012 SERMON TEXT: 2 SAMUEL 6:1-5, 12b-19 SERMON TITLE: Symbols of Hope About a month ago we began a journey through the books of I and II Samuel. In our Lectionary readings we have touched on only the high spots, but we have been reminded of the marvelous journey of a boy named David, a journey that took him into battle to face a great giant; a journey into a conflicted relationship with King Saul; a journey that would anoint him as King; and now this morning, a journey of celebration as David dances his way through the streets of Jerusalem. This morning, David is the King of both Judah and Israel, and he has claimed Jerusalem as his capital. In order to give Jerusalem the religious identity it deserves, he brings to the city the Ark of the Covenant. But what exactly is the Ark anyway? If you remember your church history, the Ark is the oldest object of Israelite worship. Literally, it was a box, rectangular in shape, with rings on the side so it could be carried with poles. On the top of the box was a golden slab called the "mercy seat." At one end was a cherub (a winged bull) and at the other a cherubim (two winged bulls). Religiously, the Ark was the throne of the invisible God. It went before the Israelites in all their wilderness wanderings and led them into the Promised Land. The Ark was the symbol of the real presence of God in the midst of God s people.

2 2 Through Israel's history, the Ark had been captured many times and recovered many times. On this day, David was especially ecstatic, for he had not only reclaimed the Ark, but had claimed Jerusalem to be its new home. The uncontrolled emotion that David was displaying on this day was due partly to his success as a political leader. Everything he touched seemed to turn to gold. He could do nothing wrong. But his outpouring of emotion was not only about his success as a military leader. David was ecstatic about the way God had manifested Godself in David's life, and for that he could not contain himself. The Ark was a real symbol for David. It was the Mercy Seat of God, and because of that, he could do nothing less than rejoice. There is a tinge of R-ratedness to this story. David, in a show of uncontrolled ecstasy, is dancing through the streets nearly naked. The daughter of Saul is watching David from a window and is disgusted with David s vulgar expression of exuberance. Some people just can t handle the nudity. A father and his five-year-old are driving down the road when they are passed by a woman driving a convertible totally naked. The father, clearly shocked by such an occurrence, turns red-faced to his son. Look, Daddy, the son replies. She s not wearing a seat belt.

3 3 A mother had her young son with her at her regular morning workout at the Y. Young Johnny got away from his mother and wandered into the women s shower room. The ladies grabbed towels and ran for cover. Seeing the excitement, Little Johnny said, What s wrong? Haven t you ever seen a five-year-old boy before? The point of this interchange between David and Saul s daughter has several meanings. The first is that there was still some bad blood between David and Saul s family. A second reason is to illustrate the sheer joy that David was feeling to have the Ark reside in Jerusalem. Symbolically, the Ark was a physical example of the relationship that existed between God and Israel. The Ark was a piece of physical evidence that God was a faithful God and a God who could be trusted. The Ark symbolized all the ways that God had been at work in Israel s life and a sign that the Covenant had been honored. There is an advertising concept that I have become familiar with recently, and that is the notion of branding. Branding as it is related to advertising is the association of a logo or other visual symbols with a product. For instance, you only have to see a circle made up of red and blue paisleys, an alligator on a shirt, a black swoosh on a shoe, and an apple with a bite out of if it to know that I am talking about Pepsi, Izod, Nike, and Apple Computer. You see the logo; you know

4 4 the brand. These companies have successfully branded themselves so that all the consumer needs to do is to see the logo and there is instant recognition. The United Church of Christ has used the same concept of marketing by using the big red comma The red comma is associated with the Gracie Allen quote that says Never put a period where God has placed a comma. The big red comma serves several purposes. When we see it we are reminded that we worship a still speaking God, a God who continues to have a message for today and tomorrow. The red comma also serves as our brand. When we see the red comma we automatically think of the United Church of Christ. Hopefully in the marketplace, church shoppers will also make the connection between the comma and the UCC. When you think about your own faith journey what would be your brand? What symbol would you choose to represent how you feel about God and what God has done or what God is doing in your life? The first symbol that may come to you is the question mark. There are times in our lives when we are not really sure where God is and what God is doing in our lives. We equate these times with wilderness journeys, times of self-reflection and discovery. As I think back over my own life I can remember these experiences vividly. And although I did not enjoy these moments, as I look back, I can see them and understand them as periods of tremendous spiritual growth in my life.

5 5 I believe questioning is an essential part of our faith formation. God did not create us to be mindless robots who yield to whatever way the wind blows. God gave us minds to think and to reason, and our gifts of thinking and reasoning are never more important than when it comes to discerning who God is and what God wants of us and what God expects of us. On the opposite end of the question mark is the exclamation mark. Perhaps you are in a place in your life much like that of David. Perhaps it is all that you can do to contain your joy and gratitude for the way you have experienced the presence of God in your life. If you are one of those folks and if we were Pentecostal, you would be the one running up and down the aisle celebrating your place in this community of faith. I say this knowing that this is not part of our tradition. However, I am grateful for the opportunities in the past that I have been privileged to worship with people whose expressions of faith are much more animated than our own, In 2007 my parents had the honor of celebrating their 64 th wedding anniversary in Ghana. Their anniversary date was the very day that we were worshiping in our home church in Ghana. I told the pastor prior to the service that it was my parents 64 th wedding anniversary. When he announced it to the church that Sunday morning there was a mild reaction. I surmised that something was wrong with translation because I thought I heard the word birthday in his words to

6 6 the congregation. I immediately stood up and corrected the pastor. When he announced that it was their 64 th wedding anniversary the congregation erupted in singing and dancing and this went on for several minutes. God created us to be people of joy and celebration. I am sure God appreciated David s dancing in the street even though Saul s daughter found it offensive. I think God appreciated the joy and the laughter we experience here as we worship together. I must say that is one of the things I appreciate about our worship together. You have a great sense of humor and you laugh at most of my jokes. There are commas, question marks, and exclamation marks that may be appropriate symbols of our faith journeys, but what other symbols might be descriptive of our faith journeys? This was a question I posed to our Bible study group that met when we studied the disciples. Part of our study included pictures painted by many of the great artists of the 14 th and 15 th centuries. We noticed that many of the disciples were holding some sort of symbol in their hands that had specific meaning to their ministry. For instance, Peter is pictured with keys in his hands signifying Jesus giving him the keys to the kingdom. The disciple Thomas is seen with a t-square, a symbol of his occupation as a carpenter. I asked the group to think about a symbol they would choose for themselves. I chose a plow. I chose the plow because of my newness to this church

7 7 community. Even though St. Paul s has been in this place for nearly 170 years, and even though you have had many pastors before me, I see myself as plowing in new ground, at least for me. I see myself working new ground, sowing new seed and reaping a new harvest. If you had to identify a symbol of the way God has worked in your life, what would it be: the comma, the question mark, the exclamation mark or something else? We are all part of a great family of people who have followed in the footsteps of David. We have all been inspired by the symbols of our faith from the Ark of the Covenant to a Rose Window. May we always be inspired by the stories of these sacred symbols and may we always be looking for new ways that God is revealing Himself to us.